August was a month of significant progress for the Vista Hills Chorus as we balanced preparing for our big performance with steady internal improvements. The heat was on, but so were our voices!

We were honored to host the talented Charmed at our weekly practice on August 19.  They flexed their coaching muscles and we performed for each other. Their infectious energy and consistent progress over the past year serves as great inspiration for our chorus.

This month, we focused on refining our craft by introducing a new regimen of warm-ups designed to improve physical presence, tuning, intonation, and sustained energy. We also unveiled our cool new chorus banner which highlights our goals for 2026 and serves as a fun reminder of our commitment to continuous improvement!  

On August 30th, we performed at SoloVoice’s annual Music on the Porch Day event, a performance that truly showcased our hard work. Our director, Melanie Jewel, quite literally jumped with enthusiasm to kick off our premiere of "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love" and our audience loved our lively, sassy rendition of "If I Were You I'd Fall In Love With Me," which had them laughing and smiling along with us. It's always a special experience to perform for such a supportive crowd and cheer on our fellow performers!

Lastly, we've had a few big updates this month: We've transitioned from Groupanizer to ChoirGenius with a little help from our friends and we are "officially" located in Encinitas, CA!  Looking ahead, we're eager to dive into our holiday program.  Last year, our "Holiday in Harmony" performance saw the Grinch himself join us in song. We can't wait to see what this year’s season brings! 🎄

- Connie Adams

Hi from a very busy VHC!  This June marked an extra-special one-year anniversary for our spunky and fearless leader, Melanie Jewell!  Yes, we’re going to shout her out again; our newly-minted director led our chorus to a strong “Most Improved” award at contest, earning our endless gratitude and support.  As thanks, we promise to try to stop singing “chew”!  

The VHC delegation in Queen Creek, AZ, reports that the sessions were quite informative, especially those on marking music, retention, and quartet development; they really got the creative juices flowing.  We debuted a double quartet, Sneeze the Day, in a parody of “San Diego Bay Blues”, our more localized version of “San Francisco Bay Blues”.  If you were there, you might have witnessed some bedhead, explosive sneezing, copious amounts of Lyzol, absurdly long hankies, and a few chuckles.  Double quartet members celebrated the display of teamwork, saluting the coaches who really pushed the group’s creative boundaries by swapping some vocal parts and experimenting with some new techniques while still remaining true to our chorus culture.  

At the end of July - a month in which we very enthusiastically welcomed a new Bari named Carol - we kicked off the year with a night of fun and reflection.  Survey says Family Feud was the perfect way to address successes, areas of improvement, expectations, and personal goals.  The chorus came away more bonded and motivated to keep busting through perceived boundaries.  

Looking into August, our excitement is mounting for the 6th annual Music on the Porch Day in Escondido, hosted by our friends in Solo Voce.  We’re working to polish one or two of our songs, and maybe even share a new one!  So excited for the next year!  

​- Tabitha Woolpert