Sing with us
English followsMission
West Island Harmony Chorus offre une expérience de chant cappella accueillante et dynamique dans une atmosphère détendue. C'est comme une bulle de chaleur et de bonheur où l'amour du chant unit tout le monde. Nous n'avons pas de processus d'audition. Nous sommes là pour enseigner aux débutants. Nous leur proposons quelques chansons très faciles pour débuter avant de passer au répertoire régulier.
Des principes directeurs
Chaque voix compte, chaque voix est belle : notre succès collectif repose sur notre enthousiasme dans tout ce que nous faisons et sur notre contribution au groupe de manière à honorer chacun de nos dons et capacités uniques.
Amélioration : Alors que nous visons l’excellence par l’enseignement, tout le monde est le bienvenu, peu importe où il se situe dans son parcours musical. Il n’est jamais trop tard pour faire le premier pas, surtout dans un environnement sécuritaire.
Engagement en dehors des répétitions
Puisque nous nous réunissons moins fréquemment que la chorale hebdomadaire typique, nous attendons de nos chanteurs qu’ils restent engagés entre les répétitions de diverses manières. Par exemple:
Tous les chanteurs apprennent leurs notes, rythmes et mots en dehors des répétitions en utilisant les partitions fournies, les pistes d'apprentissage audio et d'autres matériels. Cela nous permet de nous concentrer sur l’art lorsque nous nous rencontrons.
À mesure qu'un chanteur commence à connaître plus facilement une chanson particulière, il souhaitera peut-être soumettre un enregistrement au réalisateur pour obtenir ses commentaires. Cela vous aide à renforcer votre confiance en apprenant de meilleures techniques de chant, si c'est ce que vous désirez !
Nous prévoyons un total de douze chansons prêtes à être interprétées à répéter en rotation.
Nous planifions également une variété d'événements sociaux chaque saison ! West Island Harmony Chorus est une communauté, pas seulement un groupe de chant, et nous espérons que de nombreux chanteurs se joindront à nous pour des événements sociaux facultatifs tels que des fêtes organisées et des « rémanences » de répétition au Wok Café.
Pistes d'apprentissage
Nous apprenons notre matière avec des pistes d'apprentissage. À quelques exceptions près, ces pistes d’apprentissage auront la partie que vous êtes censé chanter et suivre sur le côté gauche de vos écouteurs, et les trois autres parties à un volume inférieur sur la droite. Lorsque vous êtes sûr de bien connaître votre rôle, écoutez uniquement le bon passage et voyez si vous pouvez tenir votre rôle seul. Faites de votre mieux, nous serons là pour vous aider lors des répétitions.
Encadrement
Nous planifierons parfois une séance de coaching de « retraite » d'une journée entière avant le concours de division, si nous décidons d'y assister cette année-là. Cela impliquera de passer une journée entière à être coaché par un expert.
Nous ferons également venir des entraîneurs aux répétitions régulières du lundi soir pour travailler avec nous. Il n’y a aucun coût supplémentaire pour les membres.
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Mission
West Island Harmony Chorus provides a welcoming, dynamic, acappella singing experience in a relaxed atmosphere. It is like a bubble of warmth and happiness where the love of singing unites everyone.
Guiding Principles
Every voice matters, every voice is beautiful: Our collective success is built on bringing our enthusiasm to everything we do and contributing to the group in ways that honor each of our unique gifts and abilities.
Improvement: While we strive for excellence through teaching, everyone is welcome no matter where they stand in their life’s musical journey. It’s never too late to make that first step, especially in a safe environment.
Commitment Outside of Rehearsals
Since we meet less frequently than the typical weekly chorus, we expect our singers to stay engaged between rehearsals in a variety of ways. For instance:
- All singers learn their notes, rhythms, and words outside of rehearsal using provided sheet music, audio learning tracks, and other materials. This allows us to focus on artistry when we do meet together.
- As a singer starts to know a particular song more comfortably, they may wish to submit a recording to the director for feedback. It helps build your confidence as you learn better singing techniques, if that is what you desire!
- We plan for a total of twelve ready-to-perform songs to rehearse on rotation.
- We also plan a variety of social events each season! West Island Harmony Chorus is a community, not just a singing group, and we hope many singers will join us for optional social events such as organized parties, and rehearsal “afterglows” at the Wok Café.
Learning tracks
We learn our material with learning tracks. With very few exceptions, these learning tracks will have the part you are supposed to sing and follow on the left side of your headphones, and the three other parts at a lower volume on the right. When you are sure you know your part well, listen to the right part only and see if you can hold your part on your own. Try your best, we will be there to help you during rehearsals.
Coaching
We will sometimes schedule an all-day “retreat” coaching session before the Division contest, should we decide to attend that year. This will involve spending a full day being coached by an expert.
We will also bring coaches into regular Monday night rehearsals to work with us. There is no additional cost to the members for this.
Dues and Financial Costs
West Island Harmony Chorus is part of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Greater Montreal Chapter. As such, in order to participate in West Island Harmony Chorus’s activities as singing chorus members, all active WIHC singers are required to be active dues-paying members of the BHS. This provides certain legal protections, allows the chorus to attend division, district, and international BHS conventions, connects us to an international community of singers and artists, and much more. Although the structure may be subject to change in the future, the current annual breakdown of BHS dues as they relate to West Island Harmony Chorus looks like this:
- BHS international dues (the umbrella organization): USD$144/year
- Northeastern District dues (the New England/southern Canada region): USD$25
- Greater Montreal Chapter: CDN$75/year
This comes to a total of $300 for West Island Harmony Chorus’s season cost, including full BHS membership. Current BHS members who are new to West Island Harmony Chorus only have to pay our chapter fees of $75 Canadian since they have already paid for the BHS and district dues.
The Chapter Fees cover costs for the season, including music, learning tracks, rehearsal venue fees, professional coaching and riser rental for dress rehearsals. Unincluded costs may include things such as travel expenses, retreat lunches and some stage clothing (we will not have a uniform, only a color scheme).
The BHS Division contest that we plan to attend in Queensbury NY in 2024 is another expense that involves transportation, accommodation and meals . We like to attend these contests almost every year and we have targeted 2024 to participate in this fun and engaging event. We will dress as characters from a small town, so again no special uniform will need to be purchased, just your creativity.
Mission
West Island Harmony Chorus provides a welcoming, dynamic, acappella singing experience in a relaxed atmosphere. It is like a bubble of warmth and happiness where the love of singing unites everyone.
Guiding Principles
Every voice matters, every voice is beautiful: Our collective success is built on bringing our enthusiasm to everything we do and contributing to the group in ways that honor each of our unique gifts and abilities.
Improvement: While we strive for excellence through teaching, everyone is welcome no matter where they stand in their life’s musical journey. It’s never too late to make that first step, especially in a safe environment.
Commitment Outside of Rehearsals
Since we meet less frequently than the typical weekly chorus, we expect our singers to stay engaged between rehearsals in a variety of ways. For instance:
- All singers learn their notes, rhythms, and words outside of rehearsal using provided sheet music, audio learning tracks, and other materials. This allows us to focus on artistry when we do meet together.
- As a singer starts to know a particular song more comfortably, they may wish to submit a recording to the director for feedback. It helps build your confidence as you learn better singing techniques, if that is what you desire!
- We plan for a total of twelve ready-to-perform songs to rehearse on rotation.
- We also plan a variety of social events each season! West Island Harmony Chorus is a community, not just a singing group, and we hope many singers will join us for optional social events such as organized parties, and rehearsal “afterglows” at the Wok Café.
Learning tracks
We learn our material with learning tracks. With very few exceptions, these learning tracks will have the part you are supposed to sing and follow on the left side of your headphones, and the three other parts at a lower volume on the right. When you are sure you know your part well, listen to the right part only and see if you can hold your part on your own. Try your best, we will be there to help you during rehearsals.
Coaching
We will sometimes schedule an all-day “retreat” coaching session before the Division contest, should we decide to attend that year. This will involve spending a full day being coached by an expert.
We will also bring coaches into regular Thursday night rehearsals to work with us. There is no additional cost to the members for this.
Dues and Financial Costs
West Island Harmony Chorus is part of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Greater Montreal Chapter. As such, in order to participate in West Island Harmony Chorus’s activities as singing chorus members, all active WIHC singers are required to be active dues-paying members of the BHS. This provides certain legal protections, allows the chorus to attend division, district, and international BHS conventions, connects us to an international community of singers and artists, and much more. Although the structure may be subject to change in the future, the current annual breakdown of BHS dues as they relate to West Island Harmony Chorus looks like this:
- BHS international dues (the umbrella organization): USD$144/year
- Northeastern District dues (the New England/southern Canada region): USD$25
- Greater Montreal Chapter: CDN$75/year
This comes to a total of $300 for West Island Harmony Chorus’s season cost, including full BHS membership. Current BHS members who are new to West Island Harmony Chorus only have to pay our chapter fees of $75 Canadian since they have already paid for the BHS and district dues.
The Chapter Fees cover costs for the season, including music, learning tracks, rehearsal venue fees, professional coaching and riser rental for dress rehearsals. Unincluded costs may include things such as travel expenses, retreat lunches and some stage clothing (we will not have a uniform, only a color scheme).
The BHS Division contest that we plan to attend in Queensbury NY in 2024 is another expense that involves transportation, accommodation and meals . We like to attend these contests almost every year and we have targeted 2024 to participate in this fun and engaging event. We will dress as characters from a small town, so again no special uniform will need to be purchased, just your creativity.
