Voce di Rio

2026 - Festival Performances

This year we took our concert choir (names Voce di Rio), for the first time that I am aware of, to the Golden Empire Music Festival at CSU Sacramento where they performed for college professors and scored a solid Excellent rating.

The ensemble then, a few months later, traveled to Santa Clara for the Music In The Parks music festival. They, along with the Sierrano Ensemble and Rio N.Y.N., performed for college professors. They scored an Excellent rating at this festival as well. The goal then was to score a superior rating at the final festival of the year.
The ensemble traveled with the entire music department (Symphonic Band, Drumline, Sierrano Ensemble, and the vocal jazz ensemble) to American Canyon high school. There they performed well and scored a Superior rating and a second place finish earning them another second place finish.

Well done.

Hello and Welcome 

     Concert Choir has been a staple ensemble at Rio Linda High School and was established in 1962.
Mr. Murray has taken the reins of this ensemble again after 10 wonderful years of having one of the finest vocal instructors in the Sacramento area, Ms. Prax, directing the ensemble. Ms. Prax has since moved to Foothill High School and is doing amazing things there. This ensemble has had the name(s) Beginning Choir, Beginning/Advanced Choir, and Concert Choir. As of today (6/3/2025) we will be calling it Voce di Rio (Voices of Rio).

     The ensemble, over the years, has performed at the Music In The Parks Music Festival - Santa Clara, Vallejo, and Anaheim and the District Festival of the Arts and, the Golden Empire Music Festival. We hope to have some singers that we can send to the Sacramento Area Honor Choir this next year. 

     We will be reviewing music fundamentals which include, but are not limited to:
*Names of the lines and spaces (note names), rest / note durations, accidentals, articulations,
            dynamics, styles for the works we will be learning and performing.
          *We will be conversant in the musical roadmap: Clef(s), Key, Time and, Tempo, Further we will be
            working on chords, chord structures, tuning chords vocally, and learning to play the Major, minor and
            other chords as they appear in our literature.

     We will be focusing on melodic phrasing and the harmonies that accompany the piece of music they will be performing. We will study beginning to intermediate vocal techniques which include: vowel placement, breathing for singing, intonation, diction, enunciation, pronunciation, etc. 

     The three I's will be a constant, steady mantra in all of the vocal classes: In Tune, In Tone, In Time. Followed shortly after with the two B's: Balance and Blend.

     We will be performing difficulty level 1 to 2.5 songs of the solid literature that makes a great Concert Choir. Some of those style periods will be the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century, Folk Songs, Spirituals, and the National Anthem (as soloists, trios, quartets and a choir) / Alma Mater. Mr. Murray may even write a tune or two for the ensemble when they are ready.

    This ensemble is not limited in size. In fact, we would like to see a concert choir (Voce di Rio), Vox Equitum, and a Chamber Choir over the next couple of years. Voce di Rio could be up to 60 students (equally set in the SATB format), Vox Equitum will be capped at 24 and Chamber Choir would be capped at 16. 

     We perform on risers and will have choir mics to help with sound reinforcement. Solos, when there are some, will be a walk to a solo mic as opposed to the vocal jazz which is "one on a mic" for their performances.

     You will be expected to hold your part as part of a quartet in rehearsals and on stage. We will be doing from 2 to 4 part harmony plus a solo line. Currently we perform with Ms. Mikita, our accompanist.

Connectivity

We will use the following for communications throughout the year:
          The Band App - This is for instantaneous connections - need to be here now, kind of thing. We send information home on the app as well. Your parent /
          guardian are encouraged to be on the app. We will show you how to get it and get connected.
          eMail - As always we will send information home via email (the communications portal in Aeries).
          Printed materials - These are things that we will send home, from us to you to your folks, and need to be signed and returned in a specified time line.

Performances

     We will have three home performances (Winter Concert, Spring Concert, and Pops Concert) as well as a performance at the District Festival Of The Arts. 

     We will attend a few festivals each year. The ones with an " * " are confirmed and the ones with the " ^" are open for discussion.

Songs we are contemplating:

Kyrie Eleison - Music by: Mary Donnelly, Arranged by George L. O. Strid
Furaha! - Written by: Sally K. Albrecht
Seasons of Love - Written by: Jonathan Larson, Arranged by: Roger Emerson

Golden Empire Music Festival - 4/18/26
Music In The Parks Music Festival - Whole Department (Vallejo CA)* - 5/2/26
We will have other "outside" performances. We will be singing Christmas Carols in December for the Christmas Parade in Rio Linda. And as they come up I will let you know and see if we can do them. 

National Anthem - This year we will be learning the national anthem as a soloist, trio, quartet, and choir.

2026 - 2027 
Performance Dates & Repertoire 

Winter Concert (December 10, 2025) -
Opener - TBD

Closer - TBD

District Festival  (March 10, 2027)
Song 1 -
Song 2 -
Song 3 - 

Spring Concert (March 18, 2027)
Furaha!- Written by: Arranged by Cassandra Emerson

Golden Empire Music Festival (April XX, 2027)
Opener -
Ballad -

Spring Tour - Six Flags MITP - Vallejo (May 8, 2027)
Opener -
Off Tempo -
Closer - 

Pops Concert - (May 13, 2027)
Opener -
Closer -

Uniforms
Ladies: Concert Gowns/Dresses, black closed toe flats (no more than 1 inch heels).

Gentlemen: 2-piece black tuxedos, white tuxedo shirts and black/gold bow ties, black dress shoes (no boots), black dress socks.

You will have a Music Handbook packet to fill out and sign,
as will your parental unit(s) (parents, guardians, etc.)

Fundraising - All funds that are raised via a fundraising effort sponsored by the Music Department (regardless of where it is held) remains in the department should you decide to leave the ensemble. 

Travel - Beginning 2021 we changed our travel pattern. We will be going to local festivals and one big festival each year. If something comes up, festival-wise, we will discuss it at length and determine if we want to do it.

MrM

2026

          Date                           What is the performance                                Required? 

              12/05/2026 Rehearsal with accompanist – 8 - 12noon Required

              12/10/2026               Winter Concert (Large Gym)                           Required
    12/xx/2026               Caroling                           Optional

2027

              Date                           What is the performance                                       Required?

            02/xx/2027 ?DFOTA Choir Rehearsal 9:30 am - 12:30pm Required
  03/xx/2027 ?DFOTA Choir Rehearsal 9:30 am - 12:30pm Required
            03/10/2027 District Festival of the Arts Required

            03/18/2027 Spring Concert (Large Gym) Required
  05/06/2027               National Anthem Auditions Optional
            05/08/2027 Department Spring Tour – Vallejo Six Flags            Required

            05/13/2027               Pops Concert / Awards Ceremony                          Required

From the beginning of the program, 2005-2006, the rules for performances and tech rehearsals are:

You must attend all vocal performances that have been listed at the outset of the year as well as the rehearsals known as combo rehearsals or tech rehearsals (these are required). If we get a performance that doesn't give you at least 2 weeks advance notice that performance is up for debate.  If you should choose to miss a performance and/or a tech/combo rehearsal you will fail this class for the entire semester. Performances are not optional. Tech/Combo Rehearsals are NOT optional.

A family emergency is: mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather have had a life threatening injury or accident (all others are not valid), or a death of said family members. Not my great aunt has to fill out her EBT forms. This is an academic, CSU/UC  "F"  credit bearing class/ensemble. No other excuses will trigger the "save my grade" portion of the grading policy.

To save your grade from missing a performance and/or a tech/combo rehearsal that your director has deemed worthy of triggering  you must do the following:

You are to write a 5,000 word essay in APA format
The title is "Vocal Music and it's Growth in the 20th Century."
You must attend a vocal performance of either a CSUS or ARC vocal jazz performance as set forth by your director.
You must get a program for said performance and have 3 players/singers and the director (if possible) sign the program
You must connect what they performed to your paper in such a way that we can see the way music has grown through out the 20th century.