A winter tradition returns! Once again chorister Bill Nesbitt will be baking his delicious Newfoundland cookies and squares in support of the Choir. Act fast, these sell out quickly every year!
Each box will contain 13 pieces. The recipes are traditional favourites from Newfoundland:
- Lassy Mogs -soft, spicy gingerbread cookies with dates and nuts
- Date Crumbles – rich, buttery Newfoundland date squares
- Five Star Bars- chewy coconut bars topped in chocolate
- Nut Sandies- buttery shortbread snowballs with pecan pieces
They are nicely packaged and make a lovely gift if you have the will power not to eat them yourself! ( and they freeze well ) The original artwork label will feature a Newfoundland holiday scene.
Still just $20 a box, and all proceeds go to Hamilton Sings! Community Choir.
We are taking orders until November 26th or until 40 boxes have sold, which ever comes first. Orders will be available for pick-up at the December 3rd rehearsal.
Place your order by sending an e-transfer to treasurer.hamiltonsings@gmail.com (include your name, e-mail address and the word “cookies” in the message) Cash or cheque orders can be made in person with Bill at choir rehearsals
The members only music autumn 2022 page continues to grow with resources designed to aid your success. Check it out frequently – practicing with the recorded voice parts can really increase your comfort level with the tunes. Password is sings!2022 but remember this is for your eyes only!
A long overdue task for the board of HS!CC has been the formulation of an Inclusivity statement. A sub-committee has been established and below you will find an initial report regarding their labours. All involved parties; choristers, music directors, board members, and future membership are invited to submit further constructive commentary as they see fit. These developing policies and procedures affect us all.
Report from the Inclusivity Sub-Committee
Thank you everyone for your kind and patient attendance at the beginning of our last rehearsal, and also for the respectful conversations afterwards. I though it would be a good idea to recap the points I made for those who weren’t there, and give an update on the activities of the sub-committee.
To begin, I’ll share the values statement that has guided the choir since it was founded:
“Hamilton Sings! Community Choir (HS!CC) believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the joy of singing together. As a community choir, it is our responsibility to create a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment free from harassment and discrimination of any sort. We are committed to work proactively to provide a choral experience that is accessible and enjoyable for all.”
The Inclusivity Sub-Committee is working with the last line of that statement in mind. Our task is to create policies and procedures that will help us put the values statement into everyday practice. We are meeting on November 8th.
Until formal guidelines are in place, we ask that any concerns be brought to a Board member (Eric, Bill, Tom C., Denise, Taylor & Brenda) outside of rehearsal time (on the break, after rehearsal, e-mail, etc.) so that our Co-Directors can focus on teaching, and our choristers on learning and singing. I’d also like to share some respectful communication guidelines from a example we are looking at:
- Listen for understanding rather than responding
- Treat others how you would like to be treated
- Take time to think about what you would like to say, and any potential consequences or results before you say it
- Think about how your tone, body language, words and actions could be interpreted. Are they kind, positive and constructive?
- Approach music, movement, choreography and performance elements with an open mind, and as an opportunity to learn something new
- Keep in mind that choosing music for a choir is a difficult task-a lot of time, energy and thought goes into selecting and preparing pieces
- Respect the decisions of those in leadership
- Be patient and kind with new members, staff and volunteers while they learn the ins and outs of the Choir”
As always, our Co-Directors are happy to take musical questions. However, please respect our Co-Directors by not talking while they are talking, or singing along when they have asked us to “just listen”. ( As a hearing impaired person who doesn’t read music I rely on being able to hear instructions and melodies clearly, and I know there are others with similar challenges. ) Just one good example of how we can provide a welcoming environment for all our members!
Yours in song, Bill Nesbitt (Board Member and Inclusivity Sub-Committee Chair)
Eric Matto, our board chair, is currently arriving at rehearsals early to set up the chairs. He is unavailable for the next 2 weeks, so if anyone out there would like to arrive a little early to cover for him, that would be grand.
See you all Saturday
Brenda Atkinson
Co-chorister
