News about Down East Singers and the Brahms Requiem in 2022

[Tony]

Dear Friends,

It's been a long time since I sent you a message using this Google Group. I hope you are well and keeping up your singing.

Since some of you expressed interest in what would happen with our long-postponed production of the Brahms Requiem, I am sending you an announcement about Down East's plans for a performance of that work for Memorial Day, 2022. There is also information at the end of this post about our Messiah Sing, scheduled for Tuesday 14 December.

Below is the letter that just went out to members of Down East Singers.

I miss you!

Cheers,

Tony

----Dear Friends,

Last night the board of Down East Singers voted on an exciting new plan for the group's spring semester. I write now to bring you up to date on what's coming in 2022.

Rehearsals

Beginning Tuesday 11 January we will rehearse in Watts Hall in Thomaston. This auditorium, recently renovated, will offer us a large flat space on which we can configure rehearsal seating at safe distances, with a marvelous acoustic. The auditorium is located on Main Street in Thomaston, near the intersection of Knox Street. Ample parking, well lit and plowed, is available along Main Street, next to Camden National Bank and in the large parking lot behind the Business Block. There is an elevator. Heating is provided by a combination of radiators and heat pumps. Ventilation is possible without creating drafts.

Memorial Day Performance

Our concert this year will also be at Watts Hall. To accommodate the audience numbers we will try something new. On Sunday, the day before the concert, we will hold our usual rehearsal with the orchestra. From 4 to 5 PM we will work on the toughest places in the Brahms Requiem. Then around 5 PM we will hold an "open rehearsal" just like the Boston Symphony and allow audience to hear the performance for discounted ticket prices. Then, on Memorial Day, we will perform the work in concert at 5 PM.

The biggest change for you as singers will be less crowded conditions and better acoustics, permitting the audience to hear you in a favorable balance with the orchestra. You will be on seated risers on the stage and the orchestra will be on the floor, below you. Having the stage to yourselves will allow us to be less crammed together and also make you sound your very best.

Registration

Membership fees will increase to $75 for spring semester since it is much longer than the semester we just finished and expenses for orchestra and soloists are higher than they were this semester. If you need help paying tuition, please get in touch privately with our board president, Anita Goodwin. There are scholarships available.

Registration will open on Wednesday 1 December. You will be able to register online through the website or you will be able to download and print a registration form from the website and mail your registration card and payment to our PO Box in Rockport. Please do not attempt to register prior to Wednesday 1 December. We need some time to set all this up.

Messiah Sing

Although Down East is not the administrative producer of the event, you are cordially invited to be a part of the Messiah Sing that will take place in Watts Hall on Tuesday 14 December. at 7:30 PM The soloists for this event will be Robyn Tarantino, soprano; Joëlle Morris, contralto; Hayden Sears, tenor; and Dominique Rosoff, bass. Members of Mozart Mentors Orchestra and keyboardist Sean Fleming will provide accompaniment.

To participate in the Messiah Sing you will need to provide proof of vaccination and wear a mask at all times during the event. These rules will be strictly enforced. No exceptions!

For this event I will need volunteers for the following chores:

*Setting up the conductor's podium, chairs and music stands at 3 PM on Tuesday 14 December before the orchestra rehearsal that starts at 4 PM.

*Starting at 7 PM, assisting arriving singers to find the right section to sit in and offering loaner scores for those who arrive without a score.

*Taking down all this equipment after the event is over.

I hope you are pleased at all this news. There's a lot to look forward to!

Cheers,

Tony