How We Work…

…..and why we do it this way

If you’re new to Kids of Note or thinking of joining, you may want to know what to expect from our rehearsals and concerts. Even if you’ve been around for awhile, you may wonder why we do some things the way we do. Here are some answers:

We perform one Christmas and one Spring concert per school year. These are our main events and they take place at Grosvenor Park United Church in Saskatoon.

While there are terrific social benefits in belonging to Kids of Note, the choir functions at its best when the members join because they love to sing. Kids of Note exists to give children and youth an opportunity to develop their talents as singers and performers. We aren’t providing a therapeutic service; we’re giving natural-born performers a chance to communicate through the arts.

Home Practice

Expectations

in as few as 12 one-hour rehearsals and one dress rehearsal, Kids of Note strive to present as polished a concert as possible; this can’t be accomplished without some practice at home
choristers should treat home rehearsal as they would piano lessons, with a reasonable number of daily practice sessions between “lessons”
choristers must keep all their lyrics and CDs organized in a binder
the sooner songs are memorized, the sooner we can start having fun “interpreting” them

CDs and lyrics

to facilitate home rehearsal, choristers receive CDs and lyric sheets
a CD with about half the songs is provided at the third or fourth rehearsal, and another with all the songs is provided two or three weeks later
by providing two CDs per concert it’s hoped that singers won’t be overwhelmed by the number of songs; the two CD approach also allows for adjustments to some of the recorded songs on the second CD and provides more time to assess new choristers, and who should sing what and when
often there are two versions of each song on the CD, one slower and one uptempo
sometimes there are parts provided on the CDs for rounds, harmonies, solos, special arrangements, etc.

Each Wednesday rehearsal typically includes:

4:50 pm: Solos

a voluntary opportunity for three or four members to share a one-minute solo
choristers challenge themselves with these solos, and the director gets to hear how they’re improving over time
they build confidence as they’re cheered on by the rest of the group

5:00 pm: Circle time

a few minutes to get to know one another better
a chance to share choir information or ideas about better singing and performing

5:05 pm: Warm-up

to prepare our voices and centre ourselves
to have fun with vocalizing

5:15: Song review

four to six concert songs are practised, including occasional solos, duets, and trios
the director attempts to “surprise” the singers with new songs for the first few weeks
choristers are encouraged to begin learning songs during the rehearsal without lyric sheets, using a call and response approach; for those who don’t read as well as others, this is one way of making the experience equitable
we often use actions while we’re learning a song to help us remember words
the director sometimes uses these actions later to remind performers of what is coming next in the song

Breaks

we aim to take two very short breaks for water and socializing

Special Wednesday rehearsals:

First half run-through

this occurs on the second to last Wednesday rehearsal before the concert
everyone must attend
choristers use the sound system
they practise their entrance, staging, mic moves, etc.
The Notations are included
stage managers (usually four parent volunteers) receive scripts to help them move mics and props on and off stage
sometimes guest musicians rehearse as well

Second half run-through

this occurs on the last Wednesday rehearsal before the concert
everyone must attend
sound system is used
performers practise staging, mic moves, final bows and exit
The Notations are included
stage managers rehearse as above
sometimes guest musicians rehearse as well

Other special rehearsals:

Small group rehearsals

this is voluntary
usually takes place on a Saturday with small groups of choristers coming for one hour each
it’s an opportunity for the director to see how the individual singers are doing with lyrics and melodies and receive extra help
a time for the director and pianist to work out details of the song arrangements

Full show run-through

(sometimes erroneously called the Dress Rehearsal, though no one has to dress up)

takes place the day before the concert, in the morning
everyone must attend
choristers use the sound system and rehearse with the full band
The Notations are included
can take up to two hours even though the show runs just over an hour

Christmas and Spring Concerts:

The show

is the culmination of everything the choristers have learned in the previous weeks
usually an hour long
if funding allows we hire guest musicians
the church is usually full, and often packed, especially for the Christmas show
choristers arrive 45-60 minutes before showtime to warm-up and receive last notes
tickets are usually $15 - $20 and available online at EventBrite; we always aim to sell out in advance so that we don’t have to sell at the door

Additional performances:

Outreach Concerts

usually occur twice in the Spring
we poll families in advance to ensure we will have enough choristers available
are about half an hour in length, with a run-through rehearsal starting about 75 minutes before showtime
are provided as a service to the community, though an honorarium is requested to cover expenses
provide a new challenge for the choristers as they present a part of their longer concert in an unfamiliar venue
help to build our audience, increase the visibility of Kids of Note for fundraising purposes and raise the profile of an integrated model for community living
for further information please see Outreach

For Grosvenor Park United Church

as a thank you to the congregation for their terrific support we sing at one church event
GPUC provides our rehearsal / concert / meeting / storage spaces for extremely low rent and we have never been turned down for the bookings we need; we have access to all their sound equipment and musical instruments… we could go on…
families are polled to ensure we have adequate numbers for the chosen event