Y-City Chorus Board of Directors 2016 Y-City First Annual Round Up Guests Y-City Chorus Annual Round Up We would like to welcome all who are joining us for our annual Y- City Chorus Round Up. This event has been a fun time being able to catch up with past members and getting to know new ones. The Y-City Chorus believes strongly in encouraging the joy of singing and ringing chords. Each week we get together on Monday nights to share in fellowship and music. We welcome anyone who also enjoys being a part of a musical community. District News The Johnny Appleseed District has been very active this year. In January, the chorus board members attended the JAD Leadership Conference. This year JAD has set a goal to reach out more to smaller choruses and to help promote a healthy chapter initiative. The district held its Spring Convention on April 21 st /22 nd. The convention hosted chorus and quartet competitions as well as chorus performances. They also included hospitality suites for socializing with other members from around the state. President Treasurer Secretary Manager VP Marketing VP Members VP Youth Member Member Member Chorus Dir. Brian Morgan Duane Deal Jim Longshore H Kaloydis T Kumorowski Troy Ball Paul Shannon W Wheeler Kyle Paul L Thomas Karen Boyer
Harmony Camp Each year we, for nearly 20 years, we have offered scholarships for students from various schools in Muskingum County to attend the Singing Buckeye s Harmony Camp. This year it was uncertain whether or not the Singing Buckeyes would be able to have a camp. However, we will be sending students to a Harmony Camp, either at Kenyon College near Mount Vernon, Ohio or a camp near Cincinnati, Ohio. Last year we sent 20 students to Harmony camp with a scholarship of $275 each, which was 75% of the overall cost of registration. This year we are hoping to do about the same. Paul is setting up school visits soon to help promote Harmony Camp and the scholarship program, which is one of the chorus primary missions. Anyone who has free time to help sing a few polecats and share in a few stories with the kids is welcome to check with Paul on the scheduled dates. A New Hall of Fame Inductee 50 Years of Barbershop! In January, one of our own was inducted into the Muskingum County Veterans Hall of Fame. Congrats Willard! New Members Over the last year, we are happy to have had some of our older members return to the chorus and some new ones join in on the fun. Out of the new members that joined the chorus this past year, we have Tim, Greg, Earl and Pat. Welcome fellas!
An Exciting Time for Choral Music in Muskingum County By Jim McLaughlin Because of changes to the retirement system for teachers many directors have chosen to retire early instead of teaching another 5 years. This has brought new choir teachers to each of the city and county high schools in Muskingum County. On March 3 & 4 the Ohio Music Education Association held its local high school choral music adjudicated event at John Glenn Middle School. I am happy to report that every one of our 6 high school choirs performed at the contest. This is the first time in nearly 20 years that all the schools have participated. Four of the schools, (John Glenn, Philo, West and Zanesville), scored a superior rating and are eligible to move on to State OMEA Contest in May. These new directors, many in their first years of teaching, have arrived in our community with talent and enthusiasm for the art of singing. There is a spirit of cooperation and support between the teachers. I can remember my years teaching at Zanesville High School and having Paul Shannon contact me and ask if there is anything the Y-City Chorus could do to help me with my choirs. First of all, I was shocked because all the other communications I received from the community were usually about what my choirs and I could do for their events. I am so proud of our support to award scholarships to students from the high schools for over 20 years. Also, the support for the Christmas High School Choral Concert at Secrest Auditorium each year is a blessing. As you probably know, the arts are constantly feeling pressure about their importance to students and whether the funding for their program could easily be cut from the curriculum. I would like to challenge our chorus to consider if there is any other way we could reach out to these new teachers and show them that we are in their corner. For example, I know that May 2 is a very important date for John Glenn Schools. They will be voting on a bond issue to build an auditorium and football stadium at their high school. They have been working toward this project for many years. Could we in some way offer a good word to the community about the importance of supporting this project? The choir directors are: John Glenn Melinda Kaiser (Brian Morgan s daughter), Maysville Ryan Hutcherson, Philo Amanda Cox, Tri Valley Rebecca Japikse, West Josh Whetstone, and Zanesville Emma Lucas.
Jesus Daniel Hernandez: Operatic Tenor Originally from Mexico, Jesus Daniel Hernandez grew up singing old Crooner songs from the 1940s. As an American citizen, he served in the United States Army. It was during his time in the military that he had a chance encounter with the famed operatic tenor Plac ido Domingo, who made an exception for him to attend the Young Artist Program at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Over the past several years, Jesus has been selected to perform many leading roles in opera houses across the globe. His stunning voice and natural charisma make every one of his performances an experience. Jesus musical background also includes sharing his vocal expertise through teaching Master Classes and private vocal coaching. He is always focused on improving technique and staving off unhealthy practices. Some advice from his teachings include: Do not strain your throat to reach for notes. Your voice is delicate, unique and valuable. Protect it. If you wish to reach a note, it requires a combination of the correct placement through the nasal cavity and an abundance of breath support. Think of yourself as a woodwind. Let the breath rush over the vocal chords to create the sound. The neck should be relaxed. You can also try putting your hand on your chest to feel the vibrations as you go up the scale. If you start to feel less vibration and beginning straining your throat, bring it back down and replace the notes properly. This practice will take time to develop, but will strengthen your Passaggio (where your full voice starts to thin before switching). The technique used to reach the highest notes is also the same technique used to reach the lowest. To warm-up higher notes, try strengthening your lower register. (Imagine if the chorus applied these techniques!) Committees Fundamentals for Great Singing: Create a Beautiful Tone with 1. Free (no tension in singing area) 2. Round (open throat) 3. Steady even flow 4. Proper breath support and control 5. Proper alignment 6. Ring (a function of resonance, focus and placement) For those who signed up for committees, now is the time to start actively participating. There are many things that need done and with the summer fast approaching, we will be busy with sing-outs and preparing for the show. One of the committees recently formed is the Chapter Historical Committee. The committee is seeking any photos, news clippings, previous newsletters or the like for our records. Please email materials to marketing@ycitybarbershoppers.com. Things that destroy beautiful tone: 1. Constricted, forced, strained singing 2. Too Loud 3. Hoarse 4. Breathy 5. Weak 6. Inconsistently produced (choose wisely correct space) 7. Shaky
Re-Facing The Market By Tyson Kumorowski This year is set to be a great year for marketing. We are now on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linked In. We will be sending out reminders via text messages once a week to those interested as well as the usual email notifications. Just simply text @ycit to 81010 to join the group. It may ask for you to give your name for identifications purposes. Additionally, you may have noticed the newsletter has become a biannual and I will be working on something for us to handout to perspective members in the future. Our annual show is listed on the community calendars for September 24 th and we will be featured on WHIZ (Live at Noon) on September 20 th. The website is nearly ready for reveal and will be posted when it is complete. The new url will be www.ycitybarbershoppers.com, but you will be able to use the old domain name as well. In related news, I am in need of a stage manager, stage crew and security for the show this year. If you know of anyone who is interested, please email info@ycitybarbershoppers.com. We are also forming a marketing committee to help with photography and distribution of content. If you would like to help, please notify me at rehearsal or via the email listed above. A By Karen Boyer From the Director What a great hobby we have! Barbershop singing offers so many opportunities to be a plus in our lives. As a member, you are the ambassador, sharing the knowledge of the society and our chapter with people you come in contact with daily. You never know if a gentleman likes to sing unless you ask. Remember when you got hooked on ringing chords with your fellow chorus men? You received your "barbershot"...now spread the germ. Make it a point to invite someone to join us for a rehearsal. The best recruiting tool is good singing and we are working hard each week to better our product. Very proud of all of you! It s great to be the director of a bad buncha boys singing Ba Ba Barbershop! Let's get the whole town of Zanesville singing! What makes the ring in barbershop? Show me those teeth and allow the sound to resonance and match!
Ken s Korner By Kenneth Wheeler Let s have one more little bit on woodshedding. Obviously, it s easier to woodshed a ballad than an up tune. However, both types of songs are possible. When doing a ballad, you must keep the song moving forward. Although, it may go at a slower than ideal pace. The first time or two that the lead sings the song through, the harmony parts are listening for where the chord sequence should go. They should also be listening for the words, even though they may not sing them for a few times through. To properly sing any song, you must have an idea of the message of the lyric to get the right interpretation, as well as the right chord sequences. The lyric may also suggest a chord sequence that might otherwise not be tried. Also, try to hear where the other harmony parts will fit in. Don t stop there. Instead of singing lead, try singing the other harmony parts. You ll be amazed at how singing other parts from your normal one will help you sharpen your ear on all the parts. Once you start finding good chord sequences, look for others. Remember, the idea is to sing as well as possible, not to sing the whole song through. That will happen soon enough. When you re not woodshedding, try to find some tunes which others don t know so you can sing lead in a woodshed quartet and discover why the leads say it is so difficult to do RIGHT!!! After you ve done some woodshedding, try all the parts. Because a song is written in a certain key doesn t mean you have to sing it there. Find a key that is suitable for all the parts and sing it. Woodshedding isn t a test of your range, but of your ear and how chords fit together in sequences. To help you get started, try listening to a recording or studying sheet music and see if you can follow one part all the way through. Experiment. You may even find guys who would like sing together on next year s show. I ll be glad to help in any way that I can. Hummmmmmmmmbly, Ken Mission Statement The Zanesville Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society strives to be a thriving musical organization emphasizing good singing, fellowship and fun, while providing quality entertainment to our audiences and encouraging vocal music in our schools and community. Intercostal muscles are several groups of muscles that run between the ribs. They help form and move the chest wall. The intercostal muscles are mainly involved in the mechanical aspects of breathing. These muscles help expand and contract the size of the chest cavity to facilitate breathing.
Barbershopper of the Year! Congrats to Harry, our 2016 Barbershopper of the Year! You do so much for our chorus, and we appreciate it. Barbershop Vocabulary Barbershop Ballad: A romantic song set to a narrative verse. Bell Chords: each voice sings her part of the chord singly but in immediate succession of the others. Glottis: The Opening between the vocal bands. Glottal Stroke or Attack: glottis is momentarily and completely closed by premature action of the bands and then suddenly released thus creating a sharp stroke. Intercostals Muscles: refers to rib muscles. Interpretation: the communication of mood and thought values. It's the artistic of the song that tells the story line and presents the underlying meaning and mood. Intonation: Singing in tune. Lead In: One to three notes of the beginning phrase sung without harmony usually by lead. Legato: Basic style of vocal technique with uninterrupted flowing vocal line..no interference from the vowel to vowel singing by un-sing able consonants. Overtone: it's the higher pitch heard when the group is achieving in- tune singing. Pure Vowels: Ah, Ay, Ee, Oh, Oo. Upcoming Events 2017 June 23 rd Dresden Homecoming 6:30PM (Meet 6PM) June August Church Sing-outs (TBA) TBA August 4 th -5 th Y-Bridge Arts Festival TBA September 24 th The Annual Show at Secrest 3:00 PM
P.O. Box 8075 Zanesville, Ohio 43701 Keep the whole world singing, one community at a time, starting with your own. Barbershop Harmony Society