June
Birthdays in Music  

Tomaso Albinoni  6/8/1671
Click here

Judy Garland
 6/10/1922

 Jacques Offenbach
 6/20/1819
Click here

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! 

Passing the Time
   
       By now you have probably read every book you had been putting off for when you had the time.  You have scoured YouTube for your favorite recordings, comedy sketches or instructional videos; watched every episode of House Hunters International and every Ken Burns documentary ever made; seen every old movie and every new one that you could stream and binged on every TV series you thought you'd never have time for.  Maybe you have been able to catch nightly broadcasts of previous opera performances from the Met if that's your thing.  

    There is no predicting when live performances and sports with audiences will return. Theatres and concert halls of all sorts remain closed for the foreseeable future in many states.  So much of the live performance arts are dependent on ticket sales.  Many organizations survive season to season on those sales, and many may not return.  It really is astounding to think about all the entertainments we take for granted until they are missing from our lives.

    We know.  There's no substitute for live music, but for now you might find this link useful for a source of live virtual concerts to get you through the pandemic.  This link is for June 10, 2020, represents all kinds of music, and is updated daily.  Click here  


How's Your Voice?

    It has been a while since most of us have sung as a group.  There are no chorus rehearsals, no choir rehearsals, no church services, and probably no voice lessons going on these days.  How is your voice?  Have you done any vocal exercising?  Are you singing along with opera or your favorite show tunes, or rock band?  We found this fun vocal exercise from classically trained, long-time vocal coach Cheryl Porter.  It's timely and catchy and you can use it to warm up your voice anywhere
    It seems that a lot of us have been spending time on YouTube listening to and singing along with some of our favorites.  The internet makes it pretty easy to choose something you have sung with the chorus in the past and revisit it to see if you can still hit those high (or low) notes.  Have you found a way to keep your voice in shape while social distancing?  Let us know.  We'd love to share with your fellow singers!  Send your favorite method or video or sing-along song to communication@rcs.org.  Here are a few we are revisiting to keep the pipes ready to go when we can all sing together again.

Song for Athene - John Tavener   Click here
She Walks in Beauty - Paul Mealor   Click here
The Ground - Ola Gjeilo   Click here
Goodbye Jennifer Ashworth 

        

            We learned a few days ago that long-time Rockbridge Chorus member and supporter Jennifer Ashworth passed away on June 8 of complications from chronic respiratory illness.  Jennifer sang in the alto section for many years and even managed the chorus for a time in the 1980's.  She was also a willing and reliable "ringer-singer" in several Lexington church choirs.  Jennifer worked in the history department at Washington and Lee and retired a couple of years ago for health reasons.  She loved her kids, knitting, cooking and traveling with friends, trips to the beach, and all that was the arts. Her generous spirit, good humor, and ready smile will be missed by all her Lexington friends and acquaintances.  We are lucky and blessed that she walked among us.  


THE ROCKBRIDGE CHORAL SOCIETY  
communication@rcs.org
The Rockbridge Choral Society
P.O. Box 965
Lexington, VA 24450