Next Rehearsal – 07/01/25

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

July 1, 2025 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since we've only just passed the Solstice, we could continue working on "Summer Solstice Chant" and our new Midsummer piece. Alternatively, we could begin working on "Lammas Gift". I have lyrics written for our own original Lughnasadh piece but haven't finished putting them to music, though my kiddo and I have made a start, so I'd love input on that! It will be the First Quarter Moon, so we could also return to "Moon, Sister Moon" or "Crescent Moon". And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming remain an option. If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. 

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. If you use Discord, you can join our server to stay updated. If you use BlueSky, you can follow us there for updates. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our July 1 rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 06/24/25

Four of us made it out this week, including a new person! Two of our folks were delayed considerably, so our new person and I spent the first hour getting to know each other. Once the other two showed up, we did a quick warm-up and then worked on "Dark of the Moon". We wouldn't normally spring such a challenging piece on a new person but this new person minored in music in college! We ran through each melody about three times. She caught on so quickly that she just needed to hear each melody once or twice and sing it twice to feel confident! Since three of us had already sung it in the round together and our new person was such a quick study, we decided to try putting all three parts together. We played the Libana recording for her as an example and she only needed to hear it once to jump right in on the hardest melody! I didn't want to stress out the new person with recording but, believe me, she knocked it out of the park!

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We didn't receive any donations this week but we remain grateful to all our previous donors! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Next Rehearsal – 06/24/25

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

June 24, 2025 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since we've only just passed the Solstice, we could continue working on "Summer Solstice Chant" and our new Midsummer piece. Alternatively, we could begin working on "Lammas Gift". I have lyrics written for our own original Lughnasadh piece but haven't yet put them to music, so I'd love input on that! It will be the Dark Moon, so we could also return to "Dark of the Moon", which we haven't worked on in some time. And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming remain an option. If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. 

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. If you use Discord, you can join our server to stay updated. If you use BlueSky, you can follow us there for updates. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our June 24 rehearsal.

P.P.S. Apologies updates are so late; I've been utterly swamped with various community events!

Rehearsal Summary - 06/17/25

Four of us made it out this week. After a five minute warm-up, we started in on our new Midsummer piece. Because all of us present already felt comfortable with it, we started experimenting with alternative rhythms and dynamics. We considered changing the dynamic emphasis on different lines but ultimately preferred simply increasing the volume throughout the piece, so the first stanza is somewhat piano, while the last stanza is more forte. We decided that singing the entire song forte as we've previously done has a very jovial, celebratory mood, while the gradual crescendo lends itself to increasing energy in a ritual. After that, one of our members suggested lengthening the time we spend on the word "longest" in the final line, which we also liked. We put both changes together and got a lovely recording of them! We have noticed, however, that not having formal sheet music to sing from does cause confusion on rhythmic issues, especially how long to hold certain notes. I'd love to collaborate with someone on that to see if we can get it pinned down; I simply don't have the necessary expertise. We spent the last 30 minutes or so experimenting with "Summer Solstice Chant", though we didn't take any recordings. We tried adjusting the tempo, dynamics, and phrasing. What we found is, essentially, that there's a wide array of pleasing ways to sing it! We decided that it's a very adaptable piece, which can be altered to suit a variety of purposes and atmospheres.

In other news, one of our members was kind enough to bring our fliers to a Summer Solstice festival this weekend to share with the community! We extend our thanks to them and encourage other members to also bring our fliers to community events!

If you'd like to review any of our material, the sheet music and recordings are available on our Drive. For the naming conventions of the recordings, see the document in our Drive. You can also listen to the TPC playlist of recordings of some of the pieces by professional artists on Spotify. If you're trying to practice at home and can't quite discern your note, you can use a keyboard app to plunk out whichever ones you're having trouble with.  (This is by no means an official endorsement, but the app I use is "Voice Training - Learn to Sing" by the developer Learn to Master. It labels the notes on the keyboard and gives you real-time feedback on what note you're singing.) If you need a tutorial on how to read music, this one seems sufficient for helping you figure out which note you want to find on the keyboard.

We received $20 in donations this week; thank you to our generous donor! If you would like to track our accounting, you can view our donations and expenses spreadsheet and receipts on our Drive.

We can't wait to sing with y'all!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. Apologies updates are so late; I've been utterly swamped with various community events!

Next Rehearsal – 06/17/25

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

June 17, 2025 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

I plan to continue working on "Summer Solstice Chant" and our new Midsummer piece. It will be the Last Quarter Moon, so we could also return to "Moon, Sister Moon" or "Crescent Moon". And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming remain an option. If you'd like to be an overachiever and come prepared, sheet music and recordings for most pieces are available on our Drive. 

We welcome all safe and respectful Pagan and Pagan-adjacent adults of any skill and experience level! We're community-focused rather than performance-focused, so we don't hold auditions and we welcome drop-ins. Because of the music that is best-known and most-available, our starter songs trend a little Wiccan, but we will be seeking to incorporate all kinds of Pagan and Pagan-friendly music. You can help! We welcome recommendations and leads on pertinent music that is in the public domain or is low-royalty. 

There are no fees or dues for participating, but we do gratefully welcome any cash donations* to cover the cost of renting our rehearsal space. We will have a receipt book on hand to log all donations and post aggregate info (without personally identifying information) to the blog so everyone can see where their donations are going. *We are not currently a registered 501c, so we don't have financial accounts and I can't speak to whether or not your donation is tax-deductible.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of a contagious illness, especially Covid-19, please defer your attendance until you're feeling well. We'll all be breathing the same air in that meeting room and, while you are absolutely welcome to wear a mask, it isn't exactly conducive to singing.

We will have name/pronoun stickers, sheet music, and folders available at our meetings. The sheet music is also available on our Drive. The only things you need to bring are your voice and the vocal-chord-friendly drink of your choice!

The UU campus has multiple lots, buildings, and doors, so we have a video demonstrating how to get to our rehearsal space from either lot. (Apologies for my winded smoker wheezing!)

We can't wait to sing with y'all on Tuesday!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

P.S. In addition to this blog, there are a number of ways to stay updated on our events. We have a mailing list for weekly email reminders and can even send you an Invite directly through Google Calendar. Email us at the address above to be added to both or either of these lists. If you use Discord, you can join our server to stay updated. If you use BlueSky, you can follow us there for updates. You can also find us on Facebook at our Page and in our Group, where we share Events and other info. If you'd like to be added to the Invite list for our Facebook Events, please follow our Page or join our Group (otherwise FB won't let me send it to you) and drop us a PM. Here's the FB Event for our June 17 rehearsal.

NO Rehearsal - 06/10/25

We will not be holding rehearsal on Tuesday June 10, as Eric and I will be out of town for our anniversary and I don't currently have a musical director to cover for me. 

I'm so sorry to have lead y'all on with the post earlier this week, I've been so sick and busy that I completely forgot what week it was!

I encourage anyone interested to have a call on the Discord to catch up! We'll still have one more rehearsal before the Solstice to work on "Summer Solstice Chant" and our new Midsummer piece. 

(The house Eric and I stayed in for our anniversary last year had amazing acoustics, so I recorded a different interpretation of "Summer Solstice Chant" that's more evocative of hot, muggy Southern nights on the porch, if you'd like to give that a listen.)

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director

TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

NO Rehearsal - 06/03/25

Due to low expected turnout, we will not be holding rehearsal tomorrow, June 3. Apologies for leaving this until the day before; I've been ill and it totally slipped my mind. I look forward to singing with everyone next week!

-El Pethybridge

TPC Admin. Dir.