Ben at Make Music Day
It’s been more than a month since our spring concert. Looking back, we’re still extremely impressed by the amount of people that came out to support us once again. Thank you so much to those of you who were able to make it! We hope you enjoyed hearing the music as much as we enjoyed performing it.
We had a few weeks off after the concert before our most recent engagement: a performance at Melk Music’s “Make Music Day” down by the lakefront in Milwaukee. The performance was at Collectivo (Alterra) by the Lake, which meant that we were going to be singing outside for the first time ever as a group. This posed a unique set of challenges, especially considering that the following things were all happening at the same time:
- Make Music Day included tables full of musical instruments that could be played by anybody, including small children attracted to loud noises.
- The lakefront area was also hosting an arts festival and the annual air show, which meant tons of traffic and other loud noises.
- The east side was also hosting the annual Summer Soulstice festival, which made it extremely difficult to find parking.
Despite all of these challenges, we wound up having a really good time. We performed the four shape note pieces from our spring concert (“Idumea,” “Soar Away,” “Hallelujah,” “I’m Going Home”) as well some folk songs by the Wailin’ Jennys (“Parting Glass,” “One Voice”) and Great Big Sea (“River Driver”). We learned the three new pieces over the course of a couple rehearsals we had to brush up, and they wound up being favorites of ours. Perhaps they’ll make an appearance on one of our fall engagements…
Speaking of concerts, no word yet on Fall dates, but we will be performing with the Milwaukee Children’s Choir in October, and will have our Christmas/Advent concert in December just as we did last year. Be on the lookout for more information regarding that. And we are also pleased to say that we’ve got video recordings of our spring concert up on our website now! Visit our music page to take a listen. We posted the YouTube playlist of the concert for your convenience.
That’s all for now! We’re once again on break until we start up rehearsals in late August. However, we would like to give a plug for Greendale Community Theatre‘s production of Legally Blonde, which will happen on July 24-27, 31 and August 1-2. Visit the linked website for more information about ordering tickets. Our very own Stephanie Staszak is directing, and Chant Claire members in the cast include Tim Backes, Mike Jones, Lauren Schell and Michael Stoddard. Finally, Michael Stoddard is also the director of Ragtime with Community Theatre Works at Divine Savior Holy Angels. The production combines a cast of many talented adults (including our esteemed director, Mr. Ben Bedroske) and theatre-loving kids. You won’t want to miss it!
Check out those productions, and we’ll see you over the summer!