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his home town, and among his kinsmen and family." (Mark 6:4; NEV) Let's be honest; Russ really didn't say anything or ask us to do anything to improve our craft that we haven't heard over and over from Ken or Don. Haven't we all heard Ken say we were individually or collectively by parts a "quarter of a tone flat"? Haven't we heard him ask us to think about what we were singing, and to interpret the music rather than just sing the notes? Haven't we all heard him ask us to connect our phrases, smooth out our sound, back off when we don't have the melody, sing with more feeling, connect our notes, listen to the other parts, watch him, and on and on? I can almost hear Don saying "OK, you've convinced me you know the notes, now let's make it music." Hardly a song is sung without Ken reminding us of the importance of vowel sounds, yet the next time we sing the same phrase we revert back to shaping (Continued on page 6) |
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What a great time with Russ Young a couple of weeks ago! I always look forward to chapter meetings, and often refer to our time together Thursday evenings as my weekly therapy session. Sometimes it's more fun than others, depending on how many we have in attendance, and whether Ken or Don (or both) are able to be there, but it's always fun and the time with Russ was certainly no exception. We were all on the edge of our chairs, granting him our undivided attention as he worked through "Once Upon A Time" and "May the Road Rise To Meet You". And because we were, at least for the most part, on the edge of our chairs and trying to do what he asked of us, the sound we made was really better. As I left the chapter meeting after thanking Russ for coming, I couldn't help but think of an adage we sometimes use in academia: "An authority on a subject is someone from another university with a set of kodachromes". Or for those scripturally inclined: "A prophet will always be held in honour except in |
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Another View of Russ Young Visit By Bob Ridley, VP for Chapter Development |