News and Notices

Tucson-based True Concord Voices & Orchestra’s Founding Music Director Eric Holtan has created a Playlist inspired by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday and comprised of hymns and spirituals expressing hope for better days to come. Selections include two of King’s favorite hymns, There is a Balm in Gilead and Precious Lord, Take My Hand. Other highlights include Moses Hogan’s rousing arrangement of My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord, a stunning new setting of Amazing Grace and a performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing by the Boys Choir of Harlem.

Listen and learn more: https://www.trueconcord.org/2020/04/09/playlist/.

To hear the playlist on YouTube, click here:

Click here to listen on Spotify:

In New York and Boston with so many choirs seeking the same audiences, potential singers and donors it was time to organize! Find out what the Greater Boston Choral Consortium and the New York Choral Consortium do about consolidating their efforts to reach the greatest number of choral music lovers on Episode 7 of Talking Choral Music.

Our guests are two chairmen from the New York and Greater Boston Choral Consortia: Nick Adams is the director of the Cantata Singers with the Greater Boston Choral Consortium, or GBCC, and Deborah Simpson King from Schola Cantorum on Hudson who is the chair of the NY Choral Consortium. We also have with us Tori Cook from Chorus Connection, an organization helping choruses with administrative issues such as marketing and so much more. These organizations play an enormous role in the choral community, helping choruses to realize we are not alone, helping with so many aspects of administration, especially now as we look forward to a time when we will be returning to live performance. Found out how they can help you, and how you might even be able to start one in your own community on Talking Choral Music.
Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_owEnnyicH4

Upcoming January 29 (part 1) and February 12 (part 2), a day in the life of a Metropolitan Opera Chorister with general manager/tenor Kurt Phinney and retired baritone Sven Leaf.

In December, another COVID stimulus package was signed into law as part of an omnibus spending bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The 5,600-page bill contains nearly $1 trillion in pandemic relief, including four funding opportunities for which your chorus may be eligible. (Two of which are already accepting applications.)

We just released a how-to guide on applying for this new relief funding! We encourage all community choral organizations that are struggling financially to take a look at these new funding opportunities ASAP to determine if you are eligible and submit your applications.

Here’s our guide to help you get started!

The Podd Brothers have just released our (hopefully) final batch of Virtual Choir Kits!! These are brand new arrangements of well-known and well-loved songs, in a variety of styles (truly something for everyone) and created with virtual choirs in mind. SATB, SAB, 2-part, and Unison voicings available. Click here to jump right in: http://poddbrothers.com/choirkits

These innovative kits are best explained in this video –
but the basic gist is this:
We made awesome new arrangements of songs you probably know, and took care of all the pre-production that would normally go into making a virtual choir (guide tracks, accompaniment tracks, step-by-step instructions for the singers, and directors.) Basically, we set out to make this process easier, more accessible, and more musical – allowing singers and conductors to start with the fun part (the music!!) instead of all the hassle that bogs down the creation of any virtual choir project. And it includes all licenses and permissions you need to made a virtual choir video and post it anywhere you want.

Our new spring collection includes:
-“It Had to Be You” w/ “You Mae Me Love You” (vocal jazz settings)
-Hallelujah Chorus (original and adapted versions for aspiring choirs) – both accompanied by full orchestra
-2 Spirituals “There Is More Love Somewhere” (powerful, building, with orchestral accompaniment) and “Over My Head” (energized, gospel setting, with a full band)
-“Ombra Mai Fù” (Largo from ‘Xerxes’) – reimagined with a modern treatment of the accompaniment, while preserving the pristine beauty of Handel’s original melody and character.
-An Easter medley combining “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” w/ “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” in a majestic choir anthem w/ full orchestra for Easter Sunday.

We were thrilled with the feedback from so many of you about our Holiday Caroling kits, and how well they worked. Hundreds of schools, churches, and organizations used them to sing together and spread some holiday cheer when the world needed it most, and were honored to have played a part, truly! Thanks in advance for checking out the music, and if you feel so inclined help us spread the word so we can get through the coming months with group singing in the best, safest way possible.

We’d love if you can purchase them directly from us of course, but if you must use an approved vendor with your organization, these will be available at jwpepper in about a week.

Reach out with any questions at all! ()

All the best,
The Podd Brothers (Adam and Matt)

Dear Colleagues,

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts recently announced its HONORED ARTISTS for 2020, completing the 2020 season of contests.

Honored Artists are individuals (or ensembles) who have proven themselves to be artists of “sustained excellence” over a number of seasons as laureates in the competitions.

Honored Artists are highlighted in a separate section on The American Prize website and on the competition’s Facebook pages, receive expanded listings on The American Prize blog, are featured in individualized press releases sent to local, regional and national media, and receive a special, framed certificate. Honored Artists also receive an application fee waiver for a future competition.

The 2020 HONORED ARTISTS of The American Prize:

Jennifer Bellor, composer,
Las Vagas, NV

Gerald Gurss, composer and conductor,
St Paul, MN

Wes Kenney, conductor,
Denver, CO

Christine Steyer, soprano, arts producer,
Chicago, IL

Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra,
Peter Wilson, conductor, Waynesboro, VA

Clare Demer, soprano,
Tucson, AZ—Career Encouragement Award

***

Photos and biographies of these artists, and the list of previous Honored Artist designees, may be found here: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2021/01/honored-artists-of-american-prize-2020.html

Links to the complete list of 2020 contest results in all categories may be found here: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-american-prize-winning-links-all.html

We continue to send certificate packages to 2020 Laureates. If a contestant’s U.S. mailing ADDRESS has changed recently, please send us an update by putting “NEW ADDRESS” in the subject line of an email to us at

The announcement of 2021 SEMI-FINALISTS has begun on our blog. Follow the announcements here: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com

Updated 2022 contest information, including many relaxed requirements and rule changes in response to the pandemic, will be posted to our website later this month: http://theamericanprize.org

Lastly, if you are not a contestant and wish to receive “What’s on TAP,” our e-newsletter, sign up here: https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001KYrzQAAWKXnHlI8dcIxB7Km6UQHzSFgwMLc5H8lbrJAmNz4R43FN0kml65IWEnelrWugoo28hj9uuI7mS4Rlpw%3D%3D

We anticipate the January edition of “What’s on TAP” will be sent early next week.

We wish all our contestants, laureates, friends, and judges, safety and health during this difficult time.

—David Volosin Katz, founder and chief judge and the The American Prize Team

While many choral organizations are struggling to retain their members in this new virtual choir world, others are using the virtual setting as an opportunity to grow. One such case is that of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus which created a new “associate member program” in 2020 that was open to any singer in the world.

With their new program, they’ve not only retained their existing 260+ singers, but they’ve welcomed an additional 114 singers into the fold as “associate members” that will participate in their virtual programming. No in-person rehearsals required!

Learn more about how they grew their membership by 45% in 2020!