NEWSLETTER No 3
February 2010
 
SOLOISTS
Congratulations to Rick!  He can now announce the soloists for our performance of the St Matthew Passion.  Here’s his message.
 
We are very pleased to announce our wonderful line-up of soloists for the St Matthew Passion.
Joshua Bloom as Christ
Paul Mc Mahon as the Evangelist
Jacqueline Porter, soprano
Belinda Paterson, mezzo soprano
Edmond Choo, tenor
Christopher Tonkin, baritone
This is a very exciting group of young soloists.  Joshua is currently based in the US where he has sung for companies such as the Metropolitan in New York.  This year he sings with Opera Australia, Melbourne Symphony and returns to the Met.
Sydney based Paul Mc Mahon is regarded as Australia’s foremost Evangelist.
The quartet are all Melbourne singers who are each making a significant impact on the opera and oratorio scene in Australia.
 
SYMPOSIUM: BACH AND HIS PASSIONS
Don’t forget the symposium at St Vincent’s Hospital in the Aikenhead Lecture Theatre in the Aikenhead Wing on March 1 at 7:30 pm.  The speakers are John O’Donnell,  who is, among other things, a musicologist, Andreas Loewe, chaplain of Trinity College, University of Melbourne, and John Gregory, MBC choir member and an art historian at Monash University.
 
OUR WEBSITE
Mary Rose has put lots of work into our website which is looking good!  Have a look and direct your friends to it as well.  You’ll find it at www.mbc.asn.au
 
INCOME RAISED SO FAR
$2500 from the Robert Salzer Foundation and $2500 from the Henkell Family fund.  Two generous gifts but we need more!
 
PUBLICITY
Do we have any native German speakers among our choristers?  There might be an opportunity for an interview on SBS Radio on the German program to publicise our performance among the German community in Melbourne, so if German is your mother tongue, or you are fluent enough to handle the situation, we’d love to hear from you.
 
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE FOR NEWCOMERS
 
February
 Sun 7              Choir 2            2:30
Thur 11            Choir 1            7:30
 
Sun 14             Choir2             2:30
Thur 18            Choir 1            7:30
 
Sun 21             Choir 2            2:30
Thur 25            Choir 1            7:30
 
Sun 28             Choir 2            2:30
March
Thur 4              Choir 1            7:30
 
Sun 7               Choirs 1 & 2    11am-1:30pm
                                                2:30-5pm
Thur 11            Choirs 1 & 2    7:30
 
Sun 14             Choirs 1 & 2    2:30
 
Mon 15            Tutti                 7:30     Part 1
Tue 16             Tutti                 7:30     Part 11
Wed 17            Tutti                 7:30     Full Run
 
Fri 19               Concert                      
 
 
ALTERNATIVE SMP LEARNING TRACKS
 
Richard Fisher offers the following helpful paragraph for choristers who might like to use this aid for learning your parts.  Thanks Richard.
 
As an adjunct to the CD learning disks and for those who like to use their computer for learning their music, there is a complete set of midi files for learning the chorus sections of the St Matthew Passion which is free to download from the Silvis Woodshed web site.If you are not familiar with midi files, these are very small files (56 kB for all 39 SMP files) for which each singing part is represented in a separate track. (The SMP files are piano tracks with a woodblock tempo track.) This enables significant control over the playing of the files – selecting tracks to play, changing tempo, (or changing key, if you wish), and easy repetition of 10 sec sections of difficult bits. 
You can download the midi files via the website address given below but, alternatively, Richard Fisher will email these to you on request (piscator@optusnet.com.au)  - the advantage of this is that each file name includes its number and chorus title for easy identification. (The Silvis file names uses a different numbering system and gives no title.)  You need to have a midi file player. It is recommended that you play the midi files using the vanBasco Karaoke Player because this will give you the control mentioned above. Again, if you wish, Richard will send you the file (769 kB), with instructions and advice, to enable you to install and use the program, or you can download it directly for free from the vanBasco web site. Installation is quick (10 sec) and straightforward.
Silvis: http://gasilvis.net/   and go to:  Saint Matthew Passion Complete! BWV 244 V Vanjoolen
vanBasco: http://www.vanbasco.com/
 
 

 

 

NEWSLETTER No 2

20 January 2010

 

 

Happy New Year to you all!

 

REHEARSAL RESUMPTION

 

Our first rehearsal for 2010 is a combined one on Sunday January 24, 2:30 pm, at Brenan Hall, St Vincent’s Hospital. Rick reminded us before the holiday break that once we resume, we only have eight rehearsals before we perform on Friday, March 19. That’s a sobering thought isn’t it! Enough to send us to our CDs and scores for some serious and regular practice he hopes.

 

Actually, with the combined rehearsals it’s ten, but March 19th is not far away.  On 24th and 28th we will rehearse:

 

No 35, pp 100-113

No 59, pp 166-172

No 67 pp 197-200 only

All Chorales

 

January

 

Sun 24                   Choirs 1 & 2          2.30 PM

Thur 28                  Choirs 1 & 2          7.30 PM

Sun 31                   Choir 2                 2.30 PM

 

February

 

Thur 4                   Choir 1                           7.30

Sun 7                    Choir 2                           2.30

Thur 11                 Choir 1                            7.30

Sun 14                  Choir 2                            2.30

Thur 18                 Choir 1                            7.30

Sun 21                  Choir 2                            2.30

Thur 25                 Choir 1                            7.30

Sun 28                  Choir 2                            2.30

 

 

March

 

Thur 4                   Choir 1                 7.30

Sun 7                    Choirs 1 & 2          11 AM  -  1.30PM

                                                      2.30    -  5 PM

Thur 11                 Choirs 1 & 2          7.30

Sun 14                  Choirs 1 & 2          2.30

Mon 15                  Tutti                   7.30        Part I

Tue 16                  Tutti                    7.30       Part II

Wed 17                 Tutti                    7.30       Full Run

 

Fri 19                    Concert                 7.30

 

PRACTICE CDS

 

Ros now has the practice CDs for all parts, which will be available at rehearsal. Maxwell has found a good and extremely cheap recording of The St Matthew Passion at Readings: - EMI Classics: Süddeutscher Madrigalchor with Consortium Musicum. Nicolai Gedda and Herman Prey are two of the soloists.

 

HELP

 

We need help in two areas:

 

1. Publicity

Do you have, or know of someone who has, skills, bright ideas or contacts to publicise our performance? 

 

 2. Sponsorship

 

Do you know of someone who might be interested in sponsoring part of our costs? It could be an amount to cover the cost of publishing the programs or the fee of a soloist (major or minor). The amount need not be large and would be acknowledged on the program.  It might be someone you know personally and could approach, or you might have a bright idea that the committee could follow up.  We will also be looking for companies willing to buy an ad in the programme, so let us know if you have any ideas. We were very fortunate to receive a grant of $2,500 from the Robert Salzer Foundation enabling us to get this great project up and running.

 

AUDIO AND TRANSCRIPT LINK TO RADIO NATIONAL’S EXCELLENT BACH PROGRAM

 

Another recommendation from Maxwell:-

 

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/encounter/stories/2783278.htm#transcript

 

CONTACT DETAILS NEEDED

 

Does anyone have any contact details for people who sang with us in the 2006 performance? We’d love to have them come and join us again.

  

NAME BADGES

 

If you have a name badge that you use in another choir or any other organisation, please wear it at rehearsals. There are so many of us that it's hard to remember names even if we've made introductions at previous rehearsals and it's more friendly to be able to use names when we chat at breaks.

 

LETTER ANNOUNCING THE PERFORMANCE

 

Attached is a letter you can send to your friends and acquaintances to give them advance notice of the performance.  Please add your name to the bottom and circulate it as widely as you can, either as it is or customised as you wish.



MBC News

Week beginning December 7

Welcome to the first edition of MBC News, which the committee hopes will be a useful vehicle to communicate both information and appeals for help so that our performance of Bach’s ‘St Matthew Passion’ will be the best we can make it.

APOLOGIES If you cannot attend rehearsal there is an email address which you can use to record your absence as a courtesy to Rick. Here it is:

 apologies@mbc.asn.au

If necessary you could phone me, Joan Scott, on 9428 1650.

PERFORMANCE DATE Contrary to first expectations, due to rehearsal difficulties with soloists, we will now only be giving one performance. This will be on Friday, 19 March 2010.

REMAINING REHEARSALS Due to the small numbers of choristers able to attend recent rehearsals, the remaining December rehearsals will be for both choirs combined. Those dates are Sunday December 13, Thursday December 17 and Sunday December 20.

WEBSITE Mary Rose is in the process of setting up our MBC website. Is there someone among our choristers who is experienced in this work? Mary Rose would be interested in speaking with such a person.

PUBLICITY Another area which needs an experienced operator. Do we have a chorister, or friend of a chorister, who could ably help out with publicising our performance?

SPONSORSHIP Do you know of any small company who might be interested in sponsoring part of our costs? Perhaps your workplace might be prepared to donate money to cover something like printing costs for advertising flyers, or payment for a soloist. The amount need not be large. Any donations will be gratefully received – and acknowledged in our program.

Is there anyone who lives in the Port Phillip area? The Port Phillip Council gives ‘Small Poppy Funding’ to worthy causes in its community. Perhaps we may be able to access some money via you because All Saints’ church where we'll be performing is in the city of Port Phillip and the council will only accept requests for funding from members of its community.

REHEARSAL CDs  If anyone has a rehearsal CD from 2006 could they please give it to Rick on Sunday?

COMMITTEE MEMBERS  Ros Smith, Rick Prakhoff, Mary Rose Morgan, Sid Bloch, Maxwell Ketels, Alma Ross, Joan Scott.
 
 
  Site Map