Looking Forward to Next Year

The Evanston Civic Chorus completed the fall session a couple of weeks ago with a Christmas party gig.  On Monday, December 13, 2010 we provided some entertainment for the Senior Circle party at the Legal Tender restaurant.  We figured we'd be limited to just the a cappella tunes from our Christmas program.  But with a little bit of detective work, Kirk discovered an old piano buried in a corner behind a pile of chairs.  It was just the perfect instrument for the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick."

This was the lineup:

• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
• Bradshaw's Carol, Round, and Alleluia
• Born on a New Day
• Little Saint Nick
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing
• Joy to the World

The audience was very appreciative, and I believe our tribute to the Beach Boys might have been the favorite. 

After a successful year, which included several concerts and participation in many community events, the Chorus looks forward to the new year.  The spring session will start on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the EHS choir room.

How about a New Year's resolution that's easy to keep - singing with the Evanston Civic Chorus!

by Sara

Christmas Carol Poll Results

Seventeen votes were cast in our Favorite Christmas Carol Poll, and we have a clear winner.  "Angels We Have Heard on High" received 4 votes.  We have a three-way tie for second place.  "Joy to the World," "Silent Night" and "What Child Is This?" each received 2 votes.  Seven others each received a vote, and a few received none.  I can't figure out why no one voted for "The Boars Head Carol." 

Thanks to everyone who participated.  Have a very Merry Christmas and sing lots of Christmas carols!

by Sara

A Great Christmas Program on Sunday, December 12, 2010

More Photos

What a fun Christmas program we had on Sunday, December 12, 2010 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church!  Suzanne was the narrator, the Chorus sang a few songs, and there were several duets by members of the Chorus.  The acoustics were great, the audience was appreciative, and it was really fun to eat refreshments and mingle with the crowd afterward.  This was the program, with readings inserted throughout:  

Do You Hear What I Hear (video playlist)

• Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Bradshaw's Carol, Round, and Alleluia
• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
• Still a Bach Christmas - Beverly and Deb
• O Holy Night - Beverly and Deb
• He Shall Feed His Flock/Come Unto Him - Rebekah and Clarissa
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Sara and Beverly
• Born On a New Day
• Little St. Nick

Thanks to St. Paul's for letting us perform at the church, to Rebecca and Joseph for taking video and photos, and to the Evanston Study Club for providing the refreshments.

by Sara

ECO Presents Handel's Messiah - December 19th

The Evanston Civic Orchestra is presenting Handel's Messiah this coming Sunday, December 19th at 6:00 p.m. at Davis Middle School.  Several of our Civic Chorus singers are also part of the Messiah Choir.

The program includes favorite choruses, such as "For Unto Us a Child is Born" and "Hallelujah."  The soprano aria, "Rejoice, Greatly" is my favorite solo, and I'm glad it is included this year. 

The concert is free, and there will be a reception afterward.

Messiah is always the highlight of my Christmas.  I hope you'll come make it a part of yours.

by Sara

I love singing with the Evanston Civic Chorus. It is one thing my 16 year old son do together and have a wonderful time singing Bass together. What fun. I love it.

by John

ECC Christmas Carols Downtown - Dec. 2, 2010

More Photos

Last Thursday, members of the Chorus gathered to sing Christmas carols during the Downtown Merchants Open House and Parade of Lights.  Thanks to the businesses for letting us step inside and share our music!

Part of the fun in this annual activity of the Chorus is that it is for family and friends too.  And passersby are always welcome to join us!

Weatherwise, we were lucky; the warm spell came just in time.  It was nice not to concern ourselves too much with frozen ears and fingers as we have in years past.

I've always loved Christmas caroling, and am glad the Evanston Civic Chorus has made this an annual tradition.  It's hard to pick a favorite carol, but I think I'll have to go with "Angels We Have Heard on High."  What is your favorite?  Cast your vote in our new poll on our website.

by Sara

Favorite Christmas Carol Poll

What's your favorite Christmas Carol?  Take our new poll and see how many people have the same favorite as you!  The poll closes at noon on Christmas Eve.

You'll find the poll on the left sidebar of our website.

by Sara

Christmas Concert Soon!

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

We are excited to announce that our Christmas concert is about a week away.  Two years ago we held the concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  It was well attended and the acoustics were great.  So we're going to be at St. Paul's again this year (949 Sage St.)

So mark your calendars for Sunday, December 12th at 7:00 p.m.  The Chorus will be singing several songs, including a really cool a cappella arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and a Chorus favorite, "Do You Hear What I Hear."  In addition, there will be several vocal solos, duets, and a piano duet by Chorus members.

Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided by the Evanston Study Club following the concert.  Bring your families!

by Sara

Fall Concert - Save the Last Dance For Me - Oct. 13, 2010

More Photos

In October, the Evanston Civic Chorus sang to an enthusiastic audience during their fall concert, Save the Last Dance For Me.  The songs ranged in style from a tender lullaby to an upbeat pop song, and the audience loved it all.  We did too.  My favorite was "Hushabye Mountain" because it is so beautiful and fun to play.  I hope we do it again some time.  View Video Part 1

The Program: 

• Hushabye Mountain (from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
• Soft Shoe Song
• Cool Water
• Don't Fence Me In
• I Dreamed a Dream (from Les Miserables)
• Save the Last Dance For Me

For about two seconds we thought we might get to see Kirk and Suzanne do "the old soft shoe."  I guess we're stuck waiting 'til another time...

Thanks to St. Paul's Episcopal Church for letting us perform in Parish Hall, and to Chris C. for taking pictures and video, and to Kirsten M. and Joseph M. for taking pictures too.  Thanks to everyone who brought treats!  View Video Part 2

by Sara

The Performance Has Arrived!

We've already made it to our first performance! We've got a great set of tunes to share with our family, friends, and community. Here are the details of the concert:

Wednesday, October 13, 7:00 pm
St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Parish Hall)
949 Sage St, just above downtown Evanston

Singers, please bring a treat to share for the social after!

Song Order:

1) Hushabye Mountain

2) Soft Shoe Song

3) Cool Water

4) Don't Fence Me In

5) I Dreamed A Dream

6) Save the Last Dance for Me

I can't wait! Only one more rehearsal left...make sure you're there next week!

by Kirk

From Ireland's Shores - Civic Orchestra Concert

Our friends in the Evanston Civic Orchestra will present their fall concert, From Ireland's Shores, on Thursday, September 30th at 7:00 p.m. in the Davis Middle School auditorium.  Joining the orchestra for this exciting Irish music event are two local groups, Celtic Mist and the Evanston Irish Session Ensemble.

The orchestra is directed by Stephen Fairbanks.  View pictures of the orchestra at last December's Christmas Gala.

Admission is free and the orchestra is sponsoring a reception following the concert.

by Sara

The ECC is now on Facebook

Kirk has put the Evanston Civic Chorus on Facebook, and he will maintain that angle of our web presence.  Here is the link:
ECC ON FACEBOOK

Overnight the ECC gained many new friends.  Will you be the next?

-by Sara

Summer 2010 Website Update

Despite a hectic summer schedule, I've improved the ECC website in several ways and added some new information.

• Check out The Music Director, About the Chorus, and Scrapbook pages.
• We have a new logo, designed by Jay White from the B.O.C.E.S. Education Center.
• And I finally figured out how people can subscribe to Posts by e-mail using Feedburner. Cool, huh?

by Sara

Fresh Air, Freedom and Fun - July 3, 2010

Recently the Civic Chorus sang at the annual Fresh Air, Freedom and Fun Festival at Hamblin Park. These are the songs we sang:

• The Star-Spangled Banner
• In Pride of May
• Let Me Call You Sweetheart
• You Are the New Day
• Wyoming
• God Bless America

It was a little breezy and we were worried about being heard. Kirk gathered us on the lawn right in front of the audience. Apparently they could hear, and liked what they heard, since there were more of them when we ended than when we started. More Photos

In preparation for this event, after not singing together for over a month, we had a rehearsal and ice cream social on Sara's front lawn the evening before. Thanks go to her husband Glen, who made the homemade ice cream waffle cones. Yum Yum!

ECC Booth at Celtic Festival - June 18-19, 2010

Last week the Evanston Civic Chorus shared a booth with the Evanston Civic Orchestra at the Celtic Festival.  For the occasion we had a brochure made with pictures and information about the Chorus.  Thanks to Jay at the Education Center for his help with that.  Visitors could browse through the ECC scrapbook and sign up for our e-mail list.  We had a digital photo display of highlights from our 3 1/2 year history.  Several people made donations for the expansion of our music library.  And of course we had candy!  It was fun chatting with visitors to the festival and letting them know what a great thing the Evanston Civic Chorus is in our community.

Thanks to the Evanston Civic Orchestra for our banner and for letting us share a booth with them.  Thanks to Clarissa C., who gave several hours of time to Young Musicians so we didn't have to pay for the booth.  Thanks to Sharyl K., John H., Sara M., and Becca M. for donating time to the booth.

MORE PHOTOS                                       by Sara

Memorial Day - May 31, 2010

As it has for the past 2 years, the Evanston Civic Chorus sang at the Memorial Day Community Observance. However, instead of taking place at the County Complex, it was held in the Roundhouse so a larger audience could participate. And it was a pretty good crowd.

In addition to some a cappella prelude music which we pulled from our recent May Concert, we sang our traditional Memorial Day set:

• The Star-Spangled Banner
• Salute to the Armed Forces
• God Bless America

More Pictures

Two years ago the ceremony was planned for outside the County Complex, but at the last minute it was moved inside because of rain. There wasn't a convenient place for the Chorus to stand by the makeshift stage, so we sang up in the balcony. Apparently there were good reviews, so the next year they scheduled us for the balcony again. This year there wasn't a very convenient balcony in the Roundhouse, so they put us on the staircase. Let's just say it was an interesting experience. It was difficult for one end of the Chorus to hear the other end. And visually, it looked a little odd. But we had a good showing, and we sounded great. We'll see where they put us next year.

by Sara

Grand Night for Singing - May 20, 2010

The Civic Chorus recently had "A Grand Night For Singing" as they performed their spring concert on May 20th.  The chorus opened the concert with three verses of the "Star-Spangled Banner."  Many audience members had never heard more than the first verse, making it a unique beginning to an eclectic concert featuring several solos/duets in addition to the chorus songs.

This was the program:

• Star-Spangled Banner (3 verses)
• How Can I Keep From Singing?
• In Pride of May
• Stormy Weather (vocal solo, Nelle Taggart)
• First Arabesque (piano solo, Sara Maisey)
• Shenandoah
• Let Me Call You Sweetheart
• It's a Grand Night For Singing
• Edelweiss (vocal solo, Christine Hinckley)
• Dream a Little Dream of Me (vocal solo, Kirk Young)
• Pineapple Rag (piano duet, Sara Maisey and Nelle Taggart)
• You Are the New Day
• Wyoming

For the first time, the chorus performed in the Evanston High School choir room.  It turned out to be the right size for our audience.  With the mirrors at the front of the room it made for some interesting videos and photos as the audience appears to be behind the performers!  For the piano performances it was fun to watch the hands in the reflection.

by Sara

Spring Concert Date Set

A date has been set for our spring concert.

Thursday, May 20, 2010
7:00 p.m.
EHS Choir Room

The Chorus will sing songs of spring. Members of the Chorus will also perform as soloists and in small ensembles.

Bring your family and friends. Refreshments will be served!

Valentine's Concert at Senior Center a Success

We enjoyed performing recently at the Senior Center Valentine's dinner. We didn't have a lot of time to prepare, so we pulled out a few of our old favorites. This was the lineup:

• Unchained Melody
• Let Me Call You Sweetheart
• You Made Me Love You
• Roses I Send to You
• Memories
  

The audience was very enthusiastic. My favorite part of the concert was when they asked us for more. Next time we'll have an encore ready. View pictures
Click on image to enlarge