July 28, 2026

Tonight’s recap

  • Star-Spangled Banner – Chad changed the end for everyone but the tenors. Ask someone from your part what they are, or be at rehearsal next week
  • Hallelujah – In chorus 3, keep the consonants open. For example, measure 31: I did my beh—stit wasn’t mu—chI couldn’t. 
  • Armed Forces Medley – review the tag.

Songs for the week

  • “Star-Spangled Banner”
  • “Armed Forces Medley”
  • “I Believe”
  • “It Is Well With My Soul”
  • “An Irish Blessing”
  • “I Asked The Lord”
  • “Yes, Indeed”
  • “Operator” – Chad will bring to sing a new song

Golf Outing

  • Friday, August 28
  • 3:30 PM first tee time
  • Twin Pines Golf Course (3800 42nd St NE)
  • Cost:
    • $28 seniors
    • $31 everyone else
  • Daisy’s Garage following (5240 Edgewood Rd NE) (near Hy-Vee)
  • Sign Up NOW – send Larry Hlavacek (larry.hlavacek@gmail.com) an email or sign up at rehearsals

Upcoming Events

  • Sing for St. Paul’s, Sunday, Aug. 16, 9 a.m. service; call time 8:15 music center. Dress: blue polos, black pants, etc.
  • Honor Flight Orientations, Sunday, Aug. 23, 12 and 3 p.m. at The Hotel at Kirkwood; Dress: Red shirts, white ties, black pants, etc.
  • Golf Outing, Friday, Aug. 28, Twin Pines Golf Course, 3:30 with dinner following.
  • Friday, November 6 – Gospel Concert
  • Family Picnic – TBD (looking at February)

Weekly Update for July 21

Another good rehearsal tonight

Your work between rehearsals is paying off. We are closer to having the OTM selections (Hallelujah” and “In My Room”) memorized than you may think. Continue to work on them and trust your memory on the first run-through. Chad will direct us back to the scores as needed,

Worth repeating:

Planned breaths – mark them in your music, take them, own them. Know where to breathe and where not to breathe. There will be other places in the music you need to take breaths, staggering with others in your section.

Dynamics – we have developed plans for using the volume of our singing to add interest. Again, mark these places and observe them. Closely related point: know when your section has the melody and when it doesn’t. You should be able to hear when you hand off the melody to a different section.

Voice placement: Keep the sound focused above the eyes. Basses, this is especially true for when you have the melody.

Review from tonight:

  • “An Irish Blessing” is pretty good but most of us make the same mistake: just before measure 11 is an all chorus pickup – that’s the only time it occurs when it’s not a lead pickup. We all sing. Review this.
  • “In My Room” – review the word changes.
  • “Hallelujah” – last page of the final chorus to the end.

Songs for Next Week:

  • “National Anthem”
  • “Armed Forces Medley”
  • “In My Room”
  • “Hallelujah”
  • “I Asked the Lord”
  • “I Believe”
  • “An Irish Blessing”

Gospel Concert Committee is forming

Please contact Gary Lindsay if you are willing to serve on the committee to plan this wonderful event.

Upcoming Events

  • Sing for St. Paul’s, Sunday, Aug. 16, 9 a.m. service; call time 8:15 music center. Dress: blue polos, black pants, etc.
  • Honor Flight Orientations, Sunday, Aug. 23, 12 and 3 p.m. at the Hotel at Kirkwood; Dress: Red shirts, white ties, black pants, etc.
  • Golf Outing, Friday, Aug. 28, Twin Pines Golf Course, 3:30 with dinner following.
  • Family Picnic TBD
  • Friday, November 6 – Gospel Concert

July 15, 2026

Disappointing guest night

I was personally disappointed that of the eight email invitations I sent out, only two replied that they would try to attend a rehearsal soon. None of those I sent through the mail attended or replied; that’s disappointing. So, what’s our next step in recruiting? There are only two choices as I see it – keep inviting and following up and do something new. I plan to do both things, how about you?

Tag singing fun

Chad led us on learning some new tags, and that was fun and it produced some great sounds.

Review: Same as posted last week

Planned breaths – mark them in your music, take them, own them. Know where to breathe and where not to breathe. There will be other places in the music you need to take breaths, staggering with others in your section.

Dynamics – we have developed plans for using the volume of our singing to add interest. Again, mark these places and observe them. Closely related point: know when your section has the melody and when it doesn’t. You should be able to hear when you hand off the melody to a different section.

Voice placement: Keep the sound focused above the eyes. Basses, this is especially true for when you have the melody.

We rehearsed “Follow the Flag” right after “You Raise Me Up.” Did you see the similarities between the two songs? The points above apply to both songs.

Off the Music dates:

  • “Sweet Caroline” July 7
  • “Hallelujah” July 21

Songs for July 21

  • “In My Room”
  • “Sweet Caroline” (Note and review the breath marks.) We are OTM on this.
  • “Hallelujah” (also OTM)
  • “You Raise Me Up”
  • “I Asked the Lord”
  • “An Irish Blessing”

Upcoming Events

  • Sing for St. Paul’s, Sunday, Aug. 16, 9 a.m. service; call time 8:15 music center. Dress: blue polos, black pants, etc.
  • Friday, August 28 – Golf Outing, Twin Pines Golf Course, 3:30 with dinner following
  • Family Picnic TBD
  • Friday, November 6 – Gospel Concert