"Quote - Unquote"
Lillian Carter, in her 80s
Encore Chorale Camp at St. Mary’s College of Maryland 2010 was a resounding success. 30 campers gathered at the beautiful St. Mary’s College of Maryland June 15 – 19 ready to eat, sleep and drink music. Each day began with a movement/dance class where the campers enjoyed the expert teaching under dancer Tiffany Haughn. She put them thru their paces limbering up their bodies and teaching them exciting dance steps. Everyone enjoyed this entertaining class.
There were two choral rehearsals daily in which the singers learned vocal technique and rehearsed their choral repertoire under Encore founder Jeanne Kelly. With only nine 1 ½ hour rehearsals to prepare for the grand camp finale concert , the singers worked diligently at learning the notes and perfecting their tone and the style of the music.
The first evening opened with a catered dinner for the campers, followed by a concert by the fabulous West Shore Piano Trio in St. Mary’s Hall. With travelling to St. Mary’s College, taking a dance class and then rehearsing, the campers slept well indeed.
On Wednesday, the campers started with dance class, then a challenging rehearsal, lunch, followed by a short break and then on to a vocal technique class. The class was taught as if it were a private voice lesson. Students had the chance to sing alone and learn what to do to produce a better sound. This was a big hit. Then on to another choral rehearsal, followed by dinner.
Wednesday evening the campers participated in a drumming circle with Alan Yellowitz of “The Beat Goes On.” It was rhythmic, crazy, fun and loud! They had a ball playing many different types of percussion instruments. Then off to the dorms for another good night of rest.
Thursday was another day of dance and choral rehearsals. Thursday evening everyone enjoyed an All-American picnic at the beautiful St. Mary’s College Sailing Center, followed by a chartered boat ride. The campers enjoyed the stunning scenery of the St. Mary’s River. Captain Bruce Scheibel gave excellent narration of the fascinating history of the area. A fabulous evening for the campers!
Friday morning the campers thoroughly enjoyed their final dance class, followed by intense choral rehearsals throughout the day in preparation for their Saturday concert. Friday evening the campers enjoyed an excellent catered dinner, followed by an outdoor concert presented by the Chesapeake Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Silberschlag. The campers enjoyed sipping wine and listening to Konzertstucke for Horns by Schumann, Samuel Barber’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Jeffrey Chappell, pianist, and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 “Spring.” It was a spectacular evening.
Saturday was the big day and the campers were psyched. Their final camp concert was announced at the symphony concert the evening before and the singers were recognized in front of over 2000 concert goers. This was their chance to shine and shine they did!
Their repertoire included the spirited traditional folk song round of Hey Ho, Nobody’s Home, followed by the haunting melody of Black is the Color. Their sound was beautiful and focused. They sang lyrically with a lovely legato tone in Kyrie by Jay Althouse and Jazz Cantate by Andy Beck. Then they let their hair down with a rousing rendition of The Big City Sound including Theme from New York, New York, Walking to New Orleans, My Kind of Town (Chicago Is), and Hooray for Hollywood.
Closing the concert was a very spirited performance of Broadway Blockbusters from Broadways’ Longest Running Shows, including One, Beauty and the Beast, Tradition, Sun and the Moon, and Do You Hear the People Sing?
Encore Chorale Camp was a fabulous week of fun, meeting new friends with similar interests, learning more about their voices, attending excellent and professional concerts, and performing their own spectacular finale.
