2014 President's Message

President’s Message

Warm winter greetings to all! The holiday season is upon us once again! It's a good thing all our major chapter events are finished for this calendar year, since we'll all soon be swept up in the swirl of holiday concerts, rehearsals, performances, parties, family get-togethers, and other festivities.  We'll be ending this year of 2013 with several more successful workshops and fundraisers under our collective belt, and a healthy bank account ready and able to fund next year's upcoming chapter events!

 We all deserve to bask in the glow of the recent and wonderful "Libiamo! A Toast to Song!"  Our profit margin this year was one of our highest, and we'll be more than pleased to spread it around to our talented student singer-winners this coming February at the 
scholarship auditions.

The board is hoping to have an excellent turnout for the general meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon, January 12th.   Please reserve that afternoon in your appointment calendar!  We have much to plan and discuss, including details relating to the scholarship auditions and the spring workshop.

 I hope you've been able to easily go online at www.nats.org to renew your national and chapter dues for the new year.  We very much want all our previous members to continue with us, and we look forward to welcoming some new faces as well!  Now enjoy reading the rest of the newsletter, and please let us know your fresh ideas and feedback for our chapter's continued growth!

 Wishing you a lovely holiday season,

Vaida Falconbridge
Chapter President

General News

 Libiamo a Big Success!

Libiamo, our Scholarship Auditions fundraiser, was a big success, bringing in $1605 to support the scholarships. It was held at the Fountaingrove Golf and Athletic Club once again, and though ticket sales were unfortunately down a bit, we had a fabulous auction, organized by Sandy Riccardi, that netted $936! Many of us participated in one way or another: singing, organizing, donating to the auction, donating a ticket, donating wine. It’s so important that everyone help so that our scholarship auditions are well funded! And those of us who were there had a very fun time building camaraderie through song!

Calendar
Sunday Jan. 12: General Meeting 2:30-4 p.m. (Board meets at 1) at home of Mary Beard. Please come!
Saturday Feb. 8: Scholarship Audi tions, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Ives Hall, SSU
Sunday Feb. 23: Winners’ Recital 5:30 p.m., Ives Hall, SSU
Spring Workshop TBA

                                                                                  Wesley Balk Workshop

In September, chapter member Bonnie Brooks gave a well-attended workshop on vocal expression, using Wesley Balk’s methods. For this workshop, she worked mostly with gesture and had the entire group up singing in a wondrous cacophony while we gestured according to her directions, using different body and hand motions. After a short intermission, 6 students each sang a song. They then re-sang their song while mirroring the arbitrary motions of one of the other singers. All of the singers found it silly at times yet profound and very freeing. They all took a risk and it made a marked change in their voices and expression.
They felt the gestures were someone else’s -- they just mirrored them -- and so if they were silly “it wasn't their fault.” Several said they couldn’t concentrate on “technique” or doing it “right” which made them feel free and fully able to enjoy singing their song.

 Scholarship Auditions

The Scholarship Auditions for 2014 will be on Saturday February 8 in Ives Hall at Sonoma State University. 
Application forms are enclosed with the newsletter or on this website under events. Please note deadlines! College students who won’t be back until late January may want to fill them out before they leave for Winter Break. Please note that, due to scheduling difficulties at SSU, the Winners’ Recital is on a Sunday, Feb. 23, at our usual time of 5:30 p.m.

 NATS December Newsletter Page 2 December 2013

 Member News

From the Studios Napa. On Sat., Feb. 15th, she will perform a Valentine’s Show with GingerJazz, which includes John Simon on Piano and Cliff Hugo on bass, at the Redwood Cafe in Cotati from 7:30-9:30; cost $10.  And on Sat., May 3rd, she will perform with GingerJazz at the Sebastopol Center 

For The Arts from 7:30-9:30; cost $20.

Bonnie will give her Wesley Balk Methods Class at her home studio on Sat. Jan. 11th from 1-4, cost $35. It is open to any and all students.

Mary Beard’s student, Chris Hohmann, is performing the role of Jean Valjean in the current production of Les Miserables at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Three years ago he was the 1st place winner in the high school division of our chapter’s Scholarship Auditions. 

Susan Witt-Butler recently returned from performing in Perugia, Italy with the tour group Castles and Concerts. Her student Sadie Sontagg, in addition to her performances with Vespertine Orchestra,  performed as part of the solo quartet in Mozart "Requiem" at Weill Hall, GMC. She also performed, as a previous winner, an original song in our fundraiser Libiamo.

Simone Lyne Comtois’ previous student Brittany Law, 1st prize winner of her category in last February's Scholarship Auditions of the Redwood Empire Chapter, is performing the role of Eponine in the November/December production of Les Miserables with the Santa Rosa Junior College. 

 Bonnie Brooks will perform with John Simon (piano) on Friday, Dec. 27th at The French Garden Restaurant in Sebastopol in the Bistro from 7-10, free. Friday, Jan. 3rd, she will sing in “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” at 8 p.m. at the Jarvis Conservatory.