There’s just one short month left for practicing for Disney’s Candlelight Procession. If you don’t have the arrangements memorized by now, you need to work extra hard and get some extra practice in.

Last night we practiced the last two arrangements along with Sing Noel.  I have about 95% of the music committed to memory and it’s always fun missing those notes watching the expression on our Choir Director’s face.

The last two arrangements are hard on my voice (especially the Hallelujah Chorus) since they were written for a First Tenor and my top range is about a F# or perhaps an A-Natural on a good night.  Forget anything above an E-flat early in the morning and I’m usually referring to the piano keyboard layout to find the middle-C until the coffee kicks in.

We’re extending choir practice an extra 1/2 hour so that we can read the whole Processional and get enough time in to practice our anthems and Christmas program.

We’re also fortunate to have Jim Wibur, the Disney Employee Choir Director, as a member of  our Choir since he knows all four parts by heart.  Perhaps we’ll have a rehearsal with his Choir…

With only one month to go, there’s very little time left.  Four or five rehearsals left then the Regional Rehearsal at Holy Trinity.  The Candlelight recording sure do help but the rehearsals is where the fine tuning takes place.

Keep rehearsing for the Big Day!

Holy Trinity will be hosting the Candlelight Regional Rehearsal on Wednesday December 2, 2009 at 6:30 PM.

Click here for address and map.

Our Choir Director, George Swanson, announced at practice last night that we were one of the lucky choirs that were chosen to participate in the 2009 Candlelight Processional on December 5, 2009!

I wasn’t too surprised because of the impressive Candlelight audition tape that we submitted and I was asked to the practice down in Anaheim this week two days earlier.

If you are participating in Candlelight this year, please write a comment below.

Thursday we heard the Disneyland candlelight audition tape that was submitted for the 2009 Processional.  It sounded very good indeed!  Of course, we participated in the 2008 Candlelight, so we knew the music by heart.  There is a high probability that we’re heading back to Disneyland for a second time.  But you never know since Disney tends to rotate new Choirs in for better area participation.

Regardless, we’re going to watch the Sunday Night 2009 Candlelight since our Disneyland Annual Passport is not blocked out that for that day.  If we do make it this year, we’ll probably sing in the mass choir on Saturday and spend the night down in Anaheim either at the Grand Hotel or another hotel in the park.

It was a very tiring day spending 3 hours in the backlot plus 2 hours of singing.  By the time we got out of the park it was nearly 9:30 PM and had enough time to go back to the car and re-enter for a few rides and fireworks.  Next time, I’m going to be prepared, relaxed and enjoy it.

The Disneyland Candlelight Processional 2009 audition process is fairly simple:  Submit two recordings, one which your Choir or School has recently recorded and one that Disney provides the arrangement.  Both demonstrate the SATB capabilities of your singing group.

With the audition tapes due Oct. 1, our Choir decided to audition at the last minute by recording Sunday’s Anthem and Disney’s arrangement of What Child is This.  The women sing the solo parts, then SATB per what is arranged in the Candlelight, back to the men singing the solo parts.  The we finish the arrangement as written except where the Choir normally “Ohhs” the Choir sings the solo parts.

I’m sure both or our recordings went pretty well (except where I did an Ohh instead of the solo part ;) and we should hear back from Disney in a few weeks if we were accepted.

Nothing could cause us to turn back in the race,
Because we’re bound for regions of perfect song,
Jesus abundantly supplied us with grace,
Leave your sorrows, come and go along.

Why should we be sad, children of God and sad?
Lift our our grateful voices in glad jubilee,
O be glad for things are not so bad, leave your sorrows,
Come along and go with me

Today was “Civic Duty Day” – or better known as Jury Duty in the Ventura County, CA Court System.   It was simply an uneventful day.  One Jury was called in the morning; 1 and 1/2  hour lunch, then dismal around 4:30 PM.

I managed to read about 100 pages of Robert Jordon’s CrossRoads in Twilight (Wheel of Time Series) which was quite amazing because I usually fall asleep in the most uncomfortable chairs.  I picked up right where I left off the last time I was a juror over a year ago…

I practiced humming the Disneyland Candlelight Procession Tenor Part most of the day while I was awake and this helped the reading pace.  I’m sure that it annoyed the hell out of other jurors which would explain why nobody was sitting next to me.

Driving to the Court today, I noticed a Thai food restaurant within walking distance. During our lunch break, I walked over to Jasmine Thai.  They have one of the best Thai Iced Coffees I’ve ever had.  The Panang was watery and left a strange taste.

Walking back to the Jury Room, I took a stroll along the County Court Campus walk ways.  I practiced out loud a little more of Candlelight but ended up singing the tenor part of “Stand by Me” performed by the Crimson River Quartet shown here:

Mernie Metzler is singing Tenor while Rick Moore is the tall bass singer.  Rick blogs over at http://HolyCoast.com and has some interesting political points of view besides being able to hit the  low notes.

Arr: Dotty Rambo

We celebrated my wife’s birthday in style this year at Disneyland.  We decided to spend the night at a hotel near Disneyland and stayed at the Grand Hotel and Spa.

I can tell you that this is a very impressive hotel to stay at.  The six-story foyer is truly grand and lives up to its name.  The walnut stairs will take from the first floor all the way up to the top with a magnificent view of the hotel.

We are planning to go back and stay a few nights to have mini-vacations this year since we both have busy work schedules.

Regardless of if I participate in the 2009 Candlelight Processional this year (12/5 – 12/6/2009), we are spending the weekend there.

Jim Wilber mentioned to me today that the 2009 Disneyland Candlelight Processional is December 5th and 6th.  I don’t believe that we’re going to audition this year, but I believe that George Swanson’s Camarillo SDA church may audition.

If that’s the case — and we’re accepted — we’ll be singing on Sunday the 6th.  We’ll know sometime in October if we’re going back.

The amazing thing is that I was listening to the arrangements today and I can still sing the Tenor part.