...and on a brighter note, I think we'll have the zombie-free year, if you don't mind. We can accomplish this by agreeing to some very basic rights and responsibilities of choir director/choir member/congregation relationship building. These R & R's as I'll call them are:
FIRST AND FOREMOST:
THE RIGHTS OF THE CONGREGATION:
The congregation has the right to expect that music will happen at Mass without incident. This means we must be prepared at all times. If we are to be the unnoticed, non-distracting, prayerful voices that accompany the prayers of the faithful, it is extremely important that we conduct ourselves at all times reverently and with good preparation of musical offerings. We cannot distract from the Mass. We are NOT the show. We are there to be the sound track no one consciously notices which accompanies the memories and experiences of the profoundly beautiful sacrifice Jesus made which we participate in at the altar of God. When we do our job in rehearsal--- when we come dressed modestly, neatly and nicely, wear vestments and sing as one voice, then God will bless us and we'll get to do it again (in about two weeks or a month).
The R & R's of the choir:
- The start time is the start time. Period. No negotiations, no excuses.
- The end time is the end time. Period. No negotiations, no excuses. There might be the occasional "we gotten everything done and you can see if you can find someone to come get you early, or we'll play cards until the end time (this is rare, so don't bring cards to every choir event).
- You WILL use your rehearsal CD and music to keep up and learn your parts.
- You WILL bring your practice binder to EVERY rehearsal unless otherwise notified.
- The Mass & Music list for the year can be found in the tabs above by scrolling down after you click "Mass Schedule". This means NO ONE can say they didn't know when we are singing or WHAT we are singing.
- The CALENDAR can be found on the right sidebar of this blog. It's called "Youth Choir Calendar," ironically enough, and it's a handy way to never be surprised again.
- I'm pretty much done with fund raising (after we raffle the statues); it's a horrible, horrible thing to be burdened with doing. This does NOT mean we will quit earning our keep in the parish. There will still be the yearly event, and the fall baking and selling of brownie pops. We will STILL work the odd banquet here and there. We will still work for the Junior Youth Choir whenever possible.
The R & R's of the choir director are as follows:
- I have the right to expect that you will be on time to ALL rehearsals, performances, and service projects.
- If you, for some serious reason, cannot attend said rehearsals, performances, or service projects, I have the right to expect that you will notify me IMMEDIATELY when you discover your dilemma.
- I will give adequate warning of any schedule changes
- I will be flexible about sports (within reason), and extracurricular activity conflicts (again, within reason)
- I will be on time, start on time, and end on time.
- I will provide you with a rehearsal CD and the music for the entire year at the retreat.
Other things you will need to know about next year:
- Pueri Cantores is back on our schedule for Spring (I'm thinking Houston, because that's easy). I'll have dates and repertoire available as soon as possible.
- I will add a permanent page for the honor choir information soon. This will have audition dates, recording sessions for the recorded auditions, and the dates of the actual honor choirs so you can plan
So, tell your friends, neighbors, and anyone that you know that the St. Richard Youth Choir is accepting new members. God Bless the people of St. Richard, all our benefactors, and through the intercessions of St. Cecilia and St. Gregory, may we have a good year of hard work and service. Amen.
*and no zombies, please* :)
