PebbleCreek Musicians left to right: Jeff Buda, director; Bruce Birnel, former director; and Bill Throssell
Bill Throssell Is Leaving PebbleCreek
Susan Kice
The PebbleCreek Musicians recently announced the relocation of their longtime member and featured trumpeter, Bill Throssell. Bill and his wife, Helen, are moving back to Washington state. As a 15-year member of the Musicians and The PebbleCreek Big Band, Bill’s musicianship and his ability to make that horn “sing” will be greatly missed by the band, as well as by PebbleCreek audiences who were privileged to hear him perform on numerous occasions.
Bill was presented with an engraved plaque during a recent rehearsal when he was recognized for his many years of dedication to the band.
PebbleCreek Singers Welcome New Members
Diane Piehl
The PebbleCreek Singers will have some new faces on the concert stage in December with altos Carol Hokaj, Virginia Baker, and Cissy O’Donnell, along with Arlys Oesterling singing first soprano. The chorus looks forward to singing with these talented women!
Save the date and mark your calendars for Holiday Fanfare, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 1 through Saturday, Dec. 4. Planning for the holiday season is always worthy of our time and efforts, and, you know the PebbleCreek Singers can’t wait to help our community welcome in the season.
The chorus has openings in the tenor, bass, and baritone sections, so if you’re a vocal fit, PebbleCreek Singers are looking for you. Be a part of our musical family as we gear up for the holiday season. Contact Nancy Gustafson at 623-215-3292 for more information about your place in the chorus.
Please note, PebbleCreek Singers, along with ShowTime, PebbleCreek Players, and PebbleCreek Musicians (Big Band), form the resident performing arts groups in our community.
Wanted: Music Directors
Melissa Kallett
Everything about a Showtime or PC Players production is courtesy of resident volunteers—the actors, vocalists, musical directors, vocal directors, set designers, construction crews, costume designers, backstage crew, and lighting and sound technicians. This is the second of a series of articles that will introduce you to your theater groups and invite you to get involved. Whether your interests lie on the stage, or behind the scenes, you’ll discover there is a place for you in your resident theater clubs!
This month, let’s talk about your place as a music or vocal director. If you studied music, are experienced with leading a vocal ensemble, play the piano, or otherwise feel comfortable applying your musical skills to the theater, then we need you! For our Showtime musicals, both of these positions are critical.
We classify our musicals as either “Revues” (Las Vegas to Nashville, This Land is Your Land, etc) or “Book Shows” (The Music Man, Gypsy, etc). Music for each is either live or recorded. For Book Shows, orchestra music scores are always available from the leasing company. For past performances, we’ve had a pianist play the music live for the entire production or lead a pit band to do so. Often, recorded tracks were leased for the production. The music director decides which option will work best and applies their skills to make it happen. At times, on recorded tracks, vocal cues need to be added to the tracks, cuts made to shorten the songs or transition music, keys electronically transposed, or tempo adjusted to match the vocalists and/or dancer’s skills.
The vocal director works in collaboration with the music director to meld the voices on stage with the music accompaniment. This person leads the vocal rehearsals and often works individually with performers to help them with the vocals, harmonizing, and articulation. Since many of the Showtime performers are not trained vocalists, this position requires a person with patience and teaching skill.
Both the music and vocal director are involved with a production from pre-rehearsal auditions up through closing night, so the time commitment is extensive. That said, the reward of seeing performers excel on the stage and hearing the enthusiastic reception from the audience makes it all time well spent.
The music and vocal directors are in place for our November production of Beauty & The Beast and our spring 2022 production revue, We’ll Sing in the Sunshine. But come September, we’ll be soliciting and considering our future productions, as it takes a year to prepare for that first rehearsal. In other words, we need your music and vocal leadership talents now. Interested? Contact Katie Croy (vocal director for our 2019 production of The Music Man) to learn more about these important roles.
To learn more about this and the many other ways to get involved in Showtime, visit our newly revised Showtime page on the HOA website. It’s simple to find us:
– Log in at www.pebblecreekhoa.org (you need your HOA membership number)
– At the top, in the green border, go to Things To Do
– Scroll down and click on Clubs
– Scroll down and click on Showtime Productions, Inc
Showtime and PC Players are two of the four resident performing arts groups in the community. The others are PebbleCreek Musicians (Big Band) and PebbleCreek Singers (choral).