You're Invited: The Philadelphia Singers Holiday Party!

Dear Singers, You're invited to The Philadelphia Singers Holiday Party! We hope that you can join us at this fun and festive event on December 16th, directly after our 6pm Holiday Concert! Best of all, you get to have a drink on us!
What: TPS Holiday Party    When:December 16th, 2012, 8pm   Where:  The Public House Located at 2 Logan Square, on 18th Street between Arch and Cherry Who: Philadelphia Singers, staff, family and friends Why: To celebrate the season!	Come Celebrate with Us! The Public House is generously hosting our holiday party for all our singers, staff as well as their family and friends.      For all singers who use the "INDUSTRY" discount to purchase tickets for themselves and friends and family, these $20 tickets will automatically include one free drink coupon.  Only tickets purchased for the 6pm performance will include this coupon.  This is a perfect time to invite all your friends and family to join us not only for a wonderful concert, but for a fun get-together afterwards.     Did you already buy your ticket for another performance time? Call or e-mail us and we'll be happy to switch them.  One of our singers, but you bought a full price ticket? We appreciate the support and we'll be happy to give you a drink coupon as well, just check in with us at the door.   Here are the details: All singers participating in our Christmas on Logan Square concert are automatically receiving one free drink coupon to be utilized at the holiday party  Drink coupons are good for one beer or one glass of wine  "INDUSTRY" tickets can be purchased online or at the door at St. Clement's. You may purchase as many as you like, as long as you are an active roster singer with TPS Coupons can only be redeemed on 12/16 from 8-10pm Join Us at the Public House! The Public House is generously donating these drink coupons to our organization, and we'd like to extend a huge thank you to them for their support.  Please check out their website for directions.     The Public House does have a dress code, and they respectfully request that no patrons attend wearing sneakers, gym clothes, or sweatpants. Children and underage guests are welcome, but they need to be seated in the restaurant portion of this location, not at the bar.  And please, one drink coupon per person.  If you will not be using yours, please do not give someone multiple drink coupons.
Have questions? Please contact Megan at megan@philadelphiasingers.org We can't wait to see you at our Holiday Party for TPS Singers and Staff!

SUB#2 Rehearsal Cancelled

Attention Singers, rehearsal on Wednesday 11/28 and Friday 11/30 has been cancelled.  We will see you next on Saturday, December 1st.  Thanks!

Holiday Gig

Dear Musicians,

Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is looking for a group of singers (~10) to fill an afternoon time slot on Saturday, December 15th with joyful, holiday music sung acapella to visitors in historic (and probably very cold) cellblocks.  The group would be paid $300.00.  A behind the scenes tour could also be arranged for the group. 

Please contact April O'Brien (ao@easternstate.org) if interested.

Thank you!

This Week's Rehearsal and Performance Schedule

The week's rehearsal schedule with the Philadelphia Orchestra is as follows:

Tuesday, 11/13 Working Rehearsal with Conductor and Piano, 7-10pm
     Innovation Studio, Kimmel Center

Wednesday, 11/14, Working Rehearsal with Orchestra and Conductor, 10:30-1pm (break) 2-4pm
    Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center

Thursday, 11/15, Dress Rehearsal, 10:30-1pm, Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center
                           Warm Up, 7:00-7:30, Innovation Studio
                           Performance, 8:00pm, Verizon Hall

Friday 11/16, Warm Up, 1:00-1:30pm, Innovation Studio
                      Performance, 2:00pm, Verizon Hall
               
Saturday 11/17, Warm Up, 7:00-7:30, Innovation Studio
                           Performance, 8:00pm, Verizon Hall

• Dress for women for ALL concerts is floor length black dress or skirt or palazzo pants, long sleeved or 3/4 length sleeve black top, black shoes.
• Dress for men for EVENING CONCERTS (11/15 and 11/17): black tails, white shirt, white vest and white bowtie
• Dress for men for MATINEE CONCERT(11/16): Tuxedo with white shirt and black bowtie, black cummerbund, no vests
• ALL singers (pro and vol) are due a meal stipend for our Wednesday 11/14 rehearsal day.  When you sign in before rehearsal I will be handing them out.  You are only due this meal allowance if you are attending BOTH rehearsals that day.
• Here is the link to the Kimmel Center map and local parking options
• And just to reiterate what David mentioned last night: if there were ever a time to be late, it is NOT during these orchestra rehearsals.  Please arrive early to give yourselves plenty of time to find your way and be in your seat at the downbeat.
• And don't forget about the Nevsky after-party on Friday 11/16 directly following our matinee performance!

 

Nevsky After-Party

Directly after our Nevsky performance on Friday, November 16th, we would like to invite all of our participating singers to join us for happy hour at Jose Pistolas!  Not only will all our staff be there, including David Hayes our music director, but the owner of the bar has generously extended a 10% discount to all TPS personnel.  Join us to celebrate being a part of this great event and to get to know your fellow singers and TPS staff!

What: Happy Hour at Jose Pistolas
Where: 263 S. 15th Street, Philadelphia PA, http://www.josepistolas.com/
When: Directly after the conclusion of the Nevsky 2pm performance - 5:30pm
Who: All Nevsky singers

E-mail me with any questions at megan@philadelphiasingers.org.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Announcing Spring Auditions!

The Philadelphia Singers would like to announce our 2013 Spring Re-Audition Dates for current personnel:

Re-Audition Dates for Returning Pros and Volunteers:

• Wed., 13 March 6:30p-9:30p
• Fri., 15 March 5:00p-9:00p
• Sat., 16 March 12:00p-4:00p
• Thu., 21 March 5:00p-9:00p

Please check our website for more information.  We are NOT assigning individual time slots until February 1st; these dates are simply for your own planning purposes at this point.  Typically singers are due for re-audition every two years.  Singers due for a re-audition in 2013 will be e-mailed.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email me.  Thank you!

Wedding Gig: 6 singers needed (with a sense of humor)

Approximately 6 singers plus soloist wanted for wedding gig to "recreate" Love Actually scene with the Beatles song "All You Need is Love".  The date is November 24th, the location is Greenville Country Club in Wilmington, DE. Pay will be negotiable, but they are willing to consider between $75-$125 per singer for the gig plus possible "rehearsal" and travel expenses.

If interested, please contact Courtney Stein at courtney@easterntalent.net. 

Rehearsal Cancelled Tonight!

Our TPSC#1 Nevsky rehearsal tonight, 11/7 from 7-9:30 is CANCELLED due to inclement weather.  Our next rehearsal will take place on Friday 11/9 from 7-9:30 at Historic St Georges Church from 7-9:30PM. Historic St. Georges is at 235 N 4th Street.

Rehearsal Schedule This Week

The remaining rehearsal schedule for TPSC#1 Nevsky this week is as follows:

Schedule

Notes	EventDate	StartTime	EndTime	Place
	11/6/2012	7:00 PM	9:30 PM	Friends Center - Cherry
Postponed First Rehearsal	11/7/2012	7:00 PM	9:30 PM	Friends Center - Cherry
	11/9/2012	7:00 PM	9:30 PM	Historic St. Georges Church

I apologize for the Google Calendar being down this week; we are working on it as quickly as possible.

Gig Posting: Tenor Needed

Tenor Needed: The Masterworks Choir at St. Peter's United Methodist Church in Ocean City is performing the Haydn "Lord Nelson Mass" on Sunday, Nov 18th at 4:00pm. The dress rehearsal is at 1:00pm that same day. It is early for folks who have morning church jobs and we are flexible about that.  The fee is $125.00 plus travel expenses.

Please Contact: John Bate choirboyjohn@comcast.net if interested

Tax and Payroll Forms

As suggested by one of our singers, here is the link to the two forms that we need ALL of our paid singers to  fill out and hand to me at one of our upcoming rehearsals:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

The I9 form requires a copy of a few documents, please make sure that this accompanies the rest of your paperwork.  Again (if anyone didn't hear me because I need a megaphone for rehearsal) this paperwork is being completed so we can switch all of our singers over to W2 employees.  This means that taxes will be taken out of your paychecks.  

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at megan@philadelpiasingers.org.  I'm also happy to put you in touch with one of our AGMA reps if need be.

Kickstarter Launch for Thompson Requiem!

The Philadelphia Singers has launched it's first ever Kickstarter Project! Kickstarter is an amazing fundraising platform for creative projects and The Philadelphia Singers are using this site to raise money for a May 2013 performance and recording of Randall Thompson's Requiem.  Everyone knows how well-received this piece was; now let's make sure that The Philadelphia Singers put their stamp on history by creating the authoritative version of this piece and preserving it for generations to come.

As a show of solidarity, and because I'm just really excited about this project, I just pledged $10 to this project.  Anything you can do to help, posting on facebook, e-mailing it to friends and family, or pledging yourself, will bring this project one step closer to fruition.

Thanks for your help, and let's keep our fingers crossed!
-Megan

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/462285372/the-first-ever-recording-of-randall-thompsons-requ

Upcoming Rehearsals for TPSC#1

Because Hurricane Sandy has thrown several things off course, I just wanted to reiterate a few of our upcoming rehearsal times and locations:

Friday 11/2 (tomorrow) Men's Rehearsal from 7-9PM at the Friends Center - Cherry Street Room
Saturday 11/3 Women's Rehearsal from 11AM-1PM at the Friends Center - Cherry Street Room
Saturday 11/3 Men's Rehearsal from 1:30-3:30PM at the Friends Center  - Cherry Street Room
Monday 11/5 Tutti Rehearsal from 7PM-9:30PM at the Friends Center - Race Street Room

PLEASE BE ADVISED Sunday 11/4 is the end of Daylight Savings Time, we will gain one hour that day.

Also, our website is currently undergoing a transition in order to update its appearance.  During this transition, if there are any issues accessing the Google Calendar, please use this link: http://www.philadelphiasingers.org/Singer-Resources/rehearsal-schedule.html