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NEWTON COMMUNITY CHILDREN'S CHOIR NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
JUNE
2010 What can I say! These past three years have truly been a wonderful ride for me and have given me just as much joy, laughter, and surprise as the rollercoaster in Branson! Ha! Yes, we had a delightful trip to Branson, and if you would like to read more about it, please see below.
I have learned so much, and have been touched in so many ways during this opportunity and experience of being NCCC Artistic Director. Thank you singers and parents for the wonderful hand-made cards and wishes and thoughtful gifts of remembrance that I have received and will cherish!
I look forward to working with Carmen in the next few weeks as she prepares to start the next choir season. I am so excited for the future of the choir and for what Carmen will bring to the organization. She will be getting information out later in the month about auditions. Be assured that all of our current singers will be contacted unless you have specifically told me that your singer will not be able to continue next year.
I can still be reached at newtonccchoir@gmail.com for the next couple of weeks, and then after that, you can be in touch with me at brendalynbartel@gmail.com . I will send out a mailing address later in the summer after we are settled in Denver.
Sunday, June 6: Singers will be joining the Lawrence Children’s Choir, under the direction of Janeal Krehbiel, on two songs during their concert at Hesston Mennonite Church, located at 309 South Main Street, Hesston. We will meet at 1:00 pm at the church to have a little time with Janeal before we rehearse with her choir from 1:30 – 2:45. The concert begins at 3:00 pm. Singers need to come dressed in concert dress (blue pants, skirts, white shirts, vests, ties, and black shoes).
Contact Brenda to reserve a discounted group ticket for the event.
Uniform and Music Return: All choir owned pieces of clothing must be turned in and will be reissued next fall. This includes blue t-shirt, sweatshirt, vest, and tie. Other items that you purchased can be kept, sold, or donated for next year. If you choose to sell an item of clothing, please pin a price and addressed envelope on the clothing and turn in with the NCCC-owned pieces. Please put clean clothing in a bag labeled with the name of the singer and drop off at one of the following locations sometime next week, June 6 – 13. If no one is home, you can leave the bag by their front door.
210 West 26th Street, North Newton (home of Carol Gerbrand, 316-283-4258). Turn west off of Main/Hwy.15 and follow road to end of cul-de-sac.
404 Homewood Lane, Newton (home of Jim and Jonni Brown, 620-340-7819). Turn south onto Anderson off of HWY 50 West (same location as our spring concert Grace Community); then left on Meadowbrook Drive; right on Wheatridge Drive; end at Homewood Lane.
The following singers still need to turn in music and folders. These can be turned in with their uniforms: Malin Bobbit Genaka Menjivar Kailie Hamilton Nick Preheim Tracy Henry Austin Prouty
These singers have single copies of music that also need to be returned: Ryan Littlejohn, Juliana Loyd, and Amelia Kroeker.
Branson T-Shirts: Our Newton Communtiy t-shirts have been redone and are ready to be distributed. For those of you at Sunday’s concert, please find me afterwards to get your shirt. I also need the original shirts back from those of you who did not ride the bus home. Please turn those in with your NCCC uniform.
Branson Photos: A
site on the internet has been established for viewing and sharing photos
from our trip. Check it out! Go to
photobucket.com
Branson Report: Thirty singers, twelve chaperones, Brenda, Mr. Newfield, and our bus driver, Mike, were all ready to leave on time early Tuesday morning. We came rolling into Branson mid-afternoon in a great rainstorm which then cleared by the time we headed to the Dixie Stampede. Ask most of the kids and they will tell you that there was a ton of food and that the show was great – a fun way to start our adventure! Before many of us headed to the pool at our motel afterwards, we were surprised by a nighttime snack of a very delicious cake decorated in celebration of NCCC’s 20th year and farewell to Brenda. Wednesday morning, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast buffet at the motel and then headed to a food court in Branson for an early lunch. We arrived at the #1 Hits of the 60’s Show Theater around noon where we were met by the director of the show. He listened to us warm up and sing a bit and then shared with us some tips about how we can be good performers on stage. The one thing that he impressed upon us was the importance of each singer acting/looking like they are having fun singing! Being on stage with fancy colored lights was overwhelming and exciting and we did our best to have fun! We missed our dear Melody, but managed with her recorded piano (she would have saved us on Peter Piper, but 2nd time is always a charm J)! The show that followed was awesome and really got our singers pumped up! After the 60’s show we enjoyed all the pizza we wanted at Pizza World and then some playtime at the arcades where miniature golf, go-carts, bumper boats, and games were enjoyed by all. Thursday morning we headed to Silver Dollar City in our new matching NCCC Branson T-shirts. We had been wearing them for quite some time before it became evident that there was a spelling error on the shirt! Bummer! But the company that made them took responsibility and has reprinted new shirts to replace them. You should ask Taylor, Lauren, and Elyse to demonstrate their “Communtiy” cheer in commemoration of the shirts! Much fun was had at Silver Dollar City all the way from roller coasters to the Dumbo ride. But perhaps the highlight of our trip was the Haygoods show that we attended in the evening. This group of seven brothers and one sister were amazing with their musical talents of singing, tapping, dancing, playing fiddles, saxophones, keyboard, guitars, the harp, and more. We were all amazed and inspired. Many had the opportunity to meet the performers afterwards which was also a highlight. Friday morning we leisurely loaded the bus to head to Springfield. On the way, our bus driver took us to an overlook above Branson where we got some scenic photos. After lunch at Wendy’s in Springfield we arrived at Culpepper Place Assisted Living. The director seemed a bit bothered that we were there, but her attitude soon changed as we got into our program. The singers practiced what they had learned earlier in the week and were more animated than I have ever seen them! The residents loved us. The director told me afterwards that she has had many groups in to sing, but we were by far the best she has ever had and invited us to come back and sing there and at their sister residences in Springfield! One of the dear resident ladies was so grateful that she gifted us with a bag of oreo cookies and a $20 bill as a thank you! On our way out of Springfield, we stopped at McDonalds and used that $20 to buy ice cream sundaes for everyone on the bus in celebration. We got home a bit earlier than scheduled and can say that the trip went off without a hitch! THANK YOU JULIE GARRETT for all of the pre-trip planning, communications, snacks, etc. It was because of you that all went so well! THANK YOU JONNI BROWN for being our unofficial “choir mom” taking care of distributing tickets and photos, and washing t-shirts. You are awesome! THANK YOU CHAPERONES for being patient and loving and for making all of our singers feel comfortable and safe! Thank you PARENTS for allowing your singer to experience Branson in this way. I hope that the reports you are hearing are as positive as my version! If you consider going to Branson in the future with your families or as a choir, I would highly recommend using the Branson Tourism Office for information, ticket purchases, show bookings, etc. They were excellent to work with and wanted the best for us.
Brenda Bartel Artistic Director, NCCC 316-217-2889
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