Vienna Choral Society Membership Packet

VCS GOAL

Our goal this season is to make an effort to establish and sustain a new level of choral character and proficiency at making music.

The VCS Board of Directors will also focus efforts on developing and implementing a policy which formalizes the expectation that our membership will make a personal commitment to exercise choral etiquette; faithfully attend rehearsals; dedicate time to practice outside of rehearsal periods; and attend, support, and participate in our concerts. This personal commitment is required for us to achieve the primary goal established by our Director and to develop an outward-looking approach which will enhance our appeal to a broader audience.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES

Note: Incorporated into the VCS By-Laws as Article XII:

Preamble. The following Operating Principles have been developed by the VCS Board of Directors for the purpose of establishing a foundation for the governance and conduct of corporate affairs, including the musical goals and objectives of the organization. These principles shall be binding upon all directors, agents, employees, and members whose duties contribute to the progress and well-being of the organization.

Section 1. The Vienna Choral Society shall function as a member-centered, local choral group organized for the enjoyment and learning of choral musicianship as well as for public entertainment. The Vienna Choral Society may be identified as a singer�s chorus. Membership shall be inclusive and shall allow variable, individual commitments, the essential requirements being that singers shall match pitch and willfully sing choral parts.

Section 2. Whereas the Vienna Choral Society is a member-centered choral group, its governing body, the Board of Directors, shall be composed of actively singing members of the society. The Board of Directors shall perform its administrative duties in a task-oriented style.

Section 3. A professional Musical Director shall be hired by the Vienna Choral Society, and the duties of the Musical Director shall be limited to supporting the musical goals of the chorus. These duties, including program planning, performance preparation, conducting performances, and teaching musicianship, shall be governed by contract and shall be administered by the Board of Directors.

Section 4. Program planning for the Vienna Choral Society shall be a coordinated effort within a Program Planning Task Group with the Musical Director as the principal planner. Program planning shall account primarily for the acknowledged level of choral musical ability within the chorus, general musical preferences of the membership and of the local audience, the average number of singing members for any particular concert, financial affordability, and advanced preparation and notice of program plans.

Section 5. Since a primary goal of the Vienna Choral Society is to provide opportunities for musical development, the Program Planning Task Group, including the Musical Director, shall give priority to singers within the chorus for developing as soloists wherein particular works and the level of individual vocal musicianship allow.

Section 6. While membership dues of the Vienna Choral Society are directed to payment of operational expenses, the membership itself shall not be responsible for the expenses of programming, except as voluntarily offered.

Section 7. It shall be the aim of the Vienna Choral Society that the public will underwrite the costs of programs through ticket purchases and sponsorships. The Board of Directors shall maintain an active marketing initiative in order to attract public support for such financial underwriting. Ticket selling by members shall be purely voluntary.

Section 8. Whereas these Operating Principles encompass present realities of the organization and its membership, they shall not preclude progress to new and different realities. When new and different realities become apparent, the Operating Principles shall be subject to adjustment or revision.

DUES AND FEES

Membership dues are $100.00, payable at registration. For ease of accounting, please pay by check and indicate that the purpose of the check is for VCS dues. Members individually pay for the cost of their own music. Again, please pay by check and indicate the purpose on the check. Members must have their own music from which to sing. Also, a personal black music folder is used to contain music for concerts and appearances. These may be purchased at local music or office supply stores.

CANCELLATION OF EVENT

The procedure for informing members when there is an unexpected cancellation of rehearsal or other VCS event is as follows: the director and the president will confer and make a decision for cancellation; the president will notify section leaders and inform them of the cancellation, then the section leaders will call individual members of their sections. Members should not call the director or the president for information regarding cancellation.

ROSTER

VCS maintains and frequently updates a membership roster that will be made available to every member. Please check the roster for correct information and inform VCS Secretary Michele of needed changes.

NAME TAGS

If you have a nametag, please wear it. This is particularly helpful at the beginning of the season when VCS enjoys the presence of many new members.

REHEARSALS

* Regular rehearsals occur on Tuesdays beginning around the first Tuesday of September and continue until the Tuesday preceding the last concert of the season. Rehearsals begin at 7:15 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m. There is a 15-minute break at the mid-point of rehearsal time.

* The ideal situation of choral rehearsals is to spend one-third of the time learning parts and two-thirds of the time achieving performance quality. This is similar to theatrical rehearsals wherein much of the learning of lines and other dramatic details is accomplished by the individual off-stage. It should be a personal imperative, therefore, that music be studied and practiced at home so that familiarity can be reinforced in rehearsal learning periods and learning achievement can be extended into developing performance quality. Work outside of the whole chorus setting might include learning notes and dynamics, studying tempo and rhythm, and learning the words of particular pieces.

* Choral rehearsal etiquette is founded on some very simple principles: the chorus needs singers to be present, on time and attentive to the work at hand. Please consider that the purpose of rehearsal is to prepare every member of the chorus to perform at every member�s best. Rehearsal attendance is an expectation, therefore, toward achieving the best potential of performance. Please consider as well the potential distraction to other choristers of arriving late. One simply cannot take one's seat among the assembled chorus without being noticed. Likewise, talking while the director is working cannot go unnoticed. It is discourteous and prevents hearing important questions and directions.

* Dress rehearsals for concerts generally occur on the Friday before any Saturday concert, at the concert venue. Unless otherwise announced, a dress rehearsal begins at 7:00 p.m. and usually ends at 9:30 p.m. (It is not necessary to actually wear concert attire.)

* Occasionally the director may call a special rehearsal.

CONCERTS

* To maintain a uniformity of appearance while performing, there is a specific concert attire, as follows:

Gentlemen: Black tie formal attire (tux) with no cummerbund

Ladies: Pure white blouse, ankle-length black skirt, and a special scarf distributed at the dress rehearsal preceding the concert.

* For every concert five tickets will be made available to every member for voluntarily selling to the public (and additional tickets will also be available). While selling is voluntary, please understand that selling tickets is your stake in our concerted effort to build up our audiences and to meet financial requirements for the season.

* VCS hosts a reception after our concerts. Throughout the season each section will be responsible for managing a reception--planning food, beverage, and accessories; setting up the reception; and cleaning up. Every member will be asked to provide items for the reception and may volunteer by a sign-up sheet that will be the responsibility of the section leader to pass around through the chorus a few weeks before the concert. The rotation for receptions during the 2006-2007 season will be: Concert I - Sopranos; Concert II - Tenors/Basses; Concert III - Altos.

SOLOISTS

Soloists for VCS concerts may be selected either from within the chorus among interested candidates or from outside of the chorus. The director solely has the right of determining soloist requirements and of making selections. The director will consider and endeavor to make soloist selections for all programs from within the ranks of the VCS chorus, depending upon the suitability of interested VCS chorus members for a particular performance role or upon the intentional objective of any particular concert. The director will announce to the chorus the availability of soloist opportunities at the beginning of the concert season and will indicate a schedule for selection. The director may make selections with or without auditions. Candidates for soloist consideration from within the chorus must demonstrate preparedness, vocal and technical proficiency, and the ability artistically to sustain the solo within the context of the musical work or the concert program.

VOCAL IMPROVEMENT

The interests of the chorus and every member are served by committing to vocal improvement, including aspects of choral musicianship. Much of such improvement may be experienced in regular rehearsals. However, upon indications of sufficient demand, VCS can and will arrange special, chorus-wide choral workshops.

COMMUNITY APPEARANCES

Community service is a sincere and definite commitment of VCS. There are planned community service performance projects, and we make ourselves available to appear in performance upon request. Similarly, VCS provides free concert tickets for the enjoyment of patrons of special need. It is the obligation of every member to participate in support of our community service efforts, and your ideas regarding the potential of service projects will be given serious consideration.

FUND RAISING

Like many non-profit organizations, VCS must depend on fund raising activities in order to cover operating costs. The success of fund raising activities depends on the active involvement of all VCS members. Major fund raising activities include the following:

Sales of Entertainment Books (order during the break)

Purchase of Giant Debit Cards (purchase during the break)

Sales of Concert Program Advertisements

Tax-deductible Contributions

VENUE LOCATION

We rehearse and perform at Vienna Baptist Church: 541 Marshall Rd. SW, Vienna Off Nutley Street near I-66, on the corner of Marshall Rd. and Ware St.