Belle a Cappella Choir
Waimea College, Nelson, New ZealandCallback Auditions Tuesday 10 Nov 12.25 in M1
Congratulations to the following auditionees who are called back for a group audition on Tuesday 10 November at 12.25 in M1.
You all need to learn a new piece which you can pick up from Mrs. Sullivan or DOWNLOAD below:
“If my complaints could passions move”–John Dowland
You can also LISTEN to the piece
*Ladies– learn BOTH soprano and alto lines please
You must arrive knowing this piece as we will immediately split into groups and begin singing. (Warming up at interval is also a good idea.)
Everyone who auditioned needs to see Mrs. Sullivan for their feedback sheet (whether called back or not) and all who are welcome to join Camerata choir next year.
See you Tuesday!
Olivia Marshall
Melissa Harding *pending Monday audition
Divina Harris
Rebekah Hennessy
Stuart Baynes
Louise Bright
Morgana Smith
Katie Prokop
George Hopton
Erin Smaill
Erin Taylor
Hanneke Van Oeveren
Michelle Hecker
Alex Sandilands
Alec Fitzgerald
Michael Allsopp *pending Monday audition
Laura Bruce
Rebecca Bruning
Bryn duFresne-Mann
Sam Kennedy
Anne Rijnink
Floyd Thomas
Bridget Field
Jane Daubney
James Vanner
Zantana Kohu
Auditions for Bella 2010
Anyone at Waimea College can audition to join Belle a Cappella, our top chamber choir.
Before you audition, it is important to consider the following:
- It is a full-year commitment
- Bella performs often
- Missing rehearsals is not tolerated
- Weekly voice lessons are mandatory
- Bella usually rehearses 3 hours per week
- Bella will be a priority in your school life
Bella did not become a national award-winning choir easily. Bella members are not only talented and skilled, but dedicated and driven. They want to be the best they can be and they devote every second of rehearsal time to bettering their own sound and the sound of the group.
Still interested?
See Mrs. Sullivan to sign up for an audition time on Tuesday of Week 4. You will audition with Mr. Burcin and a Year 13 Bella member. You may bring a friend for support if you wish.
During the audition you will be tested on:
- range
- agility
- pitch accuracy
- tone quality
- general musicality
- sight-singing
- your own piece
For “your own piece”, choose a simple song that you know well. The national anthem is perfect, or perhaps a folk song. A pop song is usually not appropriate. Talk to Mr. Burcin if you are unsure.
You may then be invited to attend the Call Back Audition on Tuesday 10 Nov (Week 5) at 12.25 in M1.
Bella Camp 2010 (Tues 26- Thurs 28 Jan @ Teapot Valley) is compulsory if you are accepted into Bella.
Tutti CD
It’s not too late to rock on up to the Waimea College Finance Centre with $10 for your souvenir CD of the Tutti Concert.
Professionally recorded live at the Nelson School of Music 23 August 2009, and featuring Belle a Cappella & Camerata Choirs, Wellington College Chorale and the combined Waimea College and Greenhill Orchestras, this is a great memory of a great musical experience.
Come into the Waimea College Finance Centre (open over the holidays) or you can contact us for mail order (add $2). Get your CD before they run out!
The Last Tour Report: Lunchtime Concert, Workshop with Karen Grylls
Because Bella was not competing in the Finale this year, we had the chance to watch most of the sessions and then discuss things– music we liked, colours of sound we wanted to emulate and even uniform ideas. It was great professional development for students and staff alike.
But we did more than just observe. Thanks to our friend, Sara Brown from Logan Park High School, we were invited to participate in the Lunchtime Concert series. Usually, only participating Big Sing Finale choirs perform in these free concerts around the city, but as Bella just happened to be in town– fresh from a concert tour– we were asked to sing.
Bella sang at the beautiful Knox Church on George St on Friday alongside two wonderful Finale choirs: Bellissimo (Whangaparoa College) and The Fundamentals (Rangitoto College).
Perhaps the greatest of the many highlights of the tour was having Karen Grylls (Director of the NZ Youth Choir and Voices NZ Chamber Choir) use Bella as a demonstration choir for the “Conductor’s Toolkit” Workshop on Sunday.
Karen worked mainly with Bella for the first half of the workshop, demonstrating to the other conductors her tips on “What makes a good sound?” Unfortunately, Bella had to dash off to the airport but Karen was able to continue working her magic with the other demo choir, the Fundamentals. We are so grateful to have had the chance to work with Karen again. A great way to end the tour.
Speaking of being grateful, Bella would like to offer huge thanks to the staff / parent helpers who attended Bella’s (and Burcin’s) every need on the tour: Paul & Annette Nistor, Terri Hopton (Bella Coordinator) and Trish Sullivan (Arts Coodinator–who didn’t come on the tour but planned the whole thing beautifully)
Look for Bella at The Big Sing Finale 2010 in Auckland– we’ll be there!
The Next Report: The Big Sing Finale Begins
Picking up from the last report . . . We arrived in Dunedin around 2pm, checked into our luxurious accommodation (*cough*) and set out immediately for a rehearsal. Logan Park High School was kind enough to offer us some rehearsal space, so we trekked across town and used their lovely music room.
A short walk through the Botanical Gardens took us to Filadelphio’s– a great pizza place. As it was the last dinner out Bella would have, it was our opportunity to farewell Ben who is off to Hong Kong in a couple weeks.
We had sung Ben a farewell song, “Now, O Now I Needs Must Part”, so we were in a singing mood. We broke up our long walk back to the hostel with regular singing stops along George St.
Thursday morning we headed off to the Opening Ceremony of the Big Sing Finale. We felt very welcome: we were given bags full of goodies and a programme, as well as allocated seating that would be ours for the duration of the festival.
We couldn’t stay for the first session because we were expected back at Logan Park for a workshop with their choir which was followed by a performance for selected music students and the choir in their auditorium. Strangely enough, the weather was so lovely that we were sweltering hot by the end of our show. That’s Dunedin for you!
A special thanks for Sara Brown and John Dodd of Logan Park for inviting into their school.
Another long walk was in order and eventually we arrived back at the Big Sing to take in a couple of sessions of great choral singing.
We owe Sara another vote of thanks, actually, for a surprise performance opportunity. More about that in the next update . . .
