News items posted to this page are usually edited versions of
Member Mailings.
WINTER SOLSTICE
Hello and Happy New Year to our Members, Friends, Fans and Supporters,
As the year winds up and a new year begins, I want to thank everyone who participated with the Chorus over the past year. I particularly want to thank the Members, with the support of Coven Kyklos Ton Asterion, who worked so hard on our Winter Solstice Celebration to make it such a joyous and successful event.
Preparing for this one was perhaps more intense than many of our events and so want to make a point of thanking you for your hard work, all of your many contributions and your patience and perseverance throughout our preparations. I do know that for many of you, this commitment to ceremony entailed true sacrifice and service to Spirit. Especially against the background of time pressure and the economic uncertainly of the current times. For many of you, the demands of job and career either interfered or prevented your participation in Chorus activities. I honor each and every one of you.
We have received some very positive feedback from the event. Some of it very touching.
> My partner and I attended this wonderful ritual yesterday and we had a great time!
> Thanks to all who made this event very special.
>
> Maureen (NewmoonGathering List)and,
> Hi joe and jezibell. i attended yesterday's winter solstice and once
> again when i left i was feeling great , which is hard to do during the
> winter, [ i've been feeling very down lately] but after i left you
> yesterday my spirits were high once again.
>
> (Sender anonymous)So, yeah, we did good.
There were a couple of logistic and procedural glitches which fell into the “can live with it, but remember for next time” category, including one last (harmless) typo on the program. However among them was neglecting to post that the circle wold be closed once cast and taking into account typical NYC Winter Travel troubles. We really should have made a provision to cut people in or strunctured the ritual a little more loosely. So our apologies to anyone that ended up outside the door!
UPCOMING
More details on our activities will come when we get then and will be posted to the Schedule Page. And keep checking back with us, things always come up. We're planning a Drum Workshop for January, kicking around ideas for a Beltane, Giveaway Concert in the Spring, and looking ahead to the next Grove Bardic Ritual. Stay tuned, more to come...
THE DRUMMER'S PATH I - Fundamentals of Ritual Drumming
Sunday, January 12, 2003
1:00-5:00pm, CAP 21 Studios, Studio #4,, 212 807-0202
Collaborative Arts Project, 18 West 18th Street, 6th Floor, NYC
FREE - $5 donation towards room rental requestedPlease join us for a return of our very well received workshop on the basics of ritual drumming. This will focus primarily on African Hand Drumming, but will also touch on other drum traditions. The role and use of the drum in ritual, ceremony, circle, celebration or just to lift the spirit. Will introduce many drum traditions, how to support ritual, singing and chanting with the drum, using the drum to move energy.
Bring Drums of all types, and/or musical instruments and your voices. Workshop materials will be provided. Part of our ongoing mission to teach and share these Bardic Arts with the community of Spirit.
MEMBER STUFF
The Director has been getting some feedback from Members about the rather more difficult than necessary process that rehearsals became while putting Solstice together. I assure you that they have been well read or listened to.
Due to the accumulated stresses and increased time and financial pressures within and without the Chorus. We will be switching to a reduced schedule for the remainder of the Winter. And several Members have requested some downtime. So we will be hosting the Drum workshop on the 12th, and following on the 16th will be an Members Council and Bardic. The third Thursdays of February and March will be Open Bardic Circles. No specific agendas. We shall sing whatever we like and makes us feel good.
THEREFORE, our January 16th meeting shall be a Business Meeting and Members Council. The Meeting originally scheduled for the Tuesday the 7th has to be canceled due to an unavoidable commitment. And people's collective schedules do not really allow squeezing in an alternate date. So we’ll just have to push forward to the 16th. A portion of the evening will be devoted to a Talking Stick Ceremony to provide the ENTIRE attending circle an opportunity to provide their thoughts as equals within the circle. This format encourages far more listening than speaking and can be very effective. If you have an interest in having a voice in the chorus’ operation, or feel your issues unheard or not addressed, I urge all Members with an interest to attend. Silence is equivalent to tacit approval of whatever group consensus is reached and the Director's decisions, group counsel not withstanding, on whatever issues are discussed.
If you haven't read the Member's Guidelines, or do not have them, please look over Section 4 concerning Conduct. But the guiding principle for eight years has been:
“The overall harmony of the group shall be of equal importance, if not greater, than our artistic excellence...”
[ - from Section 4, Paragraph 5 ]We seem to have lost track of that at times as we pursue our performance limits. The most current edit of the Guidelines is available on the Guidelines page.
Please understand that as a volunteer organization, if the participants are not finding a good fulfillment to hassle ratio, they tend to quite rapidly un-volunteer themselves. While this may ultimately be of the most import to the most active or committed Chorus Members, please feel free to attend, regardless of your level of Chorus Membrship. Hope to have as many of you and your input as possible.
Please feel free to email me or call with any thoughts, questions or problems. All of it DOES help, believe me. Remember, we are doing GOOD and doing GOOD WORK. But we want to make it easier and less stressful for everyone.
May our 2003 be beautiful and blessed! Oh yes, and sound good...
Mitaquye Oyasin * Blessed Be * Ashe * Shalom * A Salaam * Amen * Om
Kurt Griffith/Talking Stone
Choral Director