Mark Your Calendars
Though our next concerts may be months away our directors and our board are still busy preparing for what comes next. Please be here for us. It is easier than ever to support the choruses of the Rockbridge Choral Society by texting SINGON to 1-844-844-6844.
Or go to www.rcs.org and hit the Donate button. Thanks!
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Singing Rain or Shine
If you are out and about on Tuesday evenings in Lexington, don't be surprised to hear singing coming from places you might not expect. A rainout at their usual rehearsal space at Jordan's Point sent the Rockbridge Youth Chorale on the hunt for another space on a recent Tuesday. Unfazed by a little rain, the singers found a spot.
Please don't forget that your dollars support the efforts of our youth choirs and the ingenious spur-of-the-moment thinking of our youth directors and interns. Giving Tuesday is coming up soon, and our young singers and their directors need your continued support in these trying times. You can make a directed gift to the choirs of the Rockbridge Youth Chorale by going to www.rcs.org and clicking on the donate button. Or text SINGON to 1-844-844-6844 to help us get our choruses to the other side of the pandemic and back to performing live again!
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All Musical Saints
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Ellis Marsalis, Jr
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Eddie Van Halen Johnny Mandel
The leaves are turning and fall is here. All Hallows Eve is coming. We wanted to take a moment to give goodbye applause to the stellar musicians from all genres that we have lost already this year. Without room to name them all, we thought we would remember a few that stood out for us.
Country singer Jan Howard died on March 28 at age 91. She was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry with some 30 singles on the Billboard Country charts (top 50).
The patriarch of a jazz dynasty left us in April. Ellis Marsalis, Jr. died on April 1 due to complications from Covid-19. An American jazz pianist himself, he was a noted teacher and father of Branford and Wynton Marsalis, both accomplished jazz musicians.
Eddie Van Halen, who formed the band Van Halen with his brother Alex, died on October 6 of cancer; he was 65. His parents wanted their boys to be classical pianists, but Eddie heard the call of rock and roll and took Alex along on the drums. Van Halen is seldom remembered for collaborating with other musicians. But he did. Among others, he used his famous tapping guitar technique for the solo guitar work on Michael Jackson's "Beat It" for the 1984 Thriller album.
If you ever watched an episode of M*A*S*H you know Johnny Mandel. He wrote Suicide is Painless, the theme song that opened that long-running television favorite for its 11 years on air. His scores for film included those for Drums of Africa, The Sandpiper, Agatha, Being There, Caddyshack, and The Verdict. Mandel was 95.
Texas-born crooner Johnny Nash gave us hits like "I Can See Clearly Now", "Cupid", and "Stir It Up", and he brought the world Bob Marley. He created record labels and tried his hand at acting. He was 80 years old.
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Johnny Nash
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We could go on and on in honor of those we have lost across the musical pantheon during this year of so much loss - Helen Reddy, Mac Davis, William Pursell, Trini Lopez, Charlie Daniels, Barbara Martin (of the Supremes), Andy Gill (of the BGs), John Prine, Bill Withers, Kenny Rogers, and Little Richard. We have probably missed as many more. We wish them all rest and God speed.
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