PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
A Typical Day at Rehearsal
McKendree's show choir rehearsals/practice are unpredictable to say the least. We usually use the words rehearsal and practice interchangeably for many reasons. Practice is personal and rehearsal is relational.
PRACTICE is the work you do when no one is looking, not just on the songs you’re playing that weekend, but on the techniques and rudiments that are the foundation of your musical ability. REHEARSAL is the time when musicians come to put together all the practice they have done individually to prepare for a set or event.
Depending on the day, our practices are filled with intense energies, laughter, and fun. Rehearsals are mainly on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-9:30PM. We have rehearsal in order to better prepare and perfect our performance for future audiences.
The singer dancers utilize two locations on campus to practice. We use the band room in the Hett on Sundays and Thursdays, and we use Eisenymer on Tuesdays. Our band usually rehearses in the band room as well. A typical practice consists of us stretching while warming up our voices, then we may kick off practice with a fun dance warmup to get everyone pumped. We then go off to do sectionals with our specific voice parts or jump right into practicing choreography. It depends on the day and what areas of our performances needs the most work.
During sectionals, we may be with our specific voice parts or mixed with others . For example, the sopranos and altos may work together while basses and tenors work. A sectional consists on us going over notes in our music, practicing dynamics, and getting an understanding of the purpose of a piece.
Tuesdays are workout days were as a choir we stretch, do exercises that target our core, legs and arms. After we are warmed up, we line up to run while singing one of our pieces or the famous "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".
After practice is over, our director gives us notes and then we are done for the night.
VIDEOS OF REHEARSAL
Eisenmyer
Band Room
Choreo Weekend
Every college student looks forward to their precious two day weekend. Some plan to party hard, go home to see family, or continue to not study for that 8am exam on Monday. For us, some weekends are occupied by choreo weekend. Starting Saturday Morning till Sunday Night , we have scheduled choreo weekends where we learn our new choreography and songs for our show that year.
Professional chroegraphers are hired to come teach choreography for us and most importantly to network and build relationships with each performer. Our primary choregraphers are Maxwell Deyo and Demetries Morrow.
