Author: windycityrecorders

  • Welcome to the 2021-2022 Season!

    We’ve all waited a whole year to meet and play together again, and we certainly plan to this season. Who would have guessed that we’d still be in recurring semi-pandemic mode over a year after we first heard the term ‘Covid”? But we have also managed to meet, in small groups, indoors and out, over the past months. Between our cautious in-person sessions, and our continued online chapter meetings, we’ve managed to maintain an active chapter for all of our members!

    In light of continuing pandemic concerns, we will begin the season meeting in person in a safe, controlled situation (see restrictions below). Of course, if circumstances require, we will continue to meet on Zoom.

    In spite of all the caveats, warnings and precautions, we look forward to welcoming everyone back for another rewarding season of music, hard work and fun!

    Lisette Kielson returns as our Music Director!

    Hello everyone! I am so excited to return as Music Director of the Chicago Chapter and really looking forward (and crossing fingers!) to reconnecting with vaccinated members in person at our first meeting on September 19th. I plan to revisit some joyous large scale works such as Glen Shannon’s Friendship Canzona, Peter Siebert’s Festival Music, and more! In addition, I will bring some wonderfully challenging duos made more accessible by in-person playing (think Telemann and Sieg!)!

    If Covid and the variants, the CDC and our comfort levels, determine that it is better to meet over Zoom, I will guide, instead, a virtual ‘how to practice’ session, addressing various aspects of technique and musicality through scales, etudes, and solos, culminating in duets for intermediate SAT recorder players. Let’s dust off our summer cobwebs!

    Whether in person or apart, music-making is the goal for our 2021-2022 season! Join us!

    Required music is available now on our website, at:

    https://chicagorecorders.org/resources/meeting-downloads/2021-2022-season/

    New Meeting Protocols!

    For those meeting in person, there are two general announcements:

    1. Due to a new request and agreement with Covenant church, our in-person meetings in the hall will run from 1 PM to 4 PM. The hour from 1 to 2 PM will be our ‘chapter hour’ of free-form playing, and our formal music presentation will run from 2 PM to 4 PM, as usual. The meeting will end at 4 PM by request of the church.

    2. We plan to use the following rules for our meetings:

    – We will follow CDC and common sense guidelines (used by other music venues) during our meetings.

    – The first time you attend a meeting, proof of vaccination will be required. Without vaccination, a recent negative Covid test result will be required for every meeting, while restrictions apply.

    – Masks should be worn inside the meeting room when not playing music.

    – While playing, chairs will be arranged with the recommended safe distancing. (Recorders only!)

    – Hand sanitizer will be provided in the meeting room and we should all use it.

    – For our first meeting or two, we will forgo shared food and drink; please bring anything for yourself that you may need for hydration or snacking.

  • We hope you’re having a wonderful summer, while keeping up with the recorder!

    Here are some available recorder activities for more summer fun!

    • If you or a friend would like to learn how to play the recorder, you can sign up for free beginning recorder lessons here, on the ARS National website. Yes, free lessons!
    • There are additional online, no charge, learning resources for those newer to the recorder, who would like to improve their skills. Please email us through the Contact Us option on this website, for further info on these free options!
    • For more experienced players: Investigate some great opportunities to play recorder over the summer, on our “Upcoming Workshops” page – here!

    Includes info on the PortTownsend – SFEMF online summer workshop, going on now through Aug. 1st; and the Bach Musicians Summer Chamber Music Workshop, featuring Lisette Kielson and others, from July 26 to 30, in person in Madison, WI.

    Happy summer playing!

  • Thanks for a wonderful May concert meeting! See everyone in September!

    The online Spring Concert on May 16th was a complete success, with several members performing. (See the music program here.) Afterwards there was an enjoyable group playing session with all members participating.

    “Though we have to say good-bye for the summer…” please check in with us during the summer months, to keep updated on possible summer playing sessions, online and in person, and plans for September.

    Have a wonderful summer! See you in September!

    Lisette Kielson performs in May.

    Nancy, Lynette and Esther perform in trio.

  • All Are Welcome to Our Online Spring Concert on May 16th!

    Please join us, and perform if you like, at our Spring Concert on May 16th. We have the opportunity to be creative for this virtual concert, perhaps playing a solo, perhaps playing a pre-recorded piece, or some other creative idea!
    There will be a general playing session afterwards, with music to be specified and made available in advance on our website.

    If you would like to participate (or have any questions), just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom sign in information and the website resource password.

    All the music featured in May is now available here.

    Hope to see you on may 16th!

    For a review of our April meeting, see our May newsletter here.

    Don’t forget about the Whitewater Early Music Festival from June 5 to 6!
    Registration for the festival is open until May 21st. You can sign up for eight one-hour sessions over two days for $75, or four one-hour sessions on one day, for $40. For more info and to register, see the Whitewater festival website here.

  • Join the Chicago Chapter and Patrick O’Malley in March, for the first Flowers of Spring!

    On Sunday, March 21, join the Chicago Chapter of the American Recorder Society as we anticipate the musical “flowers” of Spring! Patrick O’Malley will lead the group in playing selections from Volume 1 of Philibert Delavigne’s Les Fleurs, Pièces pour les Musettes ou Vielles, avec accompagnement de Violon ou de Flûte, op. 4.

    These lovely duets, each named after a flower, are ideal for our chapter this month. For new visitors, the pieces have limited range of pitches, enabling them to be played on C or F recorders. Because they were intended for bagpipes or hurdy-gurdy (or violin or recorder), all pieces are in C Major or C Minor. For regular attendees and more advanced players, there are many opportunities to apply the French ornaments Lisette has covered in recent months.

    Patrick will share his approach to learning a new piece, including what he marks with his trusty pencil! Members are also encouraged to purchase this music, so they can make their own decisions about interpretation. “Chacun à son gout.” Published by Amadeus, BP 553. (BP 554 is Volume 2.)

    If you would like to participate, just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom sign in information and the website resource password.

    All the music featured in March is now available in a single file on this website, here.

    Hope to see you on March 21st!

  • Beat the “Bleak Midwinter” blues and join us on February 21st!

    We will continue our technique work with Lisette Kielson at our February meeting. We will also revisit the technically challenging and musically rewarding selections from last month: duos by Bach, Hotteterre, and Telemann for two altos. Feel free to join us even if you couldn’t attend January’s meeting—it’s always a work in progress!

    For more information, check the February, 2021, newsletter in our Newsletter Archive, here.

    To participate, just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom sign in information and the website resource password.

    All the music featured in February is now available on this website, here.

    Hope to see you on February 21st!

  • You are welcome to join the Chicago Chapter on January 17th!

    In our first chapter meeting of 2021, we’re going to get to work! But it won’t feel like a chore as Lisette leads us in wonderful duos for two altos by Bach, Hotteterre, and Telemann. We will focus on our beloved technical issues of finger coordination, articulation, high notes, phrasing, and add some French ornamentation into the venture!

    For more information, check the January, 2021, newsletter in our Newsletter Archive, here.

    Please mark your calendars and come play with us, at 2 PM, on Sunday, January 17th! To participate, just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom signin information and the website resource password.

    All the music featured in January is now available on this website, here.

    Hope to see you on January 17th!

  • Come to Our Holiday Concert on Sunday, Dec. 20th!

    Please join us for our Holiday Concert on December 20th at 2 PM!
    Everyone is invited to perform, or just listen. This year, performers will need to be creative, perhaps playing a solo, perhaps playing a duet with everyone else joining in. There will be a general playing session afterwards, for all to participate in, or listen to. (Music is available now on our website, here.)

    To participate, just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom sign-in information and the website resource password.

    Mark your calendars for our December 20th celebration!

    As an added attraction this year, the Chicago Chapter – American Recorder Society Board is organizing a cookie exchange to enliven the socializing and bring real food to this year’s online Yuletide concert and social hour. It’s next weekend—Sunday, December 20!

    Join the fun! Virtual party, real food!

    Treats signed up so far: Oatmeal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, chocolate caramel bars, rice krispie bars, gingerbread men

    Thanks to those of you who have signed up for a delivery of cookies! We need more eaters! And a few more bakers would help add variety.

    Sign up with our online form to do one or more of these: 

    1. EAT. Have a plate of treats delivered to your home the day before the concert. The plates will have a mix of treats baked by CCARS members. You do NOT need to bake OR perform in order to get a plate of treats. 
    2. BAKE. Bake treats. Treats will be picked up at your home on Friday, December 18, between noon and 3 pm
    3. DELIVER. We think we are in pretty good shape for Cookie Couriers, but you can also sign up to pick up and/or deliver treats on Friday, December 18, OR Saturday, December 19 

    We appreciate a response by Tuesday, December 15. The cookie exchange is contact-free. CDC guidance will be followed. 

    Questions? Live outside of the Chicago area? Contact Jenny Buckley, 608-421-2386, jenifer.a.buckley@gmail.com

  • Join the Chicago Chapter on Sunday, October 18th!

    Andrew Schultze will present a workshop on French Baroque music style and performance practices, focusing on the theoretical works of de Bacilly, Couperin and Hotteterre and modern specialists such as Betty Bang Mather, Mary Cyr and David Fuller. The chapter will join in playing music by Louis XIII, Jean Baptiste Lully, Jean Joseph Mouret, and Michel Corrette, as well as popular songs and music from the comédie en vaudevilles, a comedy theatrical form that emerged at the end of the 17th century.

    Music for the session is available on this website in Resources -> Meeting Downloads -> 2020-2021 Season.

    Please mark your calendars and come play with us, at 2 PM, on Sunday, October 18th! To participate, just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom signin information and the website resource password.


    Hope to see you on the 18th!

  • Welcome to the September meeting of the 2020 – 2021 season of the Chicago ARS!

    Welcome to the September meeting of the 2020 – 2021 season of the Chicago ARS!

    Please join Lisette and the Chicago Chapter on Sunday, September 20th, at 2 PM, for our first class meeting in this season’s Storytelling 101. We’ll warm up with a great “conversation” from the ARS Members’ Library Edition, He Talks, She Talks. Then on to our own, unscripted dialogue with some extended techniques and free improvisation. You can remain tasteful or go wild (muted, or unmuted) in this call and response segment. Then we’re off to dissect our insect duets with Thomas Morley’s Il Grillo, Lance Eccles’ Grasshoppers, and Glen Shannon’s Papillons.

    Music is available on our website at Resources / Music Downloads / 2020-2021 Season:
    https://chicagorecorders.org/resources/meeting-downloads/2020-2021-season/

    Along with the printed music on the website, Lisette includes a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R36uy8zSfgE
    to a great performance of Il Grillo, as well as some ARS guidelines for Zoom settings, at the above Resource link, for those who want to play (and be heard) during the improv section.

    Please mark your calendars and come play with us on Sunday, September 20th! To participate, just send a note using the Contact Us option on this website, and we’ll respond with the Zoom signin information and the website resource password.

    Hope to see you on Sunday!