What to do on a Night Off From Rehearsal
By Martha Magane
Allison threw us a rehearsal curve ball these next two weeks, scheduling sectionals on Thursday nights and rehearsal for all on Tuesday. Getting instructions straight – especially those which mean a change in routine – is something adults seem to have some trouble with. After a lot of head scratching and a few reminder emails, I think most of us figured it out without a lot of stress. At least that’s what I hope, but c’mon people, a little change does us a lot of good! Right?
What to do with our “off” Thursday night? Well, Allison suggested some socializing, so here is a carpool threesome, Mary, Suzanne, and Sue (they’re usually a foursome with Paula, but she wasn’t able to attend) who decided that sounded like a fun idea and went out to dinner.
The big question is, what did they have with their sixteenth notes? Or, did they think at all about their sixteenth notes? Maybe those chicken bones know.
Which, of course, leads to the importance of those sectionals, so oddly scheduled on Thursdays. Learning those runs of sixteenth notes, especially the ones which repeat but not exactly, or do a little hike up the rocky side of the mountain over flats and sharps, are a challenge, and it seems that Allison has some tricks to help us make sense out of them and the other tricky stuff that is Bach and Handel and Rutter. It always seems that after sectionals the confidence level grows and we make better music. Who ever said making music wouldn’t be work? But, look at those three giggling over something. Could be their sixteenth notes. Raise a chicken bone to those sixteenths!
Meanwhile, Dianne and Jeannette took a road trip to Falmouth to entertain their inner children at the Highfield Hall and Garden where you can see them peeking out from a hobbit-like stick structure called “A Passing Fancy.”
The structure is made of willow withes, designed by artist Patrick Dougherty and was assembled by a huge group of volunteers last summer. Remarkably, it withstood the high winds of our latest northeast storm. Do its gracefully swooping sticks make you think of anything musical?
Hope the rest of you altos and sopranos did something fun our day off while the tenors and basses learned their sixteenths (which they did a marvelous job showing off–and showing the rest of us up– at Tuesday rehearsal). Our turn next! And it’s time for the tenors and basses to get our and eat some chicken or visit a hobbit house or surprise us with your own version of socializing.