Director's Notes

Lee Irwin Culbreth
Aug 30, 2022
6 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

*This will be updated each week following the most recent Monday night rehearsal. NOTE: the most recent post can now be found just below here at the top of this blog.

2/16/2026 rehearsal:

It has been reported to me that some folks have successfully played the sample recordings on the CD that I made but was not positive that they would work. Give them a try if you have not already. An additional song has been added to the Listing of line solos in the 2/9/2026 note. If you are interested in tryout for one of those line solos, be sure to add your name to the Line Solo Signup sheet that will be available on the back table during the next two rehearsals.

During this rehearsal after the opening comments and a warmup exercise, we reviewed a couple of songs using the sample records then live. Number 4 went well but we will have to concentrate some on the balance of the three voice parts. In number 6 there are some rhythm issues and balance problems otherwise it was mostly good. We followed this up with a focus session on number 10 where there were a lot of syncopation issues that will be resolved in time with repetition. After the Executive Board announcements and break we reviewed number 11 which has a very problematic rhythm pattern but will after everyone gets the "feel" of it become easier. The final focus session for the rehearsal was on the two selections #3 and #1. In #3 we need to nail down the swing pattern for the 8th notes and work on balance. The final selection #1 is relatively easy with some rich harmonic progressions which should come together nicely.

Next week we will review selections #1, #3, & #10 and focus on #2 and #5. If you are interested in trying out for a line solo be sure to add your name to the Line Solo Signup sheet. Also Feature tryouts will follow in the three weeks after the Line Solo Tryouts which will be 3/9/2026 for Line Solo tryouts.

2/9/2026 rehearsal:

The review was on the three selection ( #13, #9, & #8 ) that were the focus of last week's rehearsal. The focus this week was on selections #11, #6, & #4. Number eleven is going to require concentration on the individual voice lines that are often totally independent of the other voice lines. In number six there is a long male voice solo at the beginning of the song that the bases and tenors were struggling with a bit. Number four is for the ladies only and includes a soprano 2 part that jumps back and forth on the two staffs. It is still early in the season, and we will work through these issues in time.

Below is a listing of the Line Solos:

Song	Measures	Voice
Sweet Baby James	Page 2	Male
. . . Baby One More Time	Page 2, 8, & 10	Female and small mixed group
Start a Fire	Page 2	Any
Meant to Be	Page 2, 5, 8, & 9	Male, Female, and Descant
One For My Baby		Male & Female
Photograph	Page 10-13	2 part Descant

Next Monday we will Review selections #4, #6, & #11 and the Focus will be on selections #10, #3, & #1. The Voice Tracks are available to everyone that have met the condition for accessing them on the WCC website. If you need additional help let me know.

2/2/2026 rehearsal:

Welcome everyone to the WCC Spring 2026 "What About Baby?" season. I think there were about 25 in attendance. I am sure there were a few people that opted not to attend including our other keyboard accompanist, Nancy because of continued hazardous driving conditions. We began the rehearsal with a few introductory comments followed by a brief warmup exercise. We then reviewed a couple of selections. Unfortunately, this was a bit painful since the recorded samples were not available to sing along to. We then went to work focusing on three selections, with a brief interim of Executive Board member remarks and a break. We had to remain together as a single group for the focus session since we had only the one keyboard accompanist, Meredyth on hand. With two accompanists we would normally split into two groups for the focus session. This then serves as a pattern for the upcoming next four rehearsals as we have the initial focus session for each selection on the program.

Next Monday we will Review selections #13, #9, & #8 and the Focus will be on selections #11, #6, & #4 and hopefully more people will trickle in to join us. The Voice Tracks should be available on the WCC website by the end of this week.

1/26/2026 rehearsal:

Regrettably, this rehearsal was cancelled due to the severe weather conditions. This would have been dedicated to introducing members of the WCC Executive Board, the instrumental combo, and each of the songs on the program.

Next Monday we will Review: "Who Loves You" and "Photograph". We will then Focus on the selections "Baby, What a Big Surprise", ". . . Baby One More Time" and "Meant to Be". Normally, I would refer to these selections by number but since most of you have not received the program listing I have used the titles instead.

12/21/2025 final performance of the WCC "Sing We Now" concert season:

With the closing of the performance today marks the end of the WCC Christmas "Sing We Now" season. It was a great run with some of the most challenging selections ever attempted by WCC. You all have reason to be proud as you did a superlative job reflecting the attentiveness, dedication and hard work in mastering your voice parts. Now relax and enjoy a few weeks off and come back fresh and ready to begin work on the WCC Spring "What About Baby?" concert season. The next rehearsal will be January 26, 2026, at 7:30 PM at LCOC. Come early to register beginning at 7:00PM. See Upcoming Events page for more details. Music selections have been made and samples have been posted on the Music page. It is music with the word "Baby" included in the lyrics and possibly title.

2/23/2026 rehearsal: