CASA - the contemporary a cappella society - From the Desk of The A Cappella Society

From the Desk of The A Cappella Society - September 2008

Written by The A Cappella Society

Tuesday, 02 September 2008

From the Desk of The A Cappella Society - September 2008

We've been busy putting together the line-up for our very first International A Cappella Festival. In October The Arts House will host four nights of great A Cappella music everyone will enjoy. Tickets are already on sale at The Arts House Box Office, hurry to secure your seats, it's a rather small and intimate space with limited seats.

You don't want to miss the performances because the tickets are sold out, as it happened for some at the recent A Cappella Championships. For those who missed it, you can find all the winning groups below. We've also already started working on next year's A Cappella Championships, continuing our expansion of the event. Contact us, if you want to get the latest news, want to prepare early or be ahead of your competitors.

Your team at The A Cappella Society

www.a-cappella.org.sg

* These updates are correct to our best knowledge. Should there be any errors, kindly note that they are non-intentional.

(1) WHAT's NEW

EMAIL BOMB - NO VIRUS PLEASE NOTE NO VIRUS

We apologise sincerely for the terrible crossover of mails in August when we launched our new newsletter address. The glitch on our end has been rectified and we extend our sincere apologies to the many frustrated people out there for all the inconveniences and unnecessary frustration or concern.

We would like to highlight that in such situations that everyone should try not stop ourselves from further aggravating the situation by adding a 'reply all' and venting our frustrations but instead to remain calm and allow the originator time to rectify the problem.

For most if not all of the people on our mailing list, we have met you in the course of our work through concerts, workshops and friendship in the last 10 years. We seek more faith and trust from you to allow us to do our work, which is to serve the greater community in promoting vocal music and do solve any problems that come our way. We take full responsibility for the inconvenience to our friends and members.

To the ones who have written in with concern, thank you for trusting in us to get it rectified and thank you for the concern.

INTERNATIONAL A CAPPELLA FESTIVAL

Proudly presenting: Singapore's first International A Cappella Festival! Featuring Vocaldente from Germany, recent winners of the Harmony Sweepstakes, the US National A Cappella Competition. We will also feature a night of Asian Melodies on the 17th and close with a slinky Jazz Night on the 18th. More details at www.a-cappella.org.sg.

International A Cappella Festival 2008

15-18 October

The Arts House

Tickets: $35 available at the ArtsHouse.

A CAPPELLA CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008

Our Winners!

Pop & Jazz Choir Category*:

Champion : Naturalz

1st Runner-Up : FlexiTones

Silver Awards: Pasir Ris Sec, D'Choir

Bronze Awards: Pasir Ris Pri, Ang Mo Kio Sec, Vox Astra

Audience Favourite 2008 : Pasir Ris Pri

College Ensemble Category:

Champion: All fYne

1st Runner-Up: Ladies & The Men

Runners-Up: Linkage, Vox Astra, Elementa

Open Ensemble Category:

Champion: Resonance

1st Runner-Up: A Cafellas

Runner-Up: Notable

Best Vocal Percussionist 2008: From Ladies & The Men

Best Soloist 2008: From Resonance

Audience Favourite 2008: A Cafellas

Best Costume 2008: All fYne

High School Ensemble Category held at The Republic Cultural Centre:

Champion: TAG 1

1st Runner Up: TAG 2

Runners-Up: Vox Astra, The Dominant Sevens, BYS, Double A, Dynaro, FajarCappella

Best Vocal Percussionist 2008: From TAG 1

Best Soloist 2008: From TAG 1

Audience Favourite 2008: TAG 1

Best Costume 2008: TAG

(2) UP-COMING CONCERTS

1st International A Cappella Festival 08

Champs of the 2008 Harmony Sweepstakes, German quintet Vocaldente quickly got the crowd laughing and on their feet. Cole Porter's "Let's Misbehave" is beautifully done, as is Kenny Loggins' "Footloose", the Rat Pack favorite "Everybody Loves Somebody", Freddie Mercury's "Don't Stop Me Now" and a tongue-in-cheek spoof of Abba's "Mama Mia." Vocaldente sings all these songs in very good English, but their strength is in their innocent, non self-conscious humor. The sweet, pure falsettos, faux horns, strings and other instruments, comic asides and samples combined with their totally deadpan posing and pretending to play their faux instruments, are all, quite simply, hilarious. While laughing at this, we're noticing that their stuff is amazingly arranged and that they are top-drawer professional singers and vocal percussionists. From seeing them live, it's also clear that they are having big fun up there, and so are we. Two kinds of genius come together here, comic and musical, to award-winning effect! More details at www.a-cappella.org.sg.

International A Cappella Festival 2008

15-18 October

The Arts House

Tickets: $35 available at the ArtsHouse.

(3) TRAINING PROGRAMMES : www.a-cappella.org.sg/training.html

A Cappella Masterclass With Vocaldente

Here's your opportunity to learn from the professionals! vocaldente's masterclass will be targeted at helping an A Cappella group improve the various elements that are part of A Cappella. Some tips on vocal technique and harmonizing, arranging, staging, tips and tricks for individual voice parts or support and positive reinforcement for the group. Whatever the task, the key for the group is to broaden its horizon, find inspiration from an experienced group and to find out how to build your skill-sets alongside your goals.

14 October, 7-10pm

POP VOCALS FOR BEGINNERS: (THU) 7pm – 9pm

Learn the fundamentals of singing in the style of Beyonce, Rihanna and other pop divas in this new course! Singapore's soul sensation, Lim Huimin takes you on a musical exploration of the basics in pop singing, including securing breath control, posture, voice projection and singing through songs. Apart from pop & jazz vocal exercises that will help keep your voice in shape, you will also explore a variety of pop, jazz, mandarin songs and even ballads. This course aims to provide singers with a good foundation in singing technique (posture, breathing, anatomy, support, tone production) and then guide you on how you can use your voice for a variety of musical genres.

Course starts 6 November, 8 January.

A CAPPELLA ENSEMBLE COURSE : (TUE) 8pm – 10pm

Come explore contemporary a cappella with the TAS adult ensemble in this 3-month journey. This series of seminars-cum-rehearsals culminating in a public presentation promises to equip you with the fundamental skills of a cappella performance. Experienced clinicians will lead you and your fellow singers through a discussion of various topics, including i) recent developments in a cappella music, ii) elements of blend in close harmony, iii) dynamic microphone technique, iv) an introduction to vocal percussion, and iv) basic staging and song presentation. You will also be guided through the rehearsal of 3-4 songs from a variety of genres to practice your newfound knowledge.

Course starts 7 October (Tuesday) 8-10pm.

MUSIC THEORY COURSE: (WED) 7pm – 9pm

Our new Music Theory course brings the uninitiated on a journey through music in study, performance and composition, ranging from the very fundamental note reading to a more profound analysis of styles and their development through time. So join us today, for our newly launched Music Theory Course! Learn to differentiate the 'towgays" in this course and unleash your potential to sight singing. This course conducted by Ms Evangeline Tan will guide you through the fundamentals of music, learning to read rhythm patterns & notation effectively.

(4) OBSERVATIONS & SPECIAL MENTION

SPECIAL

Tunes To Teens is turning up the volume this fall, making its CD donation program available to high school and junior high school choruses.

Since 2003, more than 3,000 students have received a cappella CDs donated by singers, educators and fans of unaccompanied vocal music. Usually, chorus directors must contribute $1 per CD to help cover the expenses of the nonprofit program. But this fall, those fees will be waived for school choruses that are new to the program, in an effort to reach more singers in more regions. That means more access to contemporary a cappella, the addictive trend of translating rock, jazz and world music into a captivating all-vocal style.

Read the full press release on our website www.a-cappella.org.sg/soundbites.html or send us an email at contact@a-cappella.org.sg for more infos. You can also log on to www.casa.org/ttt for more details about the program.

AcaFest Review

The A CappellaFest this year, Listen Now!, was held in Mrs Lee Choon Guan Concert Hall in ACS Barker on 30th and 31st July 2008. The participating groups included The Acappella Society's Youth voices and singers (TASYV and TAS singers respectively), VoCollision, Key Elements and Jamaica Café from Indonesia. Most of the audience was made up of secondary school students, which was the main target group for this concert. An afternoon show was held for primary school students. The highlight of the show was the second half performance by Jamaica Café which especially awed the audience.

(5) AUDITIONS

NEW! LOOKING FOR REVIEWERS FOR A CAPPELLA EVENTS

We have tied up with www.musicians.org.sg and are in need of some help in writing some reviews for coming a cappella shows for the website. If you are interested to volunteer, please write to us at contact@a-cappella.org.sg.

THE A CAPPELLA SOCIETY SINGERS & NANU (female pop a cappella)

We are looking for full time and part time singers who wish to rehearse together and be selected for a variety of performances. Have to be above 21 years. Please email us for more details at contact@a-cappella.org.sg.

LOCAL A CAPPELLA GROUP "JUZ-B" LOOKING FOR A MALAY BASS

Juz-B is currently looking for a Malay bass and baritone singer. Interested parties please call Nawfa at 9-1214964 to arrange a meeting.

-Don't have to be able to read notes

-Inexperience in singing Acappella is not a problem

-Able to sing/ harmonise would be a plus

-Prefer those who have completed National Service (those who have not may still apply)

-For those who knows of somebody who has a very deep sounding bass voice do introduce them to him.

(6) SCHOOL TOUR

AEP with NANU

Calling all teachers! Rock Pop A Cappella with nanu is in its 2nd year running and we're off to a good start. We've just been to St Theresa's Convent where they have amazing singers and dancers who came up to volunteer their skills. We were also recently at Serangoon Garden Sec, Kellock CHIJ, CHIJ Katong and many more!

The Society also has training programmes and workshops available for schools.

More details on our website www.a-cappella.org.sg

(7) IN HOUSE GROUPS

TAS GROUPS

TAS Voices – Mixed group ages 20 and above, Mondays 7.30-9.30pm

TAS Youth Voices – Mixed group ages 12 and above, Saturdays 3-6pm

If you are interested to be part of the Society as a singer or beat boxer, auditions are open to everyone young and young at heart. There will be multiple levels of training available for a variety of singers and age groups. Send us an email at contact@a-cappella.org.sg if you would like to be the first to know. Tell us which area you are interested in and we'll definitely be in touch.

(8) MISCELLANEOUS

REHEARSAL SPACE

Haven't found a space for your rehearsals yet? For $15/hour you can make use of our room for your practice. Just drop us a mail if you are interested.

SHOP WINDOW

No. Artistes Album Title Cost

1 Vocal Six (Sweden) International (2007) S$25

2 m-pact (USA) m-pact S$25

3 Key Elements (Singapore) Jazz For The Records S$20

4 Agapella (Singapore) Follow That Star (2007) S$20

5 Various (Singapore) Mandarin A Cappella (2001) S$10

Shipping : $2 (Singapore) , $5 (Overseas)

All items are available in our office or via postal delivery. To order please send us an email at contact@a-cappella.org.sg.

Contact us

If you would like to submit articles, news and updates, volunteer your services or provide feedback, please do not hesitate to write us! We look forward to hearing from you.

For folks who are keen to join this mailing list, please send us a note to the same address.

The A Cappella Society

www.a-cappella.org.sg

contact@a-cappella.org.sg

182 Cecil Street

#02-07 Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre

S 069547
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