HANDBOOK
Main_Page ----- SCHEDULES ----- ARCHIVES ----- MAPS
Member Handbook[edit | edit source]
Updated September, 2016
Southern Delaware Chorale
The Southern Delaware Chorale‘s role in the community is four-fold: to provide a vehicle through which local singers can come together to sharpen their musical skills and share a love of choral music; to provide an opportunity for high school and college singers to perform challenging music beyond what they are offered in their academic settings; to bring well-performed choral music to various venues in Southern Delaware; to expand the number and type of music offerings available to local audiences.
Leadership is provided by the Artistic Director and a member-elected Board of (SDC Member) Directors. New Board members are elected by the general membership at the annual meeting, which takes place in April. Board members serve a three-year terms (up to two) and elects its own officers. and are expected to participate actively in the committee work and fundraising efforts of the SDC. Members are encouraged to participate in all aspects of leadership. They may become a board member by notifying the Board President of their interest in election to the Board, accepting a nomination for the board by the Board Nominating Committee, or by nomination from the floor at the Annual Meeting.
Members are also encouraged to volunteer for leadership or committee roles. The Chorale has an active Music Committee charged with providing member input on selection of music and other aspects of SDC performances. There are roles for volunteers interested in Membership (all tasks regarding membership including registration at the beginning of each concert season, collection of member dues, development of the Member Handbook, overseeing rehearsal attendance and social activities, listserv maintenance); Marketing (overseeing the press and public relations activities of the Southern Delaware Chorale, including social media, website maintenance) and stage/house/performance management tasks (wardrobe, multimedia, house management at concerts, etc.).
The SDC does not require auditions, it does however, believe that membership becomes self-selective in that singers who feel they are not progressing in meeting performance standards of the group will choose to not continue with the organization for that particular season. By the same token, prospective singers are encouraged to give themselves a fair chance to improve their skills before deeming themselves inadequate. Reading music comes more easily to some than to others, but it is a skill that can be acquired. Regular attendance and a good effort will result in the rewards of a good performance.
SDC has established the Lee Mitchell Music Education Endowment Fund through the Delaware Community Foundation. An endowment is a permanent fund that provides income each year to support a charitable cause. Endowment funds are professionally managed to ensure the funds remain strong over time. Anyone can contribute to the future success of our music education efforts by making an endowment gift of any size. Endowment gifts can take many forms – cash, stock, real estate, retirement plan assets, life insurance, or gifts through a will or trust. If you are interested in making a contribution to our endowment fund, please contact the Board President.
Expectations of SDC Members
A member’s continued good standing shall be determined by meeting the following expectations:
Please join the SDCMembers listserv at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SDCSmembers/info or click to send email [1] PLEASE do this promptly as communication often happens via the listserv. If you have difficulties joining, please ask for help.
Arrive promptly—no later than 6:55 p.m.—sign in, get name tag and any handouts and be in seat and ready to begin warm-ups at 7 p.m.
Inform your administrative section leader if you are unable to attend a rehearsal. (If three rehearsals are missed, the Conductor will need to decide if a member may or may not participate in the upcoming performances.)
Rehearse and review music prior to each rehearsal. “Practice makes perfect” is particularly true in singing. A schedule of music to be rehearsed at each session is provided by the conductor. There are several websites that offer rehearsal music such as Cyberbass.com for many classical compositions and YouTube for the more contemporary music.
Make the most out of each rehearsal by giving the conductor full attention and minimizing socializing during rehearsal time.
Record the conductor’s musical directions in the score to avoid having to repeat musical parts unnecessarily.
Participate actively in fund raising and concert ticket sales. (See section on Ticket Policy)
Make each performance a memorable and enjoyable experience for the audiences and fellow choristers. Most of all--have fun!
Inclement Weather Policy
We value our members and want to avoid putting anyone at risk when weather conditions make traveling to and from rehearsals and performances unsafe. Since it is often difficult to predict road conditions in advance we will use the following procedure:
When Indian River Schools are closed or close early due to inclement weather, rehearsals and performances for that evening are automatically canceled.
Please make sure that you are subscribed to our Yahoogroup (listserv) with your correct e-mail address. Whenever possible, we send a group message to our members announcing rehearsal cancellations at least two hours before rehearsal time.
Common sense dictates that if you are not comfortable driving because of road conditions, you should stay home. As stated previously, you can miss three rehearsals and still participate in the performance. If we are rehearsing and you do not feel comfortable driving due to bad weather, use your excused absences.
Cancellations are called in to local radio stations WSCL (89.5) and WGMD (92.7) and TV stations (WMDT & WBOC) for news of SDC cancelations. If you do not have access to any of these cancellation notices, please call your administrative section leader for the information.
Know before you go!
Program Booklet Advertising and Donations
The Southern Delaware Chorale is a volunteer, non-profit organization. Revenue needed to run each year’s program is derived in one of four ways: through grants, ticket sales, dues and as a result of our annual fundraising campaign.
The fundraising campaign begins at our second rehearsal of the fall season and continues through the end of October. Every member of the SDC is expected to assist us in our fundraising efforts. There are two components to our effort: sales of advertising in our program booklet and solicitation of direct donations. To unify our efforts, we develop specific forms for each component. Materials are distributed at the kick-off in September and remain available throughout the campaign.
Members have historically asked their banks, hairdressers, doctors, therapists, favorite stores, churches, grocery stores, restaurants and other favorite places to take out an ad in our program book to great success. When you go out to make a sales pitch, bring along a copy of the previous year’s program with you. Explain that our book is distributed at all of our concerts and about 1000 of them are printed each season. You may leave the program booklet along with the advertiser form to be filled out. The Advertising form explains the rates, ad dimensions and how to submit the potential advertiser’s information to the printer.
The process for receiving donations is more straight forward. We have a Donation Form that you may use to make your own personal contribution to SDC. Please ask your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to make a contribution too! Explain that all donations received by the end of the campaign will be listed in the program book. While donations are strongly sought during our fundraising campaign, they are welcomed year round. Several members have asked family and friends to make a donation, in their name, for their birthdays and anniversaries.
If you have questions or concerns about fundraising, these can be discussed with the Board President. Rarely have we had a member of our chorus that has not participated and/or contributed to our fundraising efforts.
Ticket Policy
Roughly half the tickets sold at any one of our concerts are sold by chorus members. The other half are sold online, at the door, or by people calling the phone number. Of course, the total number of tickets sold varies greatly, but the fraction of tickets sold by members is about the same concert to concert. This means that sales of tickets by members are vital to our financial health. We need everyone to sell as many tickets as they possibly can.
Some of us are super salespeople and sell lots of tickets irrespective of the concert program. Others sell just a few. We understand that selling tickets is a personal thing and that some people are just better equipped to sell than others. In the same way, some of us are better singers than others. However, there are a few people who do not sell tickets year after year. This seems unfair. We all like to look out and see a large audience. It is unfair to the entire chorus if no effort is made at all to sell tickets.
To set a minimum standard, we have adopted a policy that requires all SDCS members to purchase or sell $50 worth of tickets (3 adult tickets) or make an equivalent donation. Sales in excess of this amount in the winter season can be credited to the spring season, but will not carry over to the next year.
Exemptions from the ticket policy include students and hardship cases. Any member feeling that they cannot meet this policy requirement may speak confidentially to the Board President.
When members make a donation in lieu of tickets purchased or sold, an equivalent amount in student tickets will be donated to local schools.
Performance Attire
The Chorale works hard to present a professional, unified, attractive appearance. Uniformity in concert wear helps us achieve this. Below are the guidelines. Please note that there may be variations. For instance, certain performances may call for "embellishment" of our standard attire with special accessories that fit the concert theme. Members are required to provide their own concert attire. The Chorale has, in the past, had a few retiring members who donated back their attire. Please inquire if you are interested in the possibility of borrowing SDC-owned concert attire.
Women’s Attire
All women are required to wear a black gown or trousers and blouse with black hose and black close-toed shoes. Performance attire is ordered each season by the Wardrobe Mistress. An announcement is made at rehearsal and members need to pay ½ the cost of their performance attire at the time the order is placed with the balance due upon receipt.
At performances, UNLESS OTHERWISE ADVISED, the Chorale provides the only jewelry allowed: a 20" pearl necklace that is provided for member use at the concerts and returned after each performance (Members may purchase and wear their own pearls as long as they match the standard). This necklace can be paired with a member's own small pearl earrings (studs) that do not have diamonds attached to it. A watch may be worn if it is covered by gown sleeves and does not have diamonds or other faceted stones: these create distracting reflections under stage lighting.
More information, including pictures, concerning the gowns and measurements can be found on our website. All women's attire is 100% polyester knit, machine wash/dry.
Option #1 PiazzaTrouser - approximately $50 The elegance and flair of a long skirt with the comfort and fit of a trouser. Non-pleated with a finished waistband, side pockets, and an almost invisible button closure.
Angela Blouse - approximately $30 Scoop neck princess line blouse, with fitted long sleeves and center back zipper.
Option #2
Angelique Gown - approximately $65
Soft shoulders, a scoop neckline and long sleeves combine to make this princess line gown a classical standard
Classical with ties.
Men’s Performance Attire
All men are required to wear a black tuxedo with cummberbund and black bow tie. The white tuxedo shirt has a stand-up color with tabs. Men’s jewelry should be limited to the studs and cuff links used on the tuxedo shirt. These items should be onyx (black). Studs may be purchased through the Wardrobe Mistress. A watch may be worn as long as it is covered by the sleeves of the tuxedo when the singer is holding their music. If a male member feels strongly that they would like to wear an earring, we ask that they adhere to the same stud as a female chorister would wear (either pearl or black onyx would be acceptable). Diamonds create distracting reflections under stage lighting.
A complete tuxedo package is available for order by the Wardrobe Mistress for approximately $100. Information concerning the tuxedo package is available on our website. Many members prefer to purchase their own tuxedo, preferring a higher quality material than our performance attire supplier. Several members have reported happiness with tuxes purchased through J C Penney in the Dover Mall and Carlton’s in Rehoboth Beach.
Music Folder
All members are required to have a black folder to contain their music during performances. The texture of the folder should be pebbled and not have a shiny surface. Many members prefer to use professional choral music folders. These can be ordered through Musicfolder.com.
Other Activities of the SDC
Lee Mitchell Scholarship
The Lee Mitchell Scholarship started with a donation from the family of the late Lee Mitchell, internationally-renowned pianist and composer. Prior to his death, the Southern Delaware Chorale had commissioned Mr. Mitchell to create a choral piece for one of our concerts. Upon his death, his family felt strongly that the provision of vocal education for students would be a fitting memorial to Lee Mitchell’s legacy.
The scholarship provides an opportunity for High School Students, residing in SussexCounty, to further their music education and appreciation of the arts. Students in their sophomore or junior years are eligible to audition for the scholarship. Auditions are held in the spring. A candidate is selected shortly thereafter and begins to participate in the program beginning in the fall of that year. The Lee Mitchell scholars receive private voice lessons throughout the academic year. They are required to participate in the SDC’s fall and spring concert seasons and provided opportunities to solo during our concerts. Students are provided free membership in SDC and with performance attire.
SDC Ensemble
The Ensemble is a small, auditioned, group made up of some the Southern Delaware Chorale’s most talented singers. The Ensemble performs an array of classical and contemporary music in a variety of smaller venues in various locations in southern Delaware. Auditions for The Ensemble are held in the fall. All members interested in participation are encouraged to audition. The Director will announce when auditions will be held, and provide instruction about audition materials. Rehearsals are often held after regularly-scheduled rehearsals for the SDC.