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…

Greetings CoroVoce Members!

It was super fun to Zoom with you on Wednesday!  There were 24 of us who gathered and it was wonderful to catch up with everyone.  We shall schedule another one in the next month so we hope you’ll join us again while you wear your t-shirts!  Thank you to Ms. Ishii for hosting our meeting!

And speaking of t-shirts, here is your opportunity to pick up your shirt next week on either Wednesday, May 13, or Friday, May 15, at South Slope Elementary.

Here are the important details you need to remember:

1.  T-shirts will be available through the OUTSIDE door of the music room on Wednesday, May 13 from 10:30 – 12:00, and on Friday, May 15 from 11:00 – 12:00.
2. Please email me the date you will be coming so I can pull your t-shirts out of the box.(teresa.jukich@burnabyschools.ca)
3. Line up beside the cones for social distancing if there is a line up.
4. Take a picture of you in your t shirt and send it to Ms. Fletcher at:

patti.fletcher@burnabyschools.ca

(Thank you Ms. Fletcher!)

5.  Please pass this along to anyone who you think may not be accessing the blog!

I am really looking forward to seeing you all from a safe distance next week!

In song,

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

Dear CoroVoce Members!

You are invited to a Zoom Meeting this Wednesday, May 6 at 1:00.  We’d love to see you all and have a quick visit.  Please be prepared to tell us how music is helping you get through this interesting period of time!  We miss you all and hope you can join us this Wednesday!

Send us an email if you’re coming and we’ll email you the details of how to get in!

Other News:

We will be posting a day the week of May 11 for you to drop by and pick up your t-shirts from South Slope.  Details next week!

See you Wednesday!

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

 

Hello Corovoce Members:

We hope you continue to stay safe during our time away from each other!  We miss you all terribly and cannot wait to see you again.  There are still many unknowns in our musical world, but we hope you still use music as a way to engage your brains, and provide you with comfort and joy!  We would love you to send us a note, a video, or picture, or anything where you are making music!

Here are a few bits of information that we know you are wondering about.

1.  Your T-shirts are here (as you can see) and we need to find a way for you to get them.  Could you please send us the name of the school you attend, we may send them to you that way.  Or depending on when schools resume, we “may” have some kind of wrap up to our year.  Again, stay tuned, but please email your school to us.  (except South Slope, Confederation Park, Suncrest students of course, we know where you go!)
2. When choir resumes, and if it doesn’t resume until September, please remember that you DO NOT need to audition as you’re already in!  If you are a Grade 7 going into High School, please consider staying in our choir.  It’s a nice bridge of stability between the “newness” of Secondary School, and the familiarity and safety of our beautiful ensemble.  Corovoce is intended to serve students from Grades 5 to 12.  If we have more senior students we are able to attempt more sophisticated repertoire.
3. Please also ask around to see if any of your friends would be interested in joining Corovoce next year!  We’re not sure how or when auditions will happen so your input would be wonderful!
4. The Team was thinking of changing the date of rehearsals to a Monday next year.  We would like to hear your thoughts on this change.

Again, we hope you and your family are well, working hard at your remote learning, and looking forward to making music when we can be together again!

In song,

The Corovoce Team (Ms. Little, Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Fierro, Ms. Ishii)

Dear CoroVoce Choir:

The world has certainly become a different place since the last time we were together.  In retrospect, we should be grateful we managed to present our world premiere of The Maple Key when we did! We just wanted to let you know that we will keep in touch regarding CoroVoce events that are upcoming, but at the moment, we are thinking that they will be cancelled or postponed for the time being.  
When we do get together again, we have t-shirts to hand out to everyone!

Until then, stay safe, keep singing, and remember..

”Music Changes the World”

We’ve seen this now more than ever during these interesting days.

In Song,

The Team (Ms. Little, Ms. Fletcher, Ms. Fierro, Ms. Ishii)