DATE: Sunday, December 18, 2010
TIME: 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.
PLACE: Grenoble Studio, 3085 S. Pennsylvania St., Englewood, NOT the Church

Our Holiday Program will consist of four small groups presenting several tunes of their own choosing, with the opportunity for the Chapter members to join in while being directed by the small groups. The presenters are:
1) "Farrago" consisting of Peggy McCreary and her Orff students who will be presenting several Holiday tunes. There will also be an opportunity to play through some lovely holiday recorder/tonebar arrangements on the Orff instruments at the Studio.
2) "All Things in Moderato" consisting of Marilyn Davidson, Diane Potter and Nancy Fey. They will be playing extra good arrangements of Rudolph, Jingle Bells and several short Appalachian-originating pieces from a book called Basket of Stars;
3) "James Grush, John Geohagen and Trudy Wayne" will be presenting Ave Maris Stella and Sancta Maria by John Dunstable (1390-1453) and What Child is This ? (Greensleeves) arrangement by James. James will direct a 12 part (3 choir) arrangement of The Magnificat by Palestrina for member participation;
4) The final group, "Stop Time" and "Fipple Jive" consisting of Dick Munz, Erin Bell, Phil Belefski, Ed Pinfield and Janet Handmaker will be presenting Barber Shop Jingle Bells, A French Noel, The Little Recorder Boy, The Christmas Song, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, with Santa Claus Blues and 'Tis the Season in reserve if there is sufficient time.
It promises to be a very enjoyable meeting!

Directions to Grenoble Studio: From the north: Take I-25 to Santa Fe Dr. Go south on Santa Fe to Dartmouth. Turn left (east) on Dartmouth to Pennsylvania.
School is on the corner of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth.
From the south: Take I-25 to Hampden Ave. Turn left (west) on Hampden to S. Downing St. - about 3 miles. Turn right (north)
on S. Downing St. to E. Dartmouth Ave. Turn left (west) on E. Dartmouth to Pennsylvania. School is on the corner.

President's Message

Two things to remind you about:

Dues are past due. Denver Chapter dues are just $20 for the season. The season is half over. If you haven't sent in your dues, please due so. The enrollment form is available on our website (http://www.denverrecordersociety.org/). Click Join, and at the bottom of that page click Printable Form.

The Colorado Recorder Events Calendar is working just fine, even if you haven't checked it out. It lists nearly 100 events in Colorado for December, most of which are open to you. For instance, Colorado Springs is having their annual Holiday Salon on Saturday, December 4. That sounds like fun and it's open to you. An easy way to get to the Calendar is to go to our Website (http://www.denverrecordersociety.org/) and click on "Calendar". If you have an event you want to add to the Calendar, send it to coloradorecorders@gmail.com.

And the the other second thing I wanted to remind you about is that our website has been updated and is now prettier and easier to find your way around. Thanks to Jennifer and Susy for that.

Dick Munz

Annual Colorado Springs Recorder Salon

Saturday, December 4, 1:30-4:00 p.m. Featuring a play-together sight-reading session, as well as prepared pieces by local and FrontRange consorts on recorder, viola da gamba, and guitar. Refreshments will follow the program. First Congregational Church, 20 E. St. Vrain Street, Colorado Springs. Information: Jeannine Bramwell, 719-473-1565

Members in Good Standing

Louise Adler, Karen Anderson, Shirley Baker, Jann Benson, Rebecca Beshore, Roberta Blanc, Paul Brunson, Jon Casbon, Bill Conklin, Virginia Cortes, Lynda Coy, Charles Dana, Keith Emerson, Mike & Cathy Emptage, Judy Fritz, Rosemary Glista, Barbara Grenoble, Pam Grotegrut, Janet Handmaker, Patrick Heid, Eve Johnson, John M. LeVett, Nira Lipner, Bob McCarroll, Lisa McInnis, Pat Midyet, Paul Mimlitsch, Dick Munz, Bruce Nelson, Gail Nickless, Margaret Peterson, Justine Romero, Miriam Rosenblum, Virginia T. Schlieker, Mary Scott, Pat Selby, Mary Sloan, Rosi Terada, Gerrie Vendegna, Trudy Wayne, Susan Wilcox, Madeline Zanetti. If your name does not appear on this list following the month you mail your check, please contact Dick Munz.

Sacred Harp is the Human Voice, the Musical Instrument Given to us at Birth

What an exciting November meeting! Multi-talented Rebecca Beshore gave us a better understanding of Shape Note/Sacred Harp Music by introducing us to Rachel Ingraham and Erik Mason of Colorado Sacred Harp Singings. Rachel provided us with a short history of Shape Note Music of Early New England Tradition (plain tunes, fuging tunes, odes, and anthems) and the migration of Shape Note Music to the southern part of the United States. Erik Mason gave us a wonderful explanation: fa, sol, la, mi is a four syllable system for a major scale, visualized as a triangular flag, circle, square and diamond, the tenor part usually carries the melody, doubled by the soprano, the alto is rhythmic or drone-like, and has a melodic harmonizing bass line for the baritone singers.

In attendance were members of the local singings, enthusiastically demonstrating leadership, pitch, rhythm, and singing styles of the Shape Note songs. Everyone participates, singing loud and clear, keeping time with their hands.

Recorderists and singers performed a collection of songs with the Fasola shapes, including the song Idumea S.M. from the movie Cold Mountain.

Thank you Rebecca Beshore. We have a new collection of traditional music that plays so well with recorders that you will say "How Sweet the Sound."

Justine Romero

Recorder Newbies To Celebrate The Holidays

Newbies, at your December meeting you will celebrate the holidays by playing multiple part settings of familiar Christmas tunes. Your hostess, Jennifer Myers, is a ten-year member of The Denver Chapter and also a long-time member of The Colorado Recorder Orchestra. She also plays and performs in a small ensemble. Her skills include competency on the soprano, alto, tenor and bass recorders. The Newbie session gives newer players an opportunity to play small ensemble music in a safe setting. If you know some fingerings and can read a little music, this session is for you. The Newbies meeting is free of charge and open to the public. Drop-ins welcome.

Date: Sunday, December 19, 2010
Time: 12:45 ‘til 1:45 pm
Place: Grenoble Studio of Musical Arts
3085 S. Pennsylvania
Englewood, CO 80113
Hostess: Jennifer Myers
Music: Christmas Music

Group Corner

News of the activities and postings from area musical groups having recorder players. Check the chapter website for a listing of all groups that we know of, including contact information.
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Philip Belefski hosted the November Newbie session. Newbies played Gregorian chants, then skipped forward several centuries to The Music of The Troubadors. Philip’s guitar was a great addition, especially to the Troubador pieces.
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StopTime had no performances in November. Instead, we spent much of our time working on new music. We are taking a bolder approach to creating our own music and this takes more time than working from stock arrangements. We are modifying stock arrangements, such as "Georgia On My Mind", to let Erin sing in a key that fits her better, then modulating to the arrangement's key for the rest of the polyphonic instrumental. In other cases, "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" for instance, we could find no stock arrangement, so we are trying to work from a lead sheet only. Philip plays guitar chords behind the vocal, then we improvise solos over the chords. Needless to say, these are great learning experiences for us.
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Marylebone Players continues to review the music of the centuries. We now have nine players in the Saturday group. Last Saturday we played four double choir pieces. Wonderful music. We have also started to review baroque sonatas that require four recorders plus continuo. The players that have been in the group for three years have reviewed a tremendous amount of music. We could use another player (intermediate or above) in the Monday group. If you are interested let me know. Bill Conklin 303-455-0837
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Now and Then will be performing quite a bit during December. We will be playing our winter music both ancient and modern. The group consists of the following recorder, string and percussion performers:

Rebecca Beshore, recorders, percussion, glockenspiel
Liz Gilpatrick, recorders, guitar, harp. glockenspiel
Pam Grotegut, recorders, percussion
Ruth Harvey, recorders, percussion, ancient strings
Joyce Shambaugh, recorders, percussion
Ann Sprague, recorders, percussion
Trudy Wayne, recorders, percussion
Arrangements by Liz Gilpatrick

Our performing venues and dates are:
Friday, Dec 3, Louisville Public Library, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec 3, Aar River Gallery Holiday Party, 6:30 p.m. (3707 W 73rd Ave, Westminster, 80030)
Sunday, Dec 5, Vic's Coffee Shop, 9:00 a.m., Louisville
Friday, Dec 10, Good Samaritan Exempla Hospital entrance, 11:15 a.m., Lafayette, hwy 287 north of Broomfield
Friday, Dec. 17, Longmont Hospital, 11:00 a.m.

We hope to see you at any of our hour long performances.
We have prepared a wide variety of delightful selections suitable for all ages.

Questions or want to book us?
Pam Grotegut, <pmgmusic@comcast.net>, 303-466-6108
Liz Gilpatrick,< lizgilp@gmail.com>
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The Pine Creek Duo plays at the Margarita about once each month.
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October: Alpine Quartet played at the Margarita Restaurant in Colorado Springs.
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October 22: Pacato Consort played for High Tea at Faye Padgett's house, and on October 29 played for Retirement Celebration at Peterson Field
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November 2: Caramillo Consort gave a demonstration for Webster Elementary kids, and is preparing a series of three concerts at three different retirement homes two or three times a year. Our next series will be in early February..
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November 7: WoodDove Consort played for 1st Congregational Church services. It is preparing a series of retirement-home concerts as well.
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Fipple Jive was honored last month by a visit from a new Denver Chapter member, Jon Casbon, from Colorado Springs. Those of you who remember Jon from his previous tour in Colorado also remember that he is an excellent recorder player and skilled at improvisation. We hope he can visit us often, but the Air Force still expects his participation there on a regular basis. Fipple Jive is open to you. If you would like to improve your ability to play from memory, give Dick Munz a call at 303-286-7909.
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Rocky IX Workshop Announced for May, 2011

The next "Rocky" workshop in Estes Park will feature Glen Shannon, Mark Davenport and Anne Peterson. We have reserved rooms in the new Long's Peak Lodge for the weekend of May 20 - 22, 2011. Mark your calendar, and stay tuned for details!

Get a Gamba!

Interested in learning more about the Viola da Gamba? A limited number of student quality viols are available for rental at a reasonable monthly rate. Please call Bill Conklin at 303-455-0837 for more information.