Next Rehearsal – 05/05/26

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

May 5, 2026 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

Since no one could make it to our last rehearsal, I'm bumping discussion about whether we should continue singing "We All Come from the Goddess" to our next rehearsal. Since Beltane will have just passed, we could continue working on "Maypole Dance" and "Summer's King". We could also begin working on our Summer Solstice songs, "Midsummer" and "Summer Solstice Chant". The Moon will be Waning Gibbous, so we could also work on "Moon, Sister Moon". And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming are always a good choice. 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, 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 May 5th rehearsal.

Next Rehearsal – 04/28/26

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

April 28, 2026 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

I plan to open discussion about whether we should continue singing "We All Come from the Goddess" given what I've recently learned of its author. On the lighter side, I expect we'll continue working on "Maypole Dance" and "Summer's King". The Moon will be Waxing Gibbous, so we could also work on "Moon, Sister Moon". And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming are always a good choice. 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, 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 April 28th rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 04/21/26

Three of us made it this week. After catching up and warming up, we went through "Maypole Dance" a few times. It's a fairly simple piece to pick up, especially with some small adjustments we've made, so we didn't linger on it.  After that, we worked on "Summer's King". This is a more complicated piece, so we reviewed it stanza by stanza, working out some flat parts, before doing several repetitions of the full song. Once we were feeling confident, we split into parts. I'd been singing in the middle range with the other two fellas but we tried it with me popping up into the high range, the way I originally wrote it. I think it was harder for the guys to stay on pitch with me up high and it's at the top of my range so it was challenging for me, too!
You may remember from last week that we were considering making "We All Come from the Goddess / Hoof and Horn" our standard way of closing out rehearsal but one of our members informed me "We All Come from the Goddess" was written by a transphobe, which I have just verified to the best of my ability. He also reported that she apparently hates the "Hoof and Horn" version, which seems likely based on what I was able to find online. So we're considering whether we should give up the piece or if it's better to have a bunch of trans people singing the version she doesn't like as an act of defiance. I invite our trans members to weigh in on the subject in any of our social spaces, if they wish. We're also considering replacing it with "May the Circle Be Open".

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 our past generous 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 – 04/21/26

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

April 21, 2026 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

I expect we'll continue working on "Maypole Dance" and "Summer's King" (former working title, "Beltane"). The Moon will be Waxing Crescent, so we could work on "Crescent Moon" and/or "Moon, Sister Moon". I think we'll continue our new tradition of ending each rehearsal with "We All Come from the Goddess/Hoof and Horn" and maybe we'll work in "Feathers" somewhere. And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming are always a good choice. 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, 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 April 21st rehearsal.

Rehearsal Summary - 04/14/26

Four of us made it this week, including a new person! After introductions and warming up, we went through "Maypole Dance" a few times. It's a fairly simple piece to pick up, especially with some small adjustments we've made, so we didn't linger on it.  After that, we worked on "Summer's King" (former working title, "Beltane"). This is a more complicated piece, so we did a couple full run-throughs, then did detailed adjustments stanza by stanza, then did a few more full run-throughs. Next, we did several repetitions of each of the three melodies in "Dark of the Moon". After that, we reviewed the Libana recording so our new person could hear how they all fit together but, since it's a fairly intimidating piece, we didn't attempt it ourselves. Finally, we wrapped up the evening with "We All Come from the Goddess / Hoof and Horn". We're considering making this our standard way of closing out rehearsal.

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 our past generous 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 –04/14/26

Our next meeting is next Tuesday!

April 14, 2026 7pm-9pm

Raleigh UU, Peace Hall, Rm. 101

3313 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607

We're less than a month from Beltane, so I'd like to really dig in on "Maypole Dance" and "Beltane". The Moon will be Waning Crescent, very close to Dark, so we could work on "Crescent Moon", "Moon, Sister Moon", or even "Dark of the Moon". It would also be nice to spend some time with "We All Come from the Goddess/Hoof and Horn" and maybe "Feathers". And, of course, the justice-oriented pieces from Reclaiming are always a good choice. 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, 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 April 14th rehearsal.

NO Rehearsal - 04/07/26

We will NOT be holding rehearsal on Tuesday April 6, due to low expected turnout coinciding with my kiddo's Spring Break holiday. I hope y'all enjoy your evening and I look forward to singing with you next week!

- El Pethybridge, Administrative Director
TrianglePaganChoir@gmail.com

Rehearsal Summary - 03/31/26

Three of us made it this week. After warming up, we spent one last night with "Ostara". It was new to one person, who hadn't made it to rehearsal recently, but he picked it up quickly! After that, we spent some time working on "Beltane", which was also new to both the others. Finally, we wrapped up the evening with a couple quick run-throughs of "We All Come from the Goddess / Hoof and Horn". Since one of our party hadn't been around recently, we spent a lot of our time simply catching up and didn't really dig into the nitty gritty of any of the pieces. I consider that time well spent!

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 our past generous 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