News and Notices

MIDDLETOWN, CONN. (September 8, 2020) — The GMChorale is proud to present a Virtual Season of Choral Enrichment for their 2020-2021 season beginning on September 8th. Since performing live concerts in 2020 continues to be prohibited due to COVID-19, the GMChorale will meet on Zoom, as they have been since March. Internet sessions will focus on improving performance skills, building ear training and musical literacy, and studying choral music history to enhance musicianship for a time when the GMChorale is able to perform again.

Rehearsals on Tuesday evenings from 7:00-8:30 PM will primarily incorporate physical and vocal warmups, full group rehearsal periods, and smaller voice sectionals to create a fulfilling online rehearsal experience. Member accompanists and vocal coaches in each of the breakout “rooms” will assist singers in learning their music. Music will feature J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in todesbanden; F. Schubert’s Mass in G Major; and W.A. Mozart’s Sancta Maria.

In addition, the season will include several virtual events and livestream performances. In January 2021, GMChorale will present a three-part speaker series to explore the impact of racial diversity, gender identity, homelessness, and PTSD on choral music.

New Singers. All who are interested in singing with the GMChorale have the unique opportunity of trying out rehearsals on September 22, September 29, and/or October 6, as well as meeting the Conductor, before committing to the season. Please call New Member Coordinator, Margie Livengood, at 860-633-6198, or email , to learn more about joining the GMChorale.

For more information, please visit www.gmchorale.org. Registration forms are available at https://forms.gle/k7hqyV82L3dF4oMFA

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Interviews: For more information, or to schedule an interview with Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, please contact Lisa Nappi at 860-747-1022, or send an email to .

About the GMChorale (Greater Middletown Chorale) – The GMChorale has become one of New England’s most distinguished choruses since its founding in 1977 as The Greater Middletown Chorale. Under the artistic leadership of Joseph D’Eugenio since 1998, the GMChorale is celebrated for its innovative symphonic choral presentations, and often performs with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. The 80-voice Chorale performs a wide range of choral repertoire, from beloved masterworks to newly commissioned pieces. As the GMChorale enters its fifth decade, the organization is broadening its mission and the scope of its offerings to bring the transformative power and beauty of choral music to people and communities across Connecticut. Alchemy, the vocal chamber ensemble of the GMChorale, established and directed by Joseph D’Eugenio in 2016 as part of this broader mission, has already experienced great success with concerts of early to contemporary music, both a cappella and accompanied, in a variety of settings across the state. Alchemy’s company of musicians includes music educators, professional soloists and artists, and skilled ensemble singers and instrumentalists who also are members of the GMChorale.

Most recently, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the GMChorale has pursued its first educational initiatives with two online Zoom courses: “Canons from Around the World” and “Choral Music Through the Ages”. The GMChorale aims to nurture musical knowledge in domains such as literacy and history in members and audiences alike. (gmchorale.org)

About Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio – Recognized as one of Southern New England’s most engaging musicians, Joseph D’Eugenio has been bringing music to life across the region for nearly three decades.

As a conductor, artistic director, music director, educator, pianist, organist, and vocal and conducting coach, D’Eugenio combines imaginative programming, skilled conducting, and deeply-informed musical versatility when producing captivating performances of choral, chamber, keyboard, and orchestral music.

D’Eugenio’s passion for preparing and presenting the great choral masterworks has led him to conduct productions of major choral-orchestral works each season, most often with the GMChorale, where he has served as Artistic Director since 1998.

Under D’Eugenio’s leadership, the GMChorale, an auditioned symphonic chorus of 80 voices that performs a wide range of choral music from several centuries, has become known as one of New England’s finest choruses, celebrated for its creative choral presentations, exciting performances, and dynamic collaborations, including those with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (with D’Eugenio conducting). The GMChorale and Alchemy (the professional vocal chamber ensemble of GMChorale) have performed at conventions of the Connecticut chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. D’Eugenio conducted the GMChorale’s international concert debuts in Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Rome, Florence and Venice, where the GMChorale performed at the historic St. Mark’s Basilica.

In 2009, D’Eugenio was named Conductor of the Year by the Connecticut Chapter of ACDA. He has championed commissions, and led premieres of, several new choral works and projects, including Sarah Meneely-Kyder’s oratorio Letter from Italy, 1944, and, most recently, Peter Niedmann’s choral cantata New Every Morning.

In demand as a guest conductor and clinician, D’Eugenio has led various workshops and festivals, and has worked with choral groups in high schools, colleges, and universities across Connecticut, including Wesleyan University in Middletown.

A collaborative pianist of the first rank, D’Eugenio frequently accompanies professional choral ensembles, All-State choral festivals, and song recitals with noted concert artists.

D’Eugenio has served as Director of Music and organist at the First Congregational Church in Cheshire, Connecticut since 2003, where he directs the church’s vibrant music program and chancel choir. D’Eugenio earned the Bachelor of Music (cum laude) in piano performance from The Hartt School, University of Hartford, and the Master of Music in choral conducting from the University of Connecticut.

Creativity emerges this fall in the form of a diverse array of virtual and in-person choral events. Here, I’ve highlighted a few I felt were especial!

Dear PROJECT : ENCORE followers,

This quarter we announce the largest group of new choral works to enter the PROJECT : ENCORE Catalog to date. Congratulations to all 23 of these wonderful composers:

Bird Song-John Milne
Blocks-Michael Maiorana
Christ Our Passover-Gordon King
Come To Me In Dreams-Caroline Mallonee
Dona Nobis Pacem-Keane Southard
Eternity Passing Over – An Arctic Requiem-John Meuhleisen
The Field (ubi caritas)-Julian David Bryson
Ilentsay Ightnay-Brian Holmes
I’m Not Lost-Michael Bussewitz-Quarm
Let This Be Heaven-Clifford W. King
Longing, Dreaming-Donald Skirvin
Magnificat-Peter Robb
O Radix Jesse-Anthony Mosakowski
Picking Wild Berries-Alex Eddington
Prayer of St. Francis-Jessica French
Psalm of the Sky-Sarah Riskind
The Rainy Day- Peter Frost
Therefore – Joelle Wallach
Sing, O Sing This Blessed Morn-Carolyn Pirtle
Songs of Innocence and Experience-Christopher Bradford
Sound Over All Waters-William V. Malpede
When You Are Old-Brian Field
Where Are My Unnumbered Days?-Chris Hutchings

Particular welcome to Christopher Bradford, Gordon King, John Milne, Carolyn Pirtle, and Peter Robb, all of whom are new to the P:E Catalog. Congratulations to all on these endorsements!

Each of these selections has been blind-vetted by at least three of the prominent conductors who serve in our pool of reviewers.An average of just over half of all post-premiere compositions submitted are accepted into the P:E Catalog. Congratulations, all!

CONDUCTORS are urged to sign up to receive the quarterly report, for regular updates on new repertoire! projectencore.org

COMPOSERS are urged to submit compositions that have been premiered, but have not been extensively performed beyond the premiere–as frequently as one per quarter–for review and possible upload into the prestigious PROJECT : ENCORE database

We are past the halfway mark of round three of Permission To Shine for our next three sections: Jazz/Blues, Country and Original Composition (any style).

Entries close Wednesday 30 September at 11.59pm AEST.

Play It Forward’s Artistic Director, Dr Jonathon Welch AM, says “Our team and the judges have been so impressed with the calibre of singers. There have been many talented singers from far and wide around the world and right across Australia. We can’t wait to see the videos from singers entering Round Three.

We are particularly thrilled to have an Original Composition section in this round. ‘We are excited to hear the new compositions written by our entrants.” We are also delighted that Katie Noonan will judge the Jazz and Blues section

“Make sure you get your entries in now. You have to be in it, to win it!” Please note the closing date for Round Three will not be extended.

All the details to enter are on our website playitforward.org.au/shine

Thank you for supporting our work at Play It Forward, as we love giving you all PERMISSION TO SHINE!
All funds raised will go towards Play It Forward’s inclusive arts projects and programs.

Interview with Roberta Laws Written by Shana Oshiro

The uproar of unrest that erupted in the wake of George Floyd in the midst of the pandemic’s peak has all but disappeared in more recent months. In the aftermath of millions of hashtags and organizational statements ranging from gingerly to explicitly condemning racist discrimination and violence, the slew of declarations and outspokenness against such practices has ebbed — leaving leaders of such organizations with whole-hearted convictions at something of a loss as to how to make good on their stated dedication to justice and equity.

In all fairness, to be sure, moving toward racial justice would not have been an easy feat even in what felt like more certain times, much less amidst the volatile landscape of a pandemic approaching a presidential election. The question as to how to broach the subject of racism in the choral world can present as an abstract and unsolvable problem — where the residues of explicit systemic racism may appear ineffable by way of any individual’s effort, regardless of the purity of their intentions.

With a working understanding of the history of this particular system and the structures which persist to the present day along with a connection to the lived experiences of racial oppression, however, the task of dismantling racism as it presents in any community space can certainly appear clearer, albeit certainly by no means easy. Understanding the structure of racism as “the totality of social relations and practices that reinforce white privilege,” the task of its dissolution begins with “uncovering the particular social, economic, political, social control, and ideological mechanisms responsible for the reproduction of racial privilege in a society” (Bonilla-Silva, 2017). For the choral community, therefore, it behooves us to examine the access to and trajectory of careers in choral leadership and the differences in how these paths develop between/among different racial identities.

In a nutshell, from personal experience, I imagine that I can at least sketch how these trajectories with their disparities present and probably predict gaps in the narrative from the perspectives of white (male) conductors compared to their BIPOC counterparts— especially African Americans. Between lack of representation in choral leadership in the mainstream of the choral conducting world, the explicitly racist practices which led to the development of musical leadership and expression in their own communities (e.g. choirs of historically black colleges and universities), and the typically exclusive emphasis on European music as the gold standard for legitimate choral and orchestral works — the BIPOC choral conductors who did emerge in their own standard of excellent leadership, musicianship, and creativity would rarely filter beyond the margins and therefore would be presumed nonexistent by those at the center of choral communities throughout the United States and, consequently, abroad. Therefore, it would often be rationalized that the lack of representation was due to lack of interest if not sheer capability and dismissed as a nonexistent problem. “If they’re not interested in or otherwise suited for this career, why should we recruit them?”

While the emerging emphasis and popularization of “diversity and inclusion” might (legitimately) argue that diversity of representation would allow for the opportunity to integrate “fresh” music perspectives that could both lead toward novel musical developments and (perhaps most importantly) attract a broader audience, the first issue to address with this fractured logic is the false assumption that there is a lack of interest and/or ability among marginalized racial/ethnic groups. And the question becomes: if there is a collective of people who would thrive in this career — what controls are in place that prevent them from doing so?

Rather than sketching or speculating, my approach to exploring this question is to inquire of those in the field of choral conducting. To learn the origins of their interests and the pathway to their success, as well as who walked that path alongside them and how they were perceived by one another. While these interviews are by no means exhaustive with respect to the quantity of narratives, the reflections offered by these four conductors — Roberta Laws, Julien Benichou, Brian Bartoldus, and Jessie Caynon — provide interesting insight as they diverge from and intersect with one another, as well as with both my own speculation and experience. The first of these articles features Roberta Laws, internationally acclaimed soprano and conductor of the North Carolina Central University Choir.

Read the full interview.