“Your Song, Your Show” – Songcraft Songwriting Circle’s Year-End Showcase ‘07

Dear Songcrafters,

I will be organising a year-end mini-concert (or to use a less intimidating word, “showcase”) specially designed for all of us. It will be an event whereby those who are keen can get a chance to formally present your original songs (be it your old or new songs) to a small but eager audience, and hopefully gain more exposure on your song too!

This is in line with one of the goals of the Songcraft Songwriting Circle, and that is to not only allow us to share our new songs with one another during the monthly meetups, but to also bring the songs to “completion”, so to speak, by having an opportunity to formally perform the “finished product” to an appreciative audience.

I’ve entitled the concert “Your Song, Your Show”, cos that is essentially what it is – it’s all about your song…and your song makes the show. These original songs will be the stars of the show.

This is the chance for you to give a full “live” performance of your song. Pick your favourite original compositions to perform. Be creative with your arrangements. See if you wanna rope in musician friends to perform your song with you. Form your own ad-hoc band if you wish.

It’s all up to you.

You, the songwriter, shall have full creative control over how you would like to perform your songs during the concert.

So I look forward to your positive responses. Start emailing me if you’re interested!

Details
Event: “Your Song, Your Show” - ’07 Showcase of the Songcraft Songwriting Circle
Date: (Sat) 15th Dec ‘07
Time: 745pm (tentative)
Venue: YMS Arts Centre
Admission: Free, of course!

How is the concert going to be like?
Everyone will take turns to go up to perform. The sequence of performers will be arranged beforehand. There will be ”concert programme” booklets distrubuted at the concert, which lists the performance schedule, as well as all the lyrics of the songs which will be presented that night, as well as maybe a short write-up from the songwriter about his/her song. (I imagine this programme booklet would make a very nice souvenir!) 

Any song limit or time limit?
Yes. Each performer will be limited to a max of 3 songs.

What are the requirements if I would like to perform during the concert?
1) Perform only your own originals.
2) Send me all the lyrics of the songs you will be performing, as well as an optional short write-up on your songs (i.e. to let the reader know a bit more about the song).
3) Rehearse and be well-prepared for your performance.

When is the deadline for registering to perform for the concert?
23rd Nov ’07. I need to receive your confirmations a.s.a.p. so that I can make the necessary arrangements. The earlier I can confirm, the better. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!

How are the performances going to be scheduled?
I shall do the scheduling of the performers. My main aim to is ensure that there is a good flow to the order of performances.

What if I wanna play a recording?
Shouldn’t be a problem. We will try our best to arrange for sound system and AV system to be set up.

How is this concert different from the monthly Songcraft sessions?
Very different. For our monthly sessions, the focus is on sharing new songs, and sometimes the songs are but a rough draft. The emphasis during the monthly sessions is on discussion, exchanging of ideas, creative thinking, and socialising. For the concert, the focus is on the performance of a well-polished original song. There will not be any time allocated for discussion during the concert. It is just “performance only”. And there will (hopefully) be many more outsiders for the concert.

How big is the concert venue gonna be?
We will be using the choral studio at the YMS Arts Centre. It can hold about 60 people.

How much publicity are you going to do for the event?
Not much. It’s basically gonna be an “invite your own circle of friends” and “publicise it on your blog (if you like)” kind of thing.