WELCOME to the CHOIR of AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY Brisbane Campus HANDBOOK 2012
AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY CHOIR STAFF MUSICAL DIRECTOR: ACCOMPANIST: ADMINISTRATOR: Dr Ralph Morton Greg Mayer Judy Fromyhr, Senior Lecturer in Music Ph: 07 3623 7186 Fax: 07 3623 7245 Mob: 0407 374 217 Email: judy.fromyhr@acu.edu.au ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Louise Goodwin loug68@iprimus.com.au REHEARSALS: Wednesday 6pm Room IB.15 (large lecture theatre) About the Choir: The ACU Brisbane Choir is a community choir based at Australian Catholic University Banyo Campus in Brisbane. There are approximately 40 members representing students and staff of the university, alumni and members of the wider community from all over Brisbane. The ACU Choir was formed in 1994 and in 1996 came under the musical directorship of Dr Ralph Morton who is also the Director of Music at the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Brisbane. The Choir s repertoire is varied and represents both secular and sacred works from the 16 th century to the present day, popular music and works by Australian composers. Although the majority of works are for mixed voices, the choir also presents works for varied smaller ensembles. The choir performs regularly in Brisbane and other centres both in its own right and in conjunction with other instrumental and choral groups. The Program: The ACU Brisbane Choir recommends the use the Voice for Life choral program developed by RSCM (Royal School of Church Music) in the United Kingdom. Voice for Life is designed to help you discover what your voice can do, and then to strengthen it. It will help you to improve your knowledge and understanding of music and to look at what it means to be a singer and member of a choir. Although it may appear that this program is about sacred music only, it is equally applicable to all of the different genres of music that are studied in the ACU Choir. A White level that precedes the workbooks is also available for those who feel that they are really starting from scratch. 1
Choristers are able to follow a workbook and progress through four levels of material at their own pace if they wish to. The workbooks and other source materials are available on loan from the choir librarian: Duffy, C; Marks, A and Perona-Wright, L (Eds). (2004) Voice for life singer s workbook: Light blue level. Wiltshire, UK: Royal School of Church Music. Duffy, C; Marks, A and Perona-Wright, L (Eds) (2004) Voice for life singer s workbook: Dark blue level. Wiltshire, UK: Royal School of Church Music. Duffy, C; Marks, A and Perona-Wright, L (Eds). (2004) Voice for life singer s workbook: Red level. Wiltshire, UK: Royal School of Church Music. Duffy, C; Marks, A and Perona-Wright, L (Eds) (2004) Voice for life singer s workbook: Yellow level. Wiltshire, UK: Royal School of Church Music. Reference materials: Perona-Wright, Leah (ed). (2004) Voice for life choir trainer s book: An indispensable guide to choral training. Wiltshire, UK: Royal School of Church Music. Ruffer, T. (Ed). (2009) The voice for life chorister s companion. Wiltshire, UK: Royal School of Church Music. All of the Voice for Life materials are available through the RSCM online shop. https://www.rscmshop.com/acatalog/ Choir Support Group: A choir support group of volunteers exists to assist in the smooth running of the choir. Choir members are encouraged to volunteer their services in any area in which they feel they can be of assistance to the administrator or the musical director. Positions are held for one year and would normally be declared open in Semester 1 of each year. The following positions are available: Assistant Librarian/s distribute and collect music, filing. Uniforms Social/Supper PR Project Manager Liturgy liaison make sure that everyone has a choir uniform shirt and black folder for formal occasions. Arrange the fitting of shirts, advise orders to Judy Fromyhr, distribute and collect ties. a shared position for at least 2 people. Set up and clean up for supper on a weekly basis. Assist with organization for Concert suppers. Collect ideas for social gatherings and special supper evenings. Advise replenishment of supplies. are you interested in gaining experience in marketing, advertising? Do you have any media connections? Practice on us! could be several different people for different events. Assist in the management of particular concerts and events. liase with campus ministry team and Ralph Morton with regard to liturgical events. 2
In addition to the above mentioned roles, each voice part, (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) has a representative who is the contact person for their section and takes responsibility for welcoming new members of their section and marking a roll each week. The rep also liaises with either the musical director or administrator over such matters as seating arrangements and availability of members for performances and s. This role may be shared or rotated each semester. Choir Membership: The ACU Choir is grateful to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Greg Craven, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Brisbane Campus and the School of Arts and Sciences (McAuley at Banyo Campus) for their continued financial support of the choir. However, there are some costs that need to be met by the choir members. The choir services fee for 2012 is $110 for the year or $55 per semester. A late fee of $10 applies to payments made after March 14, 2012. Please complete and return an ACU Choir membership form with payment before this date. Payments may be made at the first 3 choir s or cheques (made payable to Australian Catholic University Choir) may be sent to: Judy Fromyhr, ACU National, PO Box 456, Virginia. Q 4014. Alternatively, payments may be made directly to the cashier on the third floor of A block at ACU. A receipt will be available at the following choir. If you feel that this fee will cause you undue hardship or affect your membership of the choir, please see the choir administrator. Any information given will be treated in strictest confidence. Choir music will be issued by the librarian on production of a receipt for the "choir services fee". Membership of the choir entitles you to: The services of an expert musical director The services of an experienced accompanist at all s and performances Workshops/master classes with renowned visiting artists The opportunity to sing in a number of choral ensembles The opportunity to perform in a variety of public venues Opportunities to improve your musicianship through small group work The use of a wide range of expensive sheet music A choir folder The chance to make some great friends Travel maybe? Social activities 3
Expectations: Membership of the ACU choir is open to all students and staff of the University and to interested members of the community outside the University. Music reading ability and prior choral experience are a help, but certainly not essential requirements. Whenever possible the choir will provide you with practice materials to make your learning of the music easier. All members are expected to participate at the level of their ability and experience. The choir understands that new members may feel a little overwhelmed at times this is natural. On the other hand, if you are an experienced chorister please don t be backward in coming forward. Above all, we ask that all members be patient in learning how to be effective members of the choir. What if I ve never sung in a choir before? At first you may experience any or all of the following things: I can t find my place on the page The conductor says things I don t understand Everyone else seems to know the music and I don t I m afraid that I m singing the wrong notes and someone can hear me Relax!! Most people have experienced the same thing at some stage and are willing to help because ultimately people join choirs because they love to sing. If you continue to be concerned, please speak to a staff member or a member of the choir support group. The choir expects three things from its members: Enthusiasm Excellent attendance Home study and practice Trial Period: Prospective members are encouraged to join for a trial period of approximately three weeks to decide whether they enjoy the experience. For a student enrolled in either MUSC272 or MUSC273, the trial period should end on the last day allowed for withdrawal from an enrolled unit without penalty (the end of Week 2). If you decide to join the choir after the trial period, you are expected to make a strong commitment to achieving our aim of excellence in music making. If you decide not to continue after the trial period, please tell the Choir Administrator and return any materials you have been given. 4
Attendance Policy: We make no apology for having strict attendance guidelines. The choir relies on team effort to achieve excellent results and therefore attendance at scheduled choir activities is of the utmost importance. Even though there appears to be many people who are singing the same thing as you and therefore can make up for your absence, the team is different every time someone is away and adjustments need to be made in the performance objectives of the choir to compensate apart from the conductor having to repeat instructions every week! Every effort is made to give reasonable notice of choir s and performances (see ACU Choir Schedule for 2012). Please enter these dates in your diary now. Where adequate notice is not given, that event is seen as a voluntary one. When absence from any choir activity is unavoidable, the following guidelines should be followed: 1. Where applicable, notice of an absence should be given, in writing, in the ACU Choir Absence Register. 2. In the case of an emergency, please telephone Judy Fromyhr on 07 3623 7186 or 0407 374 217 or email judy.fromyhr@acu.edu.au. 3. In cases where a member has not attended all of the s leading up to a performance, they should consult with the conductor for that event to establish their eligibility to perform. 4. On returning from any absence, please check with your voice rep regarding anything you may have missed, e.g. a seating arrangement may have been changed or new music may have been distributed. The choir does not wish to be completely inflexible about attendance difficulties arise. However, we do ask that you plan and take seriously your commitment to the ACU choir. HOME WORK is expected: It may include any of the following activities: 1. Sitting down and memorising words 2. Marking relevant parts of your score 3. Listening to the practice track while following the score 4. Listening to the practice track while traveling in the car 5. Listening to the practice track while reading a book, for example 6. Following the practice tracks and score on your computer 7. Playing your voice part on an instrument 8. Getting together with other choir members to go through the music 5
Proposed Weekly Rehearsal Schedule: The choir rehearses from 6pm on Wednesday evenings - please refer to the "Choir Dates" which is issued each semester. Each includes: - warm-up exercises - whole group s - small ensemble s - tutorials Where possible, performances are also arranged for Wednesday evening. Practical Issues: 1. Please bring a pencil (e.g. 2B) to all s and be meticulous in noting points made by the conductor. Ink should never be used on music copies. 2. Music is an expensive resource. It should be kept in the folder that is supplied and returned to the Librarian undamaged it may have been hired from another choir. 3. Uniform: Ladies: Red choir uniform shirt with logo. * Black trousers or skirt Black shoes and black hosiery Men: Long sleeved white shirt Black trousers Black shoes and black socks On some occasions a tie is worn and corporate ties are supplied by the University. ** *Ladies may purchase the uniform shirt from the ACU Choir administrative assistant for $40. If you wish to hire a shirt, a deposit of $40 is required with a refund of $15 when the shirt is returned in good condition. **Gentlemen, there is a hire fee of $10 per year for the ties. NOTES: Now Enjoy!! 6
SEMESTER 1, 2012 DATE TIME COMMENT February Wednesday 22 LW1* Welcome to the first for 2012 Please make sure that you have: IB.15 received a choir handbook obtained a choir application form obtained a name tag 29 LW2 IB.15 obtained a scholarship application form if applicable Sopranos March 07 LW3 Choir support group nominations due No supper 14 LW4 Last date for payment of choir fee. Altos 21 LW5 Tenors/Basses 28 LW6 Sopranos April 04 LW7 Altos 6pm 8pm 6pm 8.50pm 8pm Scholarship auditions (8.15pm ACU Choir 20 th anniversary c tee meeting) (School holidays) 11 No ACU Easter Recess (School holidays)
18 LW8 Tenors/Basses 25 LW9 No Rehearsal 8.15pm ACU Choir 20 th anniversary c tee meeting) ANZAC Day May 02 LW10 Sopranos 03 Thursday 04 Friday 09 LW11 Altos 16 LW12 ALL 5.30pm - 7.30pm 1.00pm - 3.45pm and 5.30pm - 8.15pm 6pm - 9pm Performance: Graduation Mass Performance: Graduation ceremonies 2.30pm & 7pm Performance: A Variety of Voices Details TBA *LW = Lecture Week please return all music CHOIR RESUMES ON WEDNESDAY 1 August