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18th Jan 2009 - Super Cool Blogs
Here are some super cool blogs: Vodka Chocolates True.Illusion KuruFurudo! Dawnoholic! Remember, if you're still blogging and want to haolian, just tag and I'll do the rest. Cheers, Cliff |
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14th Jan 2009 - A Blog Revival?
Calling all Jubilate people! Remember the days when everyone blogged? I absolutely loved reading the debriefs after big events. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Having your words heard by everyone else! So I'll go first. Check me out at: kurufurudo.blogspot.com And, if you want your blog publicised, drop a tag and let me know so I can include it in our list. Cheers, Cliff |
| O Holy Night |
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Christmas Midnight: This was an impromptu arrangement of this beautiful carol, done but a day before Christmas Eve. Kudos to Aloy and Josh for being super brave to take this on, last minute. =)
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| Ding Dong Merrily On High |
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Christmas Midnight: Medley of the Year, 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' and 'Good King Wenceslas', graciously brought to you by Irene! =)
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| What Child Is This |
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Christmas Midnight: Joshua on the solo part, a haunting counter melody called...
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| O Come All Ye Faithful |
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Christmas Midnight: Very grand rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful.
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| All Man's Labour Can Produce |
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Christmas Midnight: Old skool offertory hymn, Clifford's favorite. This was supposed to be combined with another song, but there wasn't a need - wasn't as packed as it usually is during Christmas Midnight. =(
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| When A Child Is Born |
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Christmas Midnight: Yet another impromptu solo, this time, from Steffi. Irene on the emotional soliloquy, and Steffi again on the ending.
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| Hark The Herald Angels Sing |
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Christmas Midnight: Another grand rendition of this timeless classic. So nice to hear the whole congregation behind us!
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| Joy To The World |
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Christmas Midnight: Bringing Christmas Midnight 2009 to a joyous end!
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| Carolling 2009 |
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Carolling 2009: Caroling with Jubilate on 12, 13, 19 & 20 Dec 2009. Madness, but in a nice way.
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As we all know, we are a church choir. This means that we have a dual responsibility about our actions – as a CATHOLIC during mass, and as a CHORISTER during choir practice. This is a reminder of how we should be behaving. I should not have to tell you this since almost all of you are ADULTS but it appears that reminders are needed now and then. Keywords for this reminder are: RESPONSIBILITY and RESPECT. During Mass The purpose of a church choir is to lead the people in song, which is a form of prayer. We should always be mindful of our actions during mass. People are watching us. Like how we always start our prayers – let us remember that we are in the HOLY PRESENCE OF GOD. What kind of behaviour do we exhibit in God’s presence? From a more earthly angle, remember that the choir’s pews are positioned such that the ENTIRE congregation can see us. In case you haven’t noticed, the choir pews are ELEVATED, which means that even sitting down, every one of you is noticeable. During the homily especially, DO NOT do anything that makes it look like you’re not paying attention. Of course, I know that homily is occasionally torture, not unlike pulling your fingernails off with pliers. But at least PRETEND to be paying attention. This means, no sleeping, no talking, no whispering, no sms-ing, no studying under the pew. Even if you’re not afraid of lightning striking you, I am. Remember that you set an example for the rest of the congregation. As much as I hate to quote Fr Khoo – take the time as penance to gain merits. During Practice Practice is there for a purpose. Behaviour during practice is definitely not where it should be. This is a matter of RESPECT. Respect for Andrea, or Dawn, or anyone else who happens to be up there. It’s not easy to conduct a practice. Basic DISCIPLINE – when Andrea’s talking, no one else should be. When the organ starts playing, time to keep quiet and get ready to sing. Last week Daryl played the intro at least THREE TIMES before we actually started to sing. Again, NO talking, sms-ing, Facebook-ing, sleeping, studying, fooling around during practice. If you’re one of those who will literally DIE if you don’t do any of these for 1.5 hours a week, do it as long as you don’t disturb others and you’re ready when you need to be. Please don’t make us have to treat you like kids and confiscate handphones for the duration of practice. Be a RESPONSIBLE choir member. That is, prepare what you have to. Practice your parts at home so we don’t waste time going through them again and again. We only have 1.5 hours a week. That’s not much time. Say, if we waste 15 minutes every practice waiting for you to settle down, or to revise parts, in a year, that’s 13 hours wasted in total. Think about it. I think the basic rule is: BE READY. Whatever you may be doing, when it’s time to sing, be ready to do it. Don’t make Andrea have to repeat herself and wait for you. You should be waiting for her because she’s the conductor. You don’t make your boss or principal wait for you, don’t do it here. Concluding remarks I haven’t talked about other things like punctuality or singing technique or etiquette, though God knows, we need to be reminded of that too. I also know that I don’t have the authority to tell you all to do anything. You belong to this church ministry. It’s not Happy Hour. Being in choir is a sacrifice. It means taking time out of whatever else we’d like to be doing. It’s about doing your job and fulfilling your responsibility. It’s about respecting each other and singing the best we can to create a conducive environment for prayer. There are THREE WEEKS left to Easter and to one of our biggest masses in the year. Three more practices. Less than 4.5 hours of time together. We are not ready. If that isn’t scary to you, it’s scary to me and to the choir committee who are all working their asses off. Even if you don’t care about God, care about your own image. We have a lot of work ahead of us and we cannot afford to waste any time. I sincerely hope you all read this and think about your behaviour. It only takes one person to disrupt an entire practice and that means wasted time trying to restore discipline. Remember: RESPONSIBILITY and RESPECT. Do it for yourselves, do it for the choir, do it for God. |
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