January 23, 2023

Bonnie and Sheila, I’m just trying out a post to see if notifications will go out.  Just testing!

January 16, 2023.

Hello Everyone!

We had an amazing first rehearsal of the year on Monday.  I am enjoying reading your reflection sheets!  Some of your responses are very thoughtful.

We previewed 4 songs: Singin in the Rain, I Dreamed of Rain, Music Changes the World, and Klee Wyck.  Please listen to these on the previous blog post so you can be prepared to work on them in two weeks.

This week we will be previewing more songs, and then your voice is needed to help us choose our repertoire for the spring.  More details to come.  Definitely look at We Rise Again from the previous post and Hine Ma Tov, Can You Hear, Winds, and Give me a Kite.

I am instituting the secret word again to see who is reading the blog.  Please do not share the word during rehearsal, it kind of spoils the fun.

I have some purple Corovoce t shirts up for grabs as well as some Covid friendly treats.  The secret word is “rabbit”

See you at rehearsal!

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” – Leo Tolstoy

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little, Ms. Fierro

 

 

December 16, 2023

Who doesn’t love a magical unicorn at Christmas!  Here’s to an exciting new year in 2023!  I have been busily pulling some songs for our repertoire but I am going to leave some of the selections to YOU dear choir!  Here is some of the criteria I used to select these pieces:

1.  Variety of songs…..ie….tempos, melodies,
2. Genre…..spirituals, Broadway, folk songs, jazz
3. Canadian content.
4. Language challenges.
5. Simple or complex.

There are more I’m thinking of, but I thought we would at least begin our musical journey going through some of this repertoire in January.

 

Click here for We Rise Again.

Click here for another version of We Rise Again.

A beautiful song, Klee Wyck.  Click here for this arrangement by Brian Tate.

Another Klee Wyck.  I couldn’t choose.  Click here.

Click here for Can You Hear by Jim Papoulis.

Click here for Doraji.

Click here for another version of Doraji.

Click here for Doraji by the Vancouver Youth Choir.

Click here for Music Changes the World.

Click here for Doraji, a Korean folk song.

Click here for one of my favourites, Java Jazz.  so fun!

Click here for Give Me a Kite!

Click here for Coast Salish Medley arrange by Wendy Stuart.

Click here for I Dreamed of Rain.  Another solo opportunity.

Click here to listen to For Good.  More solo opportunities!

Click here for Winds by Larysa Kuzmenko.

Click here for Hine Ma Tov.

Here’s a real show stopper!  Click here for Singin’ in the Rain.

Click here for The Frim Fram Sauce.  I love this song!

Please enjoy listening to these songs and let me know what you think.

In song,

Ms. Fierro, Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little

“There is music in the air, music all around us: The world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.” – Edward Elgar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 13. 2022.

Dear Corovoce Members:

What a splendid concert on Monday evening!  We heard so many positive comments about how much fun it was to be “Together Again”, and how beautiful the singing and ringing was!

We hope you enjoy the holiday season however you celebrate, and we look forward to seeing you all in January!

First rehearsal….Monday, January 9 at 3:30 p.m.

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little, Ms. Fierro

“Music Can Change the World” – Beethoven

Hello my friends:

 

We’re so excited to see you in your white and black next Monday and Tuesday!  Here is the promised “yellow” notice from Monday!

Important Information for

December 5 – 16

Here we are!  Just about ready for our concert next Monday!  Here are the dates and times for the next two weeks.

Monday, December 5 – our rehearsal today 3:30 – 5:15.

Tuesday, December 6 – rehearsal at Kitchener from 3:30 – 5:15.

Monday, December 12 –“Together Again” at MJF

Students need to be at the theatre, in their white collared shirts and black slacks, or skirts by 3:30 p.m.  We will rehearse our numbers, then the mass number until 4;30 and then students will be dismissed to their parents.  Please supervise your own children or make arrangements for other parents to supervise them until 6:00 when they are expected to be in one of the “green rooms” ready to warm up.

Tuesday, December 13 – Performance at the School Board

Our performance at the Burnaby School Board.  Be there at 6:30 p.m.  We will sing at 7:00 and be finished by 7:15.

Please wear your white and black again for this performance.

4054 Norfolk Avenue. (near Canada Way and Boundary)

And, our first rehearsal of 2023 will be Monday, January 9 from 3:30 – 4:45 – regular time.

We hope to see as many of you as possible tomorrow, otherwise, we will see you at Michael J Fox theatre next Monday, December 12 at 3:30 p.m.

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Fierro, Ms. Little

Dear Corovoce Parents:

 

Here is the link to pay by school cash online.  Then, please ask your child how many tickets you have paid for and we will give you the hard copy.

 

Click here for the link.

If someone could please let me know if this works!

And….the first two parents who volunteer to take tickets get to save their seats for the show!

Email   teresa.jukich@burnabyschools.ca

I will process the volunteers in the order they come in.

 

 

 

Dear Corovoce Members:

 

We had a magical rehearsal yesterday and our repertoire is starting to come together.  We would like to extend our next three rehearsals until 5:15 if possible in order to be ready for our concert.  If you can stay, great, if not, please slip out quietly when you need to!

Tickets will be available for purchase next week, November 21.  They will also be available to pay for online.  Please let your child know how many tickets were purchased so we can send them the “hard” copy of the ticket.

We need 2 sets of parents to take tickets at the door.  The first 2 parents who email me get to save their seats in the theatre.

teresa.jukich@burnabyschools.ca

Click below for further important information regarding rehearsals, dress code etc…..

Corovoce Letter December 2022

We are looking forward to our concert, “Together Again” and can’t wait to show you our songs!

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little, Ms. Fierro

“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” – Mozart

November 4, 2022.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!  I also hope you have been working on our repertoire these past 2 weeks, particularly memorizing The Holly and the Ivy and Hot Chocolate!  We are pressing on this next Monday with the rest of our songs.  Please refer back to the first post of the year to listen to all our songs.  It really helps you learn your parts so we can work on expression and dynamics in rehearsal!

SAVE THE DATES!

Tuesday, December 6 – Rehearsal with Piccollini at Kitchener School in the small gym.   Be there at 3:30.  We will warm up and rehearse with Piccollini and if there’s extra time, continue to work on our songs.  We will end by 4:45.

Monday, December 12 – Our big concert at Michael J Fox Theatre with Piccollini and Soundwave!  You need to be at the theatre in your black and white at 3:30.  Further details to come!

Tuesday, December 13 – We have been asked to sing at the Burnaby School Board Meeting that evening.  Again, further details to come around time and place, but save the date!

 

Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday, November 7.

“Music is the language of the spirit.  It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”  ~ Kahil Gibran

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little, Mrs. Fierro

 

September 25, 2022.

Welcome back former students to Corovoce!  Welcome to our new singers!  We are excited to begin our musical journey tomorrow, September 26.  See you at the South Slope gym at 3:30!  Come on in, make your awesome name tag, and say hello to 3 new friends!

Here are some of the songs we will be working on this season.  You are welcome to have a listen and practice at home!

Opening Number – Wenceslas Canon  click here.

Finale Number – Ding Dong Merrily on High  click here.

Our numbers….

Hot Chocolate – click here.

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman – click here.

Winter Canon – click here.

The Holly and the Ivy – click here.

Cool Yule – click here.

Click here for another version.  I couldn’t choose!

 

 

Corovoce Welcome Letter and Calendar 2022

Hello Everyone and Welcome to Corovoce!  As we begin to start up again, there are a few housekeeping items that require your attention.

The fees for the year are $75.  This pays for music, performance venues, a t-shirt, and professional development for our team.  The District prefers that you pay online using SchoolOnlineCash.  We also prefer this method, but if you do bring cash or cheques, please make the cheques out to the Burnaby School District.

Click here for the link to OnlineCash, or go into OnlineCash and look for it under “District Items”  It’s under Burnaby District Corovoce Youth Choir.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Monday, September 26, 3;30, in the gym, at South Slope Elementary!

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little, Ms. Fierro

September 12, 2022

Greetings to our former Corovoce members!  Here are the latest updates from the team!

Auditions

Auditions for new members will be Monday, September 19 from 3:30 to 5:00 in the music room (201) at South Slope.  IF YOU ARE ALREADY A MEMBER OF OUR CHOIR YOU DO NOT NEED TO AUDITION!  If you know of any students in your school that would like to join us, please talk to your music teacher and ask them to recommend them.  They will need to obtain a form from their music teacher.

Rehearsals

Rehearsals will begin on Monday, September 26 in the GYM at South Slope from 3:30 to 4:45.  We will keep doors open in the gym for better ventilation,  encourage you to wear masks, wash your hands, stay home if you’re ill, and be respectful of other’s space.

Save the Date

Our Christmas Concert with Soundwave Handbell Choir, and Picollini the Children’s Choir will be Monday, December 12 at Michael J Fox Theatre at Burnaby South.

We are looking forward to auditioning new members on September 19 and looking forward to seeing our former members, as well as our new members on Monday, September 26!

In song,

Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little, Ms. Fierro

 

 

 

 

 

June30,2022

Dear Corovoce Members:

Please email me at:

teresa.jukich@burnabyschools.ca

to save your spot for next year!

Rehearsals will be Mondays in the gym at South Slope from 3:30 to 4:45.

June 24, 2022.

It hardly seems possible that two years have passed since we made beautiful music together!  Everyone on the Corovoce Team has missed  all of you wonderful students.  And…the time has come to look towards September and new beginnings.  This all starts with you, our former members.  If you are interested in coming back to Corovoce in September here is some information you need to know.

1.  Rehearsals will be held in the gym at South Slope for better ventilation and spacing.
2. Rehearsals will be on MONDAYS this year.
3. Rehearsals will be shorter with no formal break from 3:30 to 4:45.

We would love to see you all after two long years!  We have missed you so!  Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little and I are still teaching.  Ms. Fletcher is retiring in June and we hope will be a guest conductor from time to time!

If you would like to rejoin us in September, please send me an email at:

teresa.jukich@burnabyschools.ca

Please reply by Wednesday, June 29 as we will be holding auditions to fill in the numbers and we need to hold your spot.

If you are attending secondary school, we hope your schedule will allow you to join us again.  Remember, Corovoce is the Youth Choir and we accept students up to Grade 12!

We are so looking forward to hearing from you!  More information will be forthcoming in future posts.

Until then, have a wonderful, restful, musical summer of fun!

Regards,

Ms. Little, Ms. Ishii, Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Fierro

 

 

 November 9, 2020.

Dear Corovoce Choir:

It’s difficult to believe that we have been back in school for two and a half months.  The Team is missing you terribly and hope that you and your families and loved ones are safe.  We were talking just the other day about how we would be in the throes of our rehearsals for the Christmas Concert at MJF right now.  The anticipation of a concert, the excitement of performance, and the preparation that goes into it are missing for us at the moment.  We were hoping to have good news about possibly restarting in January, but with cases rising, we are not sure this can happen.  Please know that we will resume choir rehearsals as soon as it is safe for all of us.  Until then, please fill your happiness buckets up with song when and where you can!

In song,

The Corovoce Team – Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Fierro, Ms. Ishii, Ms. Little

 

Dear Corovoce Members:

I looked through Pixabay to try and find a really great picture for our final post for a while.  I always go back to the sea for my inspiration.  It never fails to inspire creativity within me, it calms me, and it gives me perspective.

While this year did not exactly end the way any of us would have imagined, I have looked for the silver lining in this whole situation and have come out with a few.  I hope you agree with some, and can add some of your own as well.

1.  I was so lucky to be able to re-connect with three of my favourite music specialists in the whole wide world!  Ms. Fletcher, I am so lucky you came onboard to conduct with me.  I have admired you and your musicality for years and remember watching you conduct this choir a few years ago and thinking, “gosh it would be wonderful to work with Ms. Fletcher and learn from her!.”  Voila!  Silver lining!  We got to conduct together and I am so grateful for your friendship, your gracious sharing of your time and talents, and your unwavering support of music in Burnaby. (never mind your amazing tech skills…..)
2. I have always admired Ms. Ishii from afar!  She was a wonderful “Orffan”  (Orff Teacher as well as Music Specialist)  Her keyboard skills are outstanding and I know The Maple Keys really required so much time to practice!  Ms. Ishii had to travel a great distance to get to South Slope and she is also a Head Teacher which means she is extra busy with many school activities that make leaving the building difficult.  But, rain or sun or snow, Ms. Ishii was here for us and supported our singing with her excellent playing.  Voila!  Another silver lining.  I have so appreciated our conversations, our planning, and again, your friendship.
3. Ms. Little and I worked together with the Children’s Choir a few years ago.  She had just come into the District and I didn’t know a lot about her, but we were teaching music at Taylor Park and we needed a manager for the choir.  Not only did I discover her amazing organizational skills, but I learned she herself was a singer in Elektra, the absolutely brilliant woman’s choir in Vancouver.  And I also discovered she was a superb sight-reading pianist!  Voila!  More silver lining.  Ms. Little, I am so happy we were able to work together again.  I appreciate your friendship and support and I look forward to doing it again next year in some way…..
4. I loved our Christmas Concert.  Soundwave and Piccolini and us together made magic!  The pictures scroll up on my google device in the bedroom and every time I see your faces, it brings me joy.  Voila!  A silver lining again!
5. Our work with Laura Hawley was so inspiring for me.  We worked soooo hard to be ready.  Our rehearsals with Coastal Sound were actually professional development opportunities for me to improve my practice as a conductor.  The performance on March 7 will always be a triumphant masterpiece that will resonate with me until we are able to make music together again.  I will hold onto this memory for as long as it takes!  I have stamina!  Voila!
6. I have learned so much about my ability to embrace technology.  I am proud that with much support from my friends above, I can Zoom, make virtual music classrooms, and generally find my way around a blog better.  Voila!  I learned new skills.  (sort of!)

I am waiting to see how things go this summer to see what can happen in September.  We all miss singing, and I hope we will be able to resume joining together in song, safely, soon!

“The oldest, truest, most beautiful organ of music, the origin to which alone our music owes its being is the human voice” – Richard Wagner

Hang on until we can celebrate together!

Mrs. Fierro

Congratulations CoroVoce 2020! You are a very special group of musicians, and we are so proud of everything you have accomplished this year. We appreciate your commitment and hard work. Thank you Lily for your awesome t-shirt design. We look fantastic!

*Reminder to please return your music and folders: June 18 at South Slope from 3:30-4:30!

~Team CoroVoce

Dear Corovoce Members:

Last chance to send your t-shirt picture to Ms. Fletcher!  Deadline is Thursday, June 11.  Ms. Fletcher and I will post it on Friday, June 12!

Music folders and music can be dropped on the following Thursday, June 18 at South Slope from 3:30 – 4:30.  Please take your music out of the elastic bands within the folder and leave it in the bin outside the music room.  If I’m there, please come and say hi!  If you are unable to come that day, please email me and let me know when you can come, or…ask your music teacher to send it to me at South Slope via the school mail.

We will be asking for some feedback regarding next year soon so stay tuned!

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” – Bob Marley

In song,

The Corovoce Team who is desperately missing their students (Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Fierro, Ms. Little, Ms. Ishii)

Dear Corovoce Students:

It was wonderful to socially distance with you these past few weeks as you safely picked up your t shirts.  Please take a picture of you in your shirt and send it to Ms. Fletcher as soon as possible!Here is her address:

patti.fletcher@burnabyschools.ca

Until we can see you again, stay safe.

“Music is life.  That’s why our hearts have beats.” – Cecily Morgan

Dear Corovoce Students:

It has been so wonderful to see you as you’ve safely come to pick up your t-shirts!  I’ve heard from a few more students who would like to come and get their shirts so I’ll be there at South Slope from 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. next Friday, May 22 if you’d like to drop by.

Please let me know you’re coming and I will have your shirt ready!  Otherwise, I will mail them to your home school, or you can wait until next September, or we will find a way for you to receive your shirt!

Afterwards, please take a picture of you wearing your shirt and send it to Ms. Fletcher at:

patti.fletcher@burnabyschools.ca

“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words.  It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.” (Keith Richards)

Until we are together again, stay safe.

The Corovoce Team – Ms. Little, Ms. Ishii, Ms. Fierro, Ms. Fletcher

Dear CoroVoce Members:

Here is the performance of Maple Keys from our concert on March 7th. Notice that it’s now called Maple Keys. This is a change made by Laura Hawley on her website.

Glorious, stunning, and magical are the words I have used to describe this life-altering performance. Every time I listen to this, I am swept away…