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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p>Dear Concert Singers,<o:p></o:p></p><p>Since the founding of The Concert Singers of Cary in the summer of 1991, we have done our very best to, as our bio says, “challenge the assumptions of what a vocational performing organization can accomplish”. The results have been evident in the response to our work by the audiences who hear us sing and the respect accorded to the organization from the arts community. In our early years, all members auditioned annually keeping me up to date on the capabilities of each singer and helping each singer to be at their best. As we grew, this became less practical and we moved to auditioning only prospective new members. This worked well for a time but I feel the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. There are many of you who I have not heard in over a decade that I would like to hear again as voices change and evolve over time. I did this with the Chamber Choir two years ago and found it very helpful in getting the right mix of voices on the right parts<b>. <u>Therefore, I will be hearing all members again this summer before we start the new season</u></b>.<o:p></o:p></p><p>I want to assure everyone that for this year <b><u>these are simply hearing sessions. They will not result in anyone being dropped from the group</u></b>. While we occasionally have issues with singers that cause their departure from CSC, these are dealt with on an individual basis by me personally.<o:p></o:p></p><p>Here is what is involved:<o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>Each singer will sign up for a five minute session with Jenn Myers and me only; Allen will not be present.<o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span><strong>The dates are Wednesday, August 21<sup>st</sup> and Tuesday, September <span style='color:black'>3rd; times begin at 6:00pm until 10:00pm at 5 minute intervals. </span></strong><span style='color:black'>These</span> dates are not included in the published dates for new members. They are for existing members only.<span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>Contact Ingrid Speakman by emailing her at <a href="mailto:MMIngridNC@Gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style='color:#0066CC'>MMIngridNC@Gmail.com</span></a> <span style='color:black'> with your first, second and third date/time choices. </span> <span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Do <strong>not</strong> hit return and send back to me</span>.<o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>You do not need to prepare anything. I will have small excerpts from each of our four series concerts from last season. If you missed all of last season’s concerts, you need to do a complete reaudition as we always have required and should sign up through the website.<o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt'> </span>I will hear you sing the excerpt, sing a few scales and talk with you about your experiences as a member. <o:p></o:p></p><p>I appreciate all that you have done and hope that you will embrace this as a chance to help CSC be the best that we can be!<o:p></o:p></p><p>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p><p>Larry<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>Lawrence Speakman<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>Artistic Director and Conductor</span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#984806'><img border=0 width=121 height=122 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CE9049.44F5B9D0" alt="CSC_final_logo"></span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>The Concert Singers of Cary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'><a href="http://www.concertsingers.org"><span style='color:blue'>www.concertsingers.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'><a href="http://www.speakmanvocalarts.com"><span style='color:blue'>www.speakmanvocalarts.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>919-249-6421<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>