Voices of Liberty Christmas Echo Sets 2019 with interviews and thoughts
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- We share information about Voices of Liberty, our thoughts on how they've come into our lives, interviews with some of the VoL performers, plus a FULL run of their Christmas Eve Echo Sets.
I saw them 2 years ago. I love Voctave!! I took a picture with two of the, Kate and someone else. I was going to High Point NC to see them l got COVID-19.
Absolutely loved getting to hear from the performers. Thank you!
You're very welcome! We will do more- there are so many talented performers!
Hi, & MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL! 12.25.22 *PART 1* (PT 2 ABOVE)😜
First, I would just like to say thank you so much to the Harloffs for This brilliant almost mini documentary about v o l during the holidays.
For the fans of vol out there but especially the Harloffs, I have an extended little interview from a Voices alum.
This has been a challenging few years for me for a number of reasons.. the most devastating I suppose being the loss of my parents and my fiance, who came out of nowhere only months after suddenly losing my very healthy mother, and his presence was clearly life-changing in the most beautiful way I've ever experienced. He too unfortunately passed suddenly just a few years ago at age 31. This is only part of what I've been through. I reveal all this only because I want you all to understand that when it comes to Christmas time I've had my own company that had, at certain times, five to eight groups out near daily the month of December doing caroling, I've been fortunate to do tours of Broadway shows, worked at landmark theaters, produced a successful Broadway show etc.
None of these incredible blessings I had can begin to compare to my experience and my time with VOL.
It begins with my very small high School auditioning to be part of the candlelight service back in the day when it was in The Kingdom, atop the train station at the beginning of Main Street. Our rehearsals that very long day occurred in these giant warehouses and it was mind-blowing just to be backstage at the magic kingdom!! After the end of rehearsal, with about 3 hours for dinner, a man got up and gleefully announced he had a special gift for us, a short medley (nowadays it'd be called a mashup, lol) with his group VOL. There was a small state of cheers, but my "second chair" bro for the 2 &1/2 years in our very small advanced group, Archie Gall, looked at each other, rolled our eyes basically saying "dude! Let us go to dinner!"😂
Then they began to sing.
From that day forward all of us could not stop talking about this miraculous little group of eight people and their unimaginable arrangements that made an unmiked group sound like 50 people singing the most heartbreakingly beautiful, funny, clever arrangements of our favorites we - especially me - were stunned; and all I could think was, I want to be in that group someday.
Well, being me, I marched myself up to Derric Johnson, introduced myself, and asked how and when could I audition for this group. I mean, I was ready to ditch high School, Palm Beach, my family, probably my worldly goods LOL to be in this group. He, with that wonderful hearty laugh of his, said well that's quite a compliment and I'd be delighted to have you audition for me, but first I'm afraid you must finish high school! As college life does, naturally there were other things that drew my attention, but every time I visited wdw and then of course Epcot I made sure I'd see The Voices. Then in '92 it just so happened I had a break in my schedule and nothing going on, and they were auditioning at the Peabody. I had just finished a show in Tulsa Oklahoma, flew down, somehow got a suite at the Peabody for $81, & then auditioned for good old Derric & Bob (Johnson), head of casting for all WDW shows.
Derric not only remembered me, but with a smile as bright as the sun came bounding over from the table to give me a hug and thank me for coming - before I sung a note LOL
I was not chosen for Voices of Liberty. I've been a professional singer since I was 10 years old, and nobody more than me new for every 60 auditions you got maybe one job - but I still was somehow crushed and felt it was inexplicable LOL. Still, I auditioned a few years later and the same thing happened. I began to get the idea that somehow I was not Voices material.
PART 2 IN NEXT COMMENT or REPLY....COME ON! It's just getting GOOD!
I worked at Disney for 25 years, and sang in the Candlelight Processional for 18 of them, initially in the Magic Kingdom, with 1200 choir members. I sang behind Voices each time, and got to be recognized by a few of them, including Derric (and Ralph Blaine, who wrote Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas). You mentioned tears, I saw plenty of them over the years, but also many people sitting cross-legged on the floor, hunched over until the final notes, then their backs completely straightened! Nice job on the vlog. Concerning brass groups, look for Warren Kime's Brass Impact cd's. I believe Doc Severinsen was a member, circa the 60's. Amazing recordings, considering the time period.
Love the ending performance. Rare to find a recording of "The Sleigh" and an echo set of "Joy to the World!" Fantastic video with the performers!
LOVE THIS VIDEO! Matt, I have to echo your sentiments about hearing the same things over and over and yet they never lose their impact on me. What does it for me is hearing your AMAZING CrownBRASS when I can get up to hear them. I watched Crown rehearse again in Atlanta this past summer and it always fills a hole in my soul that can only be filled by the sound of Drum and Bugle Corps. Even though I've spent the past 18+ years as an Army Musician and getting to play with amazing people all around the world, it still isn't the same as the sound of a powerful brass line. The ballad from this past season brought chills to me. Even though I didn't get a chance to say hello to you this past summer, I want you to know that hearing your hard work and influence in those kids always brings a high point to my summer and I wanted to tell you JOB WELL DONE!!
Keep the awesome videos coming!! Love watching them!
Wow, Aaron! Thanks so much!
@@TheHarloffHub You guys are most welcome! I have no shame in being a fanboy for drum corps LOL! I've hauled out my 3 volumes of DCI Essentials blu-rays more times than I can count. I also bought a copy of Star's Summer of 2010 through inside info from some mutual friends of ours.(I went to college with Holly Talbott!) I really wanted to try out for Star in 1993 but things didn't line up correctly. Ever since then, I've been a huge Star fan and now I've become a huge Crown fan. Voices of Liberty and Voctave have become some of my favorite vocal music to listen to. I always live the opportunity to hear them live when we're at Epcot.
Kelly ❤
Thanks for sharing this wonderful Christmas music- Saw the triple cast echo in 1992 what a wonderful show it was under the dome!
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Voices of Liberty, Main Street philharmonic, and dapper Dans are best part of Disney IMHO, and candlelight during Christmas.
So agree!!
I still have a recording of the DCI Orlando 2019 show and with the sounds of liberty, I love replaying every now and then because it sounds so good!
One of my favorite experiences ever!
I've subscribed because Rob Lott told me to 😂
We definitely recommend following Rob Lott’s advice. Thanks for subscribing!
**PART 2 OF PREVIOUS COMMENT, APPEARS BELOW THIS ONE, LOOK 4 MY AVATAR**
SOOO, Finally, in 97 a dear friend I had done phantom with and I decided to brave an audition but this was the third time and I was absolutely of the ilk that my credits stood for themselves (ego much? 🙄),, But it had been frustrating. So once again I sang for Derric & Bob and again though they seemed delighted to see me, for anyone who has ever auditioned for anything you'll understand... I got that same old feeling I was going to be passed over.
Elizabeth, who had a pop-up higher than Mariah Carey in her day, and I made a different choice than I ever would have alone ... We decided to stick around to the very end and just see how things played; IDK, she didn't feel her audition had sold them either and I guess in our crazy heads we thought we might plead our case as they departed! (the ultimate audition no-no!!) But something interesting happened. A young man who had been around all day but I couldn't recall having seen audition, after the lobby was a ghost town sans Elizabeth & I, trying to blend in with the lobby columns, this young man suddenly found Derric & Bob coming out to greet him, clearly knowing him, and took him into the audition room where Voices A had appeared and we're awaiting him! E & I exchanged incredulous glances, but I knew somehow it was critical I listened closely to this audition if at all possible. I didn't know what part he sang, or what he was auditioning with, or what he sounded like but I was told in my head to do what one must, LOL. I love this group more than being in miraculous Broadway-run tours, so when they went in, I put my ear to the door! And listened to his audition, which, to my shock, was singing, naturally, bass. But also, he sung no audition material--merely a couple holiday songs with them, and that was that, everyone left! And though this may sound egotistical - LOL - especially if you've been reading haha.. it's really not - - but - I knew I could do better than this young man. So I had never done anything like this before, but somehow thank you Elizabeth got her resounding approval for me to march to that door where I knew Derrick and Bob were still deliberating, and knocked. They did seem surprised, but I said something like, obviously you were expecting that young man to take the base part. He can't do it. This is my third audition and I'm telling you if you don't know (OMGGG!!!) My undying love for this group, my having not only sung with many acapella groups but also my own caroling company, I. CAN, AND HAVE ALWAYS WANTED, TO SING WITH THIS GROUP. Can I please re-audition? With any vocal direction you wish to give....... They smiled, looked at each other, look back at me and (Bob) said, "yeah, but I gotta motor to the parking lot & see if they're still here".
Ohhhh Lord, now I've done it¿⁵ I thought, & nervously waited to see whether this group, a few members I still recogbized---from that 1983 introduction to "that Voices sound" in a warehouse. Some were literally with keys in hand at their car doors, yet they didn't hesitate to come back and give me a shot. So the bass steps out again, and they stand in a circle with Bob and OMG! *gulp* Derric in the middle. They handed me the chart to "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", the 1st tenor blew the pitch, & off we went. Then Derric thanked them, thanked me, but said nothing. Yet I was unusually calm & felt an electricity, which is unusual (helped tons by several smiles from VOL & the bass giving a thumbs up). One week later I got the call.. I was going to be the bass in the second cast of Voices. And, as only God may occasionally do, Elizabeth was to also join my cast as the Soprano I. By the way, this never happens! Lol I mean, both dear friends, From the same town, and both certain we had been passed over.
Naturally, we were over the moon.
We arrived with our first experience being not Americana but the Holiday material. I didn't have that recording, and since Candlelight all those years ago I had not caught their set so I was a little worried, as we were to have one week only to rehearse before we went on the floor ! Now I'm an okay sight reader, but not that good with that giant book staring me in the face! But our brilliant, kind, amazing lead, Ron Boot, had, I later had heard, to some controversy decided to send us all CDs or cassettes of the record so that we could practice with the book and the singers, because the note were not near a problem; as you all know, it's the nuanced beauty of the arrangements & how each note has its own important stylized sound, and perhaps most importantly the "one voice" blend. And in my own long experience with groups intimate as this, there must be warmth and genuine affection between members for this all to come together with the par excellence the group is famous for.
Having those tapes made all the difference, and I'll never forget after our first song of our first rehearsal, it was not ready for the floor but Ron was very pleasantly surprised at how well we already sounded. And at the end of the day, Derric came in, and seemed to be not only pleased but also seemed a bit taken aback how we were already well on our way!
Oh, obviously, the thrill of that time, & I can safely say I absolutely prefer the holiday set! But as a young man said, we only did it for about 5 weeks & it's a magical time of year in the most magical place in the world. To sing every night with all those wonderful talented high School singers and a new celebrity a great renown hosting, or standing on the platform where Epcot tree is, at dusk, singing "The lights of Winter" looking out at a sea of smiling faces under those giant beautiful arches, whereupon at our last note it would suddenly come alight as bright as the dawn, we having the best "seat" in the house; the wonderful group of people and wonderfully fun group of people I was privileged to work with and of course wondeful Derric and his lovely wife Debbie....I've had some blessed Christmases with family, with other casts in other shows, yet to have my whole family, including my beloved grandmother, my Voices gig the last she would hear; the official Disney outside "gigs" we'd do, if I felt low on energy one morning, literally walking on to Space Mountain or test Track to "cure" me......but always, hearing "our" sound again especially at this time of year, and the brilliant, delightful musicians I had the privilege to work with......well, like I said, thank you guys. During a more difficult holiday, it takes me back to the wonder, the blessed magic, much obliged, & hope you all have a great holiday!!
Wow!!!!!! Great video
Thank you! We loved putting this one together!
You know better than that
You know better