Call For Vocal Musicians

The SEISO is offering a number of opportunities for vocalists to perform with us this year on our POPS, HollyDays, and Spring concerts. 

We are asking vocalists to fill out their availability and personal information at this link:
 

Please consider joining the SEISO in presenting an all John Williams music program for their POPS concerts on Saturday Sept. 23rd  in Ottumwa and Sunday night September 24th in Burlington.

I have programmed 3 works  that require, at the least, a small choir but the more singers we have the more effective it will be---and it is fun music. 

We own all the vocal parts for POPS concert and can email them to you along with preparation notes at the end of this week. If you need music please request it from Jeff Phillips at jeffrey.phillips@seiso.us

Chorus participants may prepare their own parts and/or work on them with their own directors and then attend rehearsal in Mt. Pleasant at IWU on Monday evening September 18th at Old Main on the campus of IWU at 7 pm.  If you want to rehearse with the Mt. Pleasant Chorale you can attend rehearsal the week before on Sept. 11th at 8 pm at Old Main.

Blair Buffington of Iowa Wesleyan will prepare the chorus and direct Hymn to the Fallen.  

We prefer it if everyone takes part in both performances but if you can't we still would like you to participate in whichever concert you are able to.

There is a dress rehearsal with the orchestra on Saturday September 23rd at 3 pm in Ottumwa at the Bridgeview Center and a concert at 7:30.

On Sunday Sept. 24th,  there is a chorus warm-up in the basement of Memorial Auditorium at 6:30 and a 7:30  pm concert.

Dry Your Tears Afrika from Amistad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFCXrbvPxF4

Hymn for the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2zAUHAdaBE

Duel of the Fates from Star Wars 1 The Phantom Menace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1gH_cjdb60

Please forward this to choir directors, quality students and singers you see missing from this email.  

Thank you for your help.
Bob McConnell

Quotes from the Burlington Hawkeye review by Bob Saar.

 

"Bells" incorporated a beefed-up brass section, but it was the massive percussion arsenal---it overflowed onto the runway in  front of the stage---that gave some patrons pause as they sought seats.------Indeed, a full drum kit, three glockenspiels, a brass gong, two sets of tubular bells, a marching band bass drum, several tambourines, a vibraphone, and a harp, a celesta and a car's brake drum, two hanging beams of construction steel and a full octave of 12 crotales pumped the percussion gang to Schwarzeneggerian size.

The third movement, however, was scary.  Nerve-wracking for some. Like a muscle-bound Venice Beach weightlifter on a crazed steroid breakdown.

You could see the flames, hear the sirens, the screams, the panic the agony.  It was ...alarming.  Two small boys ran from the auditorium.