Practice is the key to improvement, and singing is no exception. The Village Voices is a seasonal singing club with a winter and spring season. In the 2025 spring season there will be a total of 13 weeks of group practice, one two-hour session every Wednesday night from January 29 through April 23 with one technical rehearsal April 30 and two performances, May 2 and May 4.
The Voices has a strong core of returning members, and we welcome new singers every season. As a “no-audition chorus,” any Villages resident may join us without having to audition. All you have to do is show up to rehearsals, try your best, and when you utilize the available learning aids, you gain in confidence. These aids are created as a volunteer contribution by one of our bass singers and winter program soloist, Walter Hlavacek.
Walter joined Voices for the joy of singing, to share with others who enjoy music and to bring people together. Walter creates the Voices’ learning aids and begins working before each season, spending approximately 4 to 8 hours per song. The length of time depends on the complexity of the music. For example, this past “A Winter Spectacular” program took Walter over 80 hours to compile and put online. As a result, all the Voices winter concert music is available by section to all chorus members.
Walter began 10 years ago when he found a computer program to input the choral music as a way to help himself learn the music better. He found he was able to pick out each part in a song. Walter had some music experience and has a good ear for music but he needed more practice than what he was getting in the rehearsals. He found that by breaking out each song by part, he could focus on just his section—bass—and could work on it at home between rehearsals, helping him feel more prepared. As he gained confidence, he shared the files with other members and after about three years, he made them available to the whole group. Now, before each season, Walter takes each proposed song and breaks out not only his bass part, but the first and second soprano, first and second alto, and tenor parts which he puts into MP3 files and uploads to the Villages Music Society website at thevillagemusicsociety.org under the Voices tab. He is also able to adjust the files interpretively as the Director makes changes through the development of each piece. Walter has found these aids to be helpful for people who perhaps don’t yet feel musically accomplished and the files can be utilized at home. The files are available in large print and Walter also provides individual support to people who ask. Walter echoed the sentiment of members when he said, “There is a magical feeling in the group when everybody gets the music” and these learning aids can help Voices members get closer to that magic.
Join Walter and the Voices to kick off the spring season at our January 29 Open House.
