The Bird’s Lullaby
Welcome to the Project
Welcome to the first project of SING THE NORTH’s 2021-22 season – The Bird’s Lullaby by Canadian composer, Sarah Quartel.
This page contains everything you need to join our performance project on this beautiful and uplifting piece.
Please see the Materials buttons below to download your score, technical guide, and to access your rehearsal audio and video recordings.
See the About the Project section to read everything you need to know about the design of the project, our timetable, how we meet, and our plans for our video.
Our live sessions take place in the STN Rehearsal Room – click on the image below to come to rehearsal, interview, and to join our virtual field trip to beautiful ALGONGUIN PARK.
We recommend you download Zoom Client for Meetings before attending our live events. All live sessions will be uploaded to our Video Archive normally within 24 hours.
This project will finish with the premiere of our The Bird’s Lullaby Video, which will appear on the STN YouTube Channel a few months after the project is completed. Remember you are just as welcome in if you want to sing in rehearsal but choose not to record a note!
If you have any questions at any time, don’t hesitate to write to me at kathryn@singthenorth.ca.
I am looking forward to singing with you and send you a very warm welcome to the first project of STN Season 2!
Kathryn Whitney, STN Artistic Director
About the Project
WHAT IS THE BIRD'S LULLABY?
The Bird's Lullaby is a beautiful piece for SATB a capella voices written by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel.
Now published in Britain and worldwide by Oxford University Press (OUP), the piece was originally conceived for SSAA voices and was commissioned by the Prince Edward Island choir, Sirens.
We are especially grateful to OUP for kindly producing a special digital score of the SATB version specially for Sing the North so we can sing this piece together as a virtual choir from home. (Please note that the digital score is issued to us under copyright and cannot be shared outside our choir. Thank you!)
A charming and uplifting setting, The Bird's Lullaby a poem by E. Pauline Johnson (1861-1913), the first indigenous poet to have her writings published in Canada.
Born on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Ontario, her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother was English. In addition to her success as a writer, her colourful life included 17 years on the stage, touring Canada the US and England.
TIMETABLE
We meet twice a week on Saturdays (1.5 hours) and Tuesdays (2 hours or 1 hour - please check timetable), with all sessions recorded to watch via the video archive at your leisure.
You can find your Full Downloadable Timetable under the Materials section, above.
YOUR LEARNING MATERIALS
Our project provides you with everything you need to learn your part.
First, under the Materials buttons above, you will find your score and two sets of Rehearsal files - Audio Files of the full piece with voices highlighted; and Performance Notes in which Kathryn Whitney gives you some written directions to help clarify key aspects of the score, and to ensure that all singers who choose to record are singing with a similar interpretion.
Next, you will attend our live (or recorded) full choir rehearsals and sectionals, where we will work together to shape our interpretation of this beautiful composition.
Finally, we provide you with two file sets to help you make your recording:
Under Materials, there is a technical guide to help you make the most of your equipment while recording; and a button leading to your Recording Videos - these are the conducting tracks you will use to record your video and audio. (There is no obligation to record! You are just as welcome if you just want to sing in rehearsal.)
OUR BIRD'S LULLABY VIDEO
Our video will be filled with beautiful images of Algonquin park and the many birds that live there. Our choristers will feature in both the video and the audio tracks. Please see the Technical Guide under Materials for details on how to make your recordings. To make our video look its best, we ask that you please:
- record audio and video separately
- dress for the outdoors, in a jacket you would wear in the autumn (it is OK to record video outside)
- ensure your face is well lit, natural light from a window is best if possible
- record video without any headphones or earbuds (see technical guide)
- smile and have a lovely time in your video!
Submission Deadline: Friday, Nov 26, end of day in your timezone
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY FILES?
Upload your files using the Submit My Audio and Submit My Video buttons under Materials, above.
OUR VIDEO PREMIERE
Our video will premiere on the Sing the North YouTube Channel a few months after the completion of the project.
We will be in touch with singers in advance of the world premiere of our video to tell you the time and date so you can invite your friends and family to our live watch party.
This will be followed by an STN cast party on our regular zoom link - an event not to be missed!
Meet Sarah Quartel
Canadian composer and educator Sarah Quartel is known for her fresh and exciting approach to choral music.
Deeply inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur while making choral music, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience.
Her works are performed by choirs across the world, and she has been commissioned by groups including the American Choral Directors Association, the National Children's Chorus of the United States of America, and New Dublin Voices.
Since 2018 she has been exclusively published by Oxford University Press, and she continues to work as a clinician and conductor at music education and choral events at home and abroad.
Virtual Choir Field Trip
A Virtual Tour of Algonquin Park
Every SING THE NORTH project features a trip in our virtual choir tour bus, a special session when we travel together as a choir to a different part of Canada to meet the people who live and work there.
At the request of our composer Sarah Quartel, who has many happy memories of childhood holidays there as a child, Sing the North are travelling on our virtual choir tour bus to beautiful ALGONQUIN PARK in South Eastern Ontario.
We have arranged a virtual tour of the park with Kevin Clutes, a naturalist from the Friends of Algonquin Park.
The field trip will take place in our Rehearsal Room - click on the image above to attend.
Take your seat on the STN tour bus and we will see you in the park!
Live session Video Archive
All our sessions are recorded so you can watch on catch-up.
Videos will normally appear in the archive within 24 hours of our live session time.
Week 1
Sectional – Sopranos & Altos Nov 9
Sectional – Tenors & Basses Nov 9 – With STNE Michael Dodge, tenor
Week 2
Full Choir Rehearsal Nov 13
Algonquin Park Field Trip Nov 14
Sectional – Sopranos Nov 15
...
Sectional – Altos Nov 15
Sectional – Tenors Nov 15
Sectional – Basses Nov 15
Week 3
Full Choir Nov 20 – Visit with Sarah Quartel
Week 3 sectionals
Sectionals – Sopranos & Altos
Sectionals – Tenors & Basses