A timeline of all of the interesting times we’ve had together since COVID-19 hit in GIF form. 100% relatable. Check it out here!
News and Notices
“UpStagedAID: One World, Every Student Voice” Virtual College A Cappella Championships! Top Ranked Groups Competing for $10k+ and Social Justice Charities
UPSTAGED™ ENTERTAINMENT GROUP and NATIONAL COLLEGIATE PERFORMING ARTS (NCPA)™ announce their inaugural all-virtual event:
“UPSTAGEDAID: One World, Every Student Voice” Virtual College A Cappella Championships
Top-Ranked Groups Competing for $10K+ and Social Justice Charities
The unprecedented bracket-style competition (modeled after NCAA’s March Madness), hosted on UpstagedU.com, consists of a 32-team U.S. college bracket of the country’s best a cappella groups, split into eight regions. Rounds feature a one-on-one video vs. video structure. Winners are determined by a combination of fan voting rounds and celebrity judging rounds.
For the High School “Directors Cup”, all you have to do, just like with NCAA basketball tournament bracket pools, is pick the winners of each match through the finals, and the Top 3 scoring High School directors will win $250, $150 and $100 Cash Prizes.
THIS CONTEST ENDS SUNDAY 10/4 @ NOON EASTERN – DON’T WAIT!!!
**VOTE NOW AT THE LINK BELOW!**
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Choral Composition Competition for unpublished Canadian composers
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir has just launched its 2020 Choral Composition Competition (a competition in its 6th year). We are looking for a SATB piece by an unpublished Canadian composer for the Christmas season that will suit being performed by a virtual choir, recording from their homes.
Deadline to submit is October 29, 2020. Submissions will be judged by a jury led by TMC Associate Conductor Simon Rivard. One winner will be selected. The winner will receive the $1000 Debbie Fleming Prize for Choral Composition and their work will be performed by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir as part of its 2020 Christmas programming.
Details can be found here: https://www.tmchoir.org/choral-composition-competition/
Free Piano Downloadable Accompaniments for Choir & Solo Works
Directors and students can download tracks free-of-charge at https://gloriadeomusic.com/ click on “Free Piano Accompaniments for Choir & Solo Works” or “Complimentary Pieces and Rehearsal Tracks”.
The Steve Grives Podcast: Making Connections
Season 2 of “The Steve Grives Podcast” is in full swing featuring conversations with some prominent choral musicians. Available on Apple, Spotify, Google, Anchor, and your favorite streaming platforms.
anchor.fm/steve-grives
Episode 1: Tim Sharp (ACDA)
Episode 2: Frank Albinder (UVA Men’s Glee Club)
Episode 3: David Gier (South Dakota Symphony)
Episode 4: Joan Conlon (CU-Boulder)
Episode 5: Matt Oltman (Shenandoah Conservatory)
Singing City presents A Lifetime of Music: Conversations with Anton Armstrong and André Thomas
Anton Armstrong, Jeffrey Brillhart, and André Thomas
Sunday, October 18, 2020, 2 p.m. (EST)
Singing City is offering a series of in-depth interviews with choral conductors, composers, and other artists. After the interviews, participants will have an opportunity to ask questions. To learn more about each webinar, follow the link below. Attendance for our 2020-2021 season events will be online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no cost to participate, but you will need to R.S.V.P. and provide your e-mail address. Ahead of each event, you will receive an email from Singing City with information on how to login to Zoom, an online meeting platform where we will host our webinars. All Zoom events will begin 10 minutes before the program starting time. We hope you will join us!
Anton Armstrong, left, Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, became the fourth conductor of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990 after ten years in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he served on the faculty of Calvin College and led the Calvin College Alumni Choir, the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus and the St. Cecilia Youth Chorale. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College and earned advanced degrees at the University of Illinois (MM) and Michigan State University (DMA). He is editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor (with John Ferguson) of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. In June 1998, he began his tenure as founding conductor of the Oregon Bach Festival Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy.
André J. Thomas, right, is the recently retired Owen F. Sellers Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, and Professor of Choral Music Education at Florida State University. He was appointed Professor of Choral Conducting and Interim conductor of the Yale Camerata 2020-2021. A previous faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin, Dr. Thomas received his degrees from Friends University (B.A.), Northwestern University (M. M.), and the University of Illinois (D.M.A). He is in demand as a choral adjudicator, clinician, and director of Honor/All-State Choirs throughout North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and Africa. Dr. Thomas has conducted choirs at the state, division, and national conventions of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His international conducting credits are extensive. They include conductor/clinician for the International Federation of Choral Musicians’ summer residency of the World Youth Choir in China and the Philippines. He was also the conductor of the winter residency of the World Youth Choir in Europe, and a premier performance by an American Choir (Florida State University Singers) in Vietnam.
Through Performance, Arts Education, and Fellowship, Singing City Choir is a force for social impact, bringing people together and lifting the human spirit through the artistry of choral music.
Singing City,1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
www.singingcity.org