Choir Expectations

updated 9/13/25

CHOIR THURSDAY REHEARSAL

1. Rehearsal is Thursday 6:30PM-8PM in the Church. Be on time. Church doors are locked at 6:40PM. If you arrive late, please call Marianne (or another member you have alerted for this event) to have someone open the door.

2. If a Choir Member misses a Thursday rehearsal, the choir member cannot sing for the following Sunday Mass. Please just come to the next Thursday rehearsal. 

3. Bring a pencil and your black binder with the music listed on the website.  Putting your music in alphabetical order will help you locate it during rehearsal quickly. 

4. Have a pencil ready at the start of rehearsal. Marianne will have members mark their music with things like where to breathe, or to remember to pronounce the end of a word with an ”s”, “d”, “t”, etc.

5. There are no permenant assigned seats. Seating is often adjusted for sound balance reasons. Be ready to sing next to different members and say "hello!"

6. Leona LaMotte is the Social Coordinator of the Choir. She periodically sends out a choir roster with names, phone numbers and email addresses when we have new members. You can speak with her about car pooling help, other social events or getting to know folks in the choir.

7. Pat Finnd-Gethers and Nancy Compton are the sheet music librarians. They will distribute music through the file and number system. Know your choir # assigned to you. Be a good steward. It is vital to keep track of your own music. Have a binder or file cabinet to keep all choir music in alphabetical order at home. We don't want to waste paper and funds making unnecessary copies.

8. Please arrive 20 minutes early to Thursday rehearsal if you are missing music so Pat has time to gather the music for you. Music is not given out on Sundays The sacristy (which is where the music library is located) is reserved for the Sacristans and their ministry on Sundays.

SUNDAYS

1. Warm-up before Sunday Mass is 8:45 AM in the chapel but at 10:45AM on 1st Sundays of the month. Please be on time. Being late means missing warm-ups and last minute announcements. 

2. BINDERS SHOULD BE IN ORDER before arrival. This is not a time for learning parts or having social conversation. It is a time to review tempos, breath marks, introductions, who sings which verses, any last minute announcements, and of course, praying before mass begins. After Mass, enjoy each other's company at coffee and doughnuts in the Social Hall!

3. NO MUSIC is given out on Sundays.

4. Binders must be in order before going out into the church. Microphones will pick up every binder click, cough drop wrapper, and whisper.

5. SUNDAYS, the Sacristy is to be avoided. The Sacristy is a place of quiet reverence for those handling the sacred vessels.

6. If you must have water during Mass, it must be in a leak-proof container with a folding straw so that you aren’t lifting up a bottle to drink during Mass. Preferably not a metal container unless you wrap it in something like a sock so that if it falls over, it doesn’t make noise. No bottled water.

7. Our microphones will amplify every sound in the choir section. Please, no talking before or after Mass. Conversations can be moved to the chapel.

8. The choir area is not a place for jackets, purses, bags. Purses and jackets are to be put on the cart in the chapel during Mass. The cart is locked in a closet during Mass.

9. No perfume/fragrance or strong smelling mentholated/eucalyptus lozenges out of consideration for fellow choir members. They cause throats to close, allergic reachtions such as  watering and burning eyes, mucus production and cough

10. If you have an envelope or offering for the offertory collection during Mass, there is a basket on the stairs near where the choir sits for the envelopes to be collected.

COMMITMENT TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ALL MEMBERS

1. You have any symptoms of a cold, flu or other virus (cough, sore throat, congestion, muscle fatigue, headache, fever, chills, diarrhea, nausea),

2. You're self-medicating (e.g., Tylenol, Mucinex, Robitussin) to reduce symptoms, and

Email the Leona, the director or one of the librarians to let them know you will be absent if possible. We will miss you, but better to be safe and healthy. Your seat will still be here upon your return!

Helpful Heath Hints:

• Wash hands thoroughly

• Hydrate

• Rest

• Eat good clean food to support a strong immune system.

Vocal Development Hints:

• Avoid or limit:

• sugar (inflammatory)

• alcohol and caffeine (dehydrating)

• dairy (produces mucus)

• industrial food (processed, instant, fast, lasts on the shelf for a long time - often these contain chemical additives, preservatives that can be inflammatory or toxic.)

Continue education on healthy vocal habits. Check out the “Learning” tab on the choir website (https://sites.google.com/view/qopmusicministry/learning). So much information online!

Thank you for caring for each other and being mindful of each other's health.

WEBSITE

1. The website for the choir can be added to your phone's homescreen. We are happy to help you do this, please just ask! Recommendation: check it Monday nights to see if there are new parts to review before rehearsal each week to see what music you need to bring for rehearsal. Check it again before Sunday to see if there are any changes or announcements.

2. By Mondays, Marianne posts the music list for the upcoming Sunday. You can either write it down, copy and paste the list to a Word document and print it out. Or, at the Thursday rehearsal, it is written out on the dry-erase board. Feel free to take a photo of it.

3. Sunday Music YouTube playlist. Click the blue button  “Sunday Music Youtube Playlist” in the "This Week's Music" section. The playlist will have the hymns and often part tracks (alto, tenor, bass) for individual songs to listen to and learn.

4. Practice Tracks - blue buttons for "Soprano" "Alto" "Tenor" and "Bass" - Parts for many of the songs are recorded so that you can learn them by listening to them. 

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BLACK BINDERS, home binders and responsibility for member music

• While the parish has copyright license to print choral music, we cannot exceed the number of copies licensed. All members are responsible for keeping track of the music given to them. Extra copies are not available except in emergency circumstances. We want to be good stewards of our resources, e.g. copy paper, and keep costs down. Toner for the parish printers is expensive. Thank you for your diligence and help in this task!

• Every member is asked to bring a three ring black binder to choir rehearsal and Mass. Professional choir binders ($30, more expensive) can be found for purchase online at Amazon but these are NOT required. Some folks like them because they have a place for pencils, an outside band to to make it easier to hold in your hand, and pockets for storage. Use a zipper pencil case that has three holes to place in your Sunday binder to hold phone, keys, pencil, tissues, etc.

• All choir members must have a second binder or file at home to keep yearly music in order. When you see the list for Sunday, remove the music in your binder from the previous Sunday and file it at home. Other music may be listed to bring to Thursday's rehearsal. Keep that at the back of your binder.  All choir members are responsible to care for and keep their music organized at home in another binder in alphabetical order or accordion folder so that it’s easy to find for rehearsals and Sundays.

• Some choir members prefer to put the music in plastic sheets to avoid the sound of pages shuffling when turning a page during Mass. HOWEVER, for rehearsal, be able to mark your music in pencil with directions for singing as directed.

• If a song has two pages, arrange them in your binder so that you see both pages at the same time so that you are not flipping back and forth during the song.

• Plastic magazine holders must be used for octavos. (These are the pieces in booklet format.) See Pat if you need any.

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We know how much time and effort is needed to be part of the music ministry. Thank you for answering the call and taking on the work it requires. Welcome and enjoy being in this choir!