Community Christmas Gala 2013 a Great Success!

"We Need a Little Christmas"

Our recent Christmas Gala was a huge success.  I have only heard great comments about it.  People never felt anxious about the time even though it was close to an hour and a half in length.  We had a great variety of performances from the Evanston Civic Chorus, the Evanston Civic Orchestra, the Evanston Handbell Choir and other small instrumental and vocal ensembles. 

Evanston Handbell Choir

"Silent Night"

Check out the VIDEOS taken by Allen and the PICTURES taken by Glen

by Sara

Messiah 2012 - A Great Experience

Messiah 2012

Our recent performance of Handel's Messiah was a great experience for all involved.  We enjoyed our collaboration with the Evanston Civic Orchestra, the soloists were wonderful, and the audience was very appreciative. 

Thanks to Allen for taking photos and video.

by Sara

Under the Lights of Broadway - March 27, 2012

On March 27, the Civic Chorus performed a variety of musical theater songs in their spring concert, Under the Lights of Broadway.  This was the program:

• Hello, Dolly!
• Any Dream Will Do
• Little Shop of Horrors
• All I Ask of You - Deb and Drew
• I Could Have Danced All Night - Clarissa
• The Song That Goes Like This - Aimee and Kirk
• They Call the Wind Maria
• Get Me to the Church on Time

At the end of "The Song That Goes Like This" I saw my life flash before my eyes when Kirk broke the goblet on the piano and the glass came flying.  Luckily it just missed. 

Kirk & Aimee - "The Song that Goes Like This"

Songs from musical theater are always a favorite, with the Chorus and the audience.  I really liked "They Call the Wind Maria."  Check out the video playlist and see what you think.

by Sara

Christmas Gala 2011 a Big Hit!

Jonathan Lange - Stille Nacht

St. Paul's Episcopal Church Choir

I keep hearing great compliments about the Community Christmas Gala that we hosted on Sunday, December 18th.  We had a great crowd, and though there were eighteen songs performed, I never felt as though the audience was getting restless.  The applause after every song was genuine and enthusiastic.  The stage setup really helped the concert flow very smoothly and it lasted well under an hour and a half.

Snowy Mountain Brass

We had a nice variety of songs and groups at the concert.  Our ECC feature, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" was fun and unexpected.  Pastor Robert Douglas, from the Aspen Grove SBC Church, livened it up a bit with his solo "Mary, Did You Know," and the audience participation when they sang "Go Tell It on the Mountain" was a great idea.  Jonathan Lange sang the beautiful "Stille Nacht" in the original German, and the Snowy Mountain Brass quartet gave us a nice medley of traditional Christmas songs.  The LDS 7th Ward Choir was one of several choral groups, and there were also several vocal solos and duets.  Take a look at videos and photos of the concert to see all the groups involved. 

"O Holy Night"

The grand finale of the concert was the beautiful, "O Holy Night," performed by the combined choirs and the orchestra.  It really came together very well, and several people told me that was their favorite song of the concert.  Several church choral groups joined with the Civic Chorus for the performance, and the energy and sound from this large group was exhilarating for those on stage as well as in the audience.  ECC Director, Kirk Young, directed the performance.  He says he had the best "seat" in the house.  The Civic Orchestra did an excellent job, and it was a treat for the choirs to sing with them.  Thanks to Stephen Fairbanks for rehearsing them.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this concert possible and for all the musicians who performed.  This was truly a great community event.

by Sara

A Fun Fall Concert at the Library - Oct. 29, 2011

Evanston Civic Chorus

We had our fall concert on Saturday, October 29th.  This was our second concert in the Uinta County Library, and unlike last time, I didn't feel strange at all making noise in the library.  I mean making music in the library.

Chamber Choir

We had a small but very appreciative audience for our short but very fun concert.  This was the debut of the newly formed Chamber Choir, a subgroup of the Chorus.  The Chorus and Chamber Choir each performed three songs.  This was the program:
Civic Chorus

• Sing Out This Triumphant Day
• Lift Me Up
• Everything

Chamber Choir

• Were You There?
• In the Valley Below
• O Vos Omnes

Thanks to Glen for taking video and pictures of the concert. 

by Sara

In the Good Old Summertime - June 20, 2011

(Click to enlarge photos)

Our summer concert this year was sponsored by the Evanston Recreation Department as one of their Monday evening performances at the Bear Tales Fire Circle.  This was our first time performing there, and it turned out to be quite fun.

The weather had turned very chilly leading up to the day of the concert, and the Bear River was running really high.  But when concert time arrived, the fire circle wasn't flooded, the temperature had risen a few degrees, and with the sun shining on us, it was a lot more comfortable than we had imagined it would be.  Still, when you look at the pictures it doesn't exactly look like a summer concert by the way some people were bundled up.

Amanda, Sara, David, Kirk

This was an all a cappella concert, which featured a variety of music including a barbershop tune, madrigals, a spiritual and a couple of patriotic songs.  Amanda, Sara, David and Kirk also sang several songs in a quartet.  This was the program:

In the Good Old Summertime

• In the Good Old Summertime
• You Are the New Day
• Let Me Fly
• Yesterday (quartet)
• Prayer of the Children (quartet)
• Adieu Sweet Amarillis
• O Eyes of My Beloved
• They Were You (quartet)
• Swingle Song (quartet)
• America the Beautiful
• Wyoming

Refreshments were provided by the Rec. Department.  Thanks to Christine and Loretta for taking pictures and for Shayna for getting us into the newspaper.  Thanks also to Glen for taking the video.

by Sara

On Broadway - A Great Concert! - April 13, 2011

What a fun concert we had recently!  We performed in the choir room at the High School, and it was packed.  The audience was very enthusiastic about the program.  The Chorus sang a few tunes from musical theater, and soloists from the Chorus performed.  They were really fun to listen to - and watch.  Check out video from the concert on this PLAYLIST.  Thanks to Glen for taking the video.  It's kind of neat the cool things he did with the mirror.  In some shots you can see the accompanist in the background behind the soloist.

Thanks to Jay for taking pictures for us.  And thanks to Deborah from the Uinta County Herald.  She wrote a great review for the paper.

The refreshments were great.  Audience and Chorus mingled for at least an hour after the concert, despite the warm temperature in the room!

The Chorus resumes rehearsal this Wednesday, April 27th at 7:00 in the choir room.  New members are welcome.  We'll be working on patriotic songs, as well as some other tunes, including a couple of madrigals and a spiritual.  So far we have 3 summer performances lined up.

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

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

May Concert - "Songs for Spring"

View more photos

The ECC presented a concert titled "Songs for Spring" last Thursday, May 1st, at the Beeman-Cashin building on Front St. While the evening grew colder outside and the snow flurried, indoors the choir was optimistic that spring would eventually come. We sang songs of love and nymphs, green grass, and flowers. View Video

The choir put in a lot of time and hard work to prepare the music for this concert. We opened with three difficult madrigals. As Kirk put it to the audience during the concert, "Those were three songs that a community choir has no business trying to sing." "Memories" and "Roses I Send To You" are just plain beautiful, and I suspect they will become favorites of the chorus. "Hard Times, Come Again No More" is sure to be a favorite a cappella song. The audience seemed very enthusiastic when we sang "Unchained Melody" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart."

by Sara