Wasn't THAT a Party!!!

Well that sure was fun! It was a perfect sunny day this past Saturday and the OLG tent at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival was full of smiling and singing people. They had all turned out to sing jazz standards with Capital Vox Jazz Choir and Our Very Fine Band - Mark Ferguson piano, Tim Bedner guitar, Mark Alcorn bass, Marilee Townsend drums. We all sang Ellington and Gershwin and Jobim and more. Definitely we have to do that again sometime. Watch either here or at www.capitalvox.ca for when the next Come Sing Jazz Standards will be. Thanks so much to all who participated - it for sure wouldn't have been the same without you!

Come Sing with Capital Vox Jazz Choir at Ottawa Jazz Fest!

We are trying our hand at the "Come Sing Handel's Messiah" type of event, but with our own spin on it. Join us at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival at our "Come Sing Jazz Standards" event. It's Saturday July 2 from noon to 1 PM at the OLG Stage downtown in Confederation Park.

Be a part of the fun! Join Elise Letourneau & Capital Vox Jazz Choir in singing some favourite standards from The Golden American Songbook. We'll sing a tune or two, and then you'll get to join in the singing too - and pick up a few jazz vocal tips along the way, learn to count in the rhythm section, and sing a few scat riffs too. Lyrics and rhythm section provided - just bring your own voice. All ages and singing levels welcome - the more the merrier!

For more information about the event, or about the Ottawa Jazz Festival in general, please visit http://ottawajazzfestival.com/index.php/come-sing-jazz-standards-with-elise-letourneau-capital-vox-jazz-choir/

Hope to see you there!

Lyrics Then & Now: School's Out!

These last weeks I have been coaching students of all stripes and watching many of them graduate or count down the days, or sometimes both. Those who display the most obvious anticipation tend to make me recall strains from Thomas Augustine Arne's 18th-century masque, Comus, with the libretto written by John Milton.


Here's the text to "Air from Comus":


Preach not me your musty rules, 
Ye drones that mould in idle cells, 
The heart is wiser than the schools, 
The senses always reason well. 
If short my span I less can spare 
to pass a single pleasure by: 
An hour is long if lost in care; 
They only live, 
They only live, 
They only live who life enjoy



Fast forward from 1738 to 2011 and we find that the ups and downs of social codes, formal education, and incorruptibility are still being hotly debated by songwriters. In 1972, Alice Cooper offered us "Well we got no class - and we got no principles/principals - we ain't got no innocence". I'm not licensed to print the whole lyric to "School's Out", but here's a fun link to it - don't let the first 10 seconds throw you:

Congratulations Class of 2011! And Good Summer to all! Hey do they still make those "burning schoolhouse" firecrackers?

Singing Blues/R&B Class - Showcase!

We had such fun the last 10 weeks in the Singing Blues and R&B class at Alcorn Music Studios. Six people signed up - most of whom had never performed in a club setting or with a live blues band. After getting over some normal initial reluctance to sing in front of people - including each other - the class really gelled and supported each other. Everybody got to sing lead on one tune, and backups on two more, and this is the group number we did where everyone sang on Mustang Sally.

Way to go Dan, Candace, Linda, Leslie, Barbara, and Liz!

Seasonal Allergies

They bother a lot of people, including singers!


So far, knock on wood, this Spring hasn't been too bad for me, comparatively speaking. Which roughly translates to one bad attack per week instead of three.


Some people feel like they are allergic to everything - and if your sinuses are already irritated, walking into a freshly industrial-cleaned retail space, the radius of a perfumed person, or a Catholic choir loft (when they light the incense it will take the shortest route to the choir loft - promise!) can be a dicey proposition with goopy results. Many of these same people have tried endless pharmaceuticals - both over-the-counter and prescription - often year round, only to remain sneezy and snuffy. I know that place very well.


I really wanted this year to be a little different in terms of allergies, instead of living it in a pharmacy-induced fog once I got out of my 6-8 week allergy-safe time frame (comparatively speaking again). I tried some different things, and I'm finding that so far this spring I am able to limit my allergy-drug taking to when I'm really symptomatic dangerously close to a gig. It's nice not to have to pop all those pills every day!


Here's what I've found has helped me with chronic allergic rhinitis and frequent sinusitis, and maybe they can help you too if you're suffering:


1) I went to a chiropractor and he got my neck into a more normal curve. Magically my headaches mostly went away too.


2) I got serious about nasal irrigation. The vessel for this purpose is often referred to as a Neti pot. But I found a squeeze-bottle type version at the pharmacy that you can use without contorting your head, neck, wrist, and elbow into strange positions over the sink. You just do it upright. No mess no fuss if you do it in the shower.


3) I got some help from an acupuncturist who specializes in allergies. Don't know why it works for me, but I don't really know why aspirin works either, and that never bothered me. Plus it's wonderfully relaxing.


4) At my acupuncturist's suggestion I started cutting down on "the white stuff" - dairy, processed flour products, and processed sugar products.


Now, when symptoms do get acute and I resort to pharmaceuticals, they are a lot more likely to work for me. Things still aren't perfect, but the above four measures have improved things for me by two-thirds (one attack per week instead of three), and then about two-thirds again (meds more likely to work when things get bad). I find they are also a lot more cost-effective, and "my liver is thanking me", at least according to my husband.


Here's a book with lots of ideas:
The Sinus Cure - 7 Simple Steps to Relieve Sinusitis and other Ear, Nose, and Throat Conditions
Debra Fulghum Bruce, Ph.D. and
Murray Grossan, M.D.
Ballantine Books, 2007
ISBN 978-0-345-49602-7


And if you've found some things that have helped you, feel free to share. Singing is too important to give up on finding sinus relief! And DO keep in touch with your medical support people. Your family doctor or allergy specialist or ENT can keep you up to date about any breakthrough treatments, or any changes they observe in your vocal apparatus.

Capital Vox Jazz Choir Concert! - We Live Here

We Live Here

Saturday April 30, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Knox Presbyterian Church

120 Lisgar Street at Elgin, Ottawa

Tickets $20

available at The Leading Note, Wellington Herb & Spice, Alcorn Music Studios, & choir members
www.capitalvox.ca

Nous Vivons Ici

Samedi le 30 avril 2011 à 19h30

Église presbytérienne Knox 

120 rue Lisgar, coin Elgin, à Ottawa

Billets $20; disponibles chez The Leading Note, Herb & Spice (rue Wellington), Alcorn Music Studios & des membres de la chorale
www.capitalvox.ca

Join us for our upcoming concert which deals with themes of place, peace, and community - as well as celebrating the talent of composers, poets, and songwriters who live in our own backyard. The creative work of fifteen Ottawa artists including John Akpata, Tim Bedner, Tony Cosier, Christine Fagan, Mark Ferguson, Megan Jerome, Elise Letourneau, Rupinder Singh, Nicola Vulpe, and others will be represented on the programme. Thirty voices under the direction of Elise Letourneau, plus saxophonist Mike Tremblay, pianist Mark Ferguson, guitarist Tim Bedner, bassist Mark Alcorn, and drummer Marilee Townsend.

Joignez-vous à nous lors de notre prochain concert qui traite du lieu, de paix et de communauté et célèbre le talent de compositeurs, de poètes et d'auteurs-compositeurs venant de notre propre cour. Le travail créatif de quinze artistes d'Ottawa, incluant John Akpata, Tim Bedner, Tony Cosier, Christine Fagan, Mark Ferguson, Megan Jerome, Elise Letourneau, Rupinder Singh, Nicola Vulpe et d'autres encore sera au programme. Trente voix s'exécuteront, sous la direction d'Elise Letourneau, accompagnées du saxophonist Mike Tremblay, du pianiste Mark Ferguson, du guitariste Tim Bedner, du bassiste Mark Alcorn et de Marilee Townsend à la batterie.

Summer 2011 Jazz Camp Tuition Scholarship for Singers!

Vocal Scholarship to Carleton University Jazz Camp
August 7-12, 2011

sponsored by Capital Vox Jazz Choir

Open to high school singers in grades 11 & 12

Send us the following:

- an MP3 CD recording of you singing something you love - a cappella or accompanied

- a statement of why you want to go to jazz camp - one page maximum

- a description of your music background - one page maximum

- the form below

All materials must be received by Friday May 20. Your submission will be reviewed by a panel of Capital Vox singers, including the director. Semi-finalists will be asked to audition live before the panel, and will be notified by May 23. The scholarship winner must agree to perform at one of the choir’s concerts during the 2011-12 concert season. The finalist will be notified by mid-June. Capital Vox reserves the right to not award a scholarship in the unlikely event that there are no qualified applicants.

Mail your application to: Capital Vox Jazz Choir, P.O. Box 681, Station B, Ottawa ON  K1P 5P8

Application form may be downloaded here.

For more information about the Carleton University Jazz Camp: www.cujazzcamp.ca

For more information about Capital Vox Jazz Choir: www.capitalvox.ca