News and Notices

Chorus America announces 2010 awards

May 13, 2010 by Allen H Simon Leave a Comment

2010 Chorus America Award Winners Announced

We are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2010 Chorus America Awards! Please join us in congratulating these outstanding choruses and choral leaders. We invite you to celebrate with the entire Chorus America family at the Awards Banquet & Auction on June 18th at the Conference, where we’ll present many of these awards in person.

2010 Chorus America Award Winners:

Chorus America Distinguished Service Award
H. Royce Saltzman (inaugural recipient), co-founder & director emeritus, Oregon Bach Festival; former president, International Federation for Choral Music; former national president, American Choral Directors Association; former faculty member and associate dean of the School of Music, University of Oregon; former board member, Chorus America.

Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming

Cantori New York (Mark Shapiro, artistic director)
Los Angeles Master Chorale (Grant Gershon, music director)
Young People’s Chorus of New York City (Francisco Núñez, founder/artistic director)

Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award
WomenSing (Martin Benvenuto, artistic director)

Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal
Jordan Sramek, founder & artistic director, The Rose Ensemble

Dale Warland Singers Commission Award
(presented in partnership with the American Composers Forum)
Conspirare (Craig Hella Johnson, founder & artistic director) & composer Eric Banks

Chorus America Education Outreach Award
(honoring the best program from choruses with budgets over $200,000)
Chanticleer (Ben Johns, director of education)

Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence
(honoring a volunteer chorus)
Choral Arts (Robert Bode, artistic director)

Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art
Robert L. Simpson, founder & artistic director, Houston Chamber Choir

Michael Korn Founders Award for Philanthropic Contribution to the Arts
Mrs. Jean Riddell, arts patron, Washington, DC

Chorus America Philanthropy Award
(honoring supporters of our Conference host, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus)
The Halle Foundation

More information about their award-winning activities will be shared at the Conference and in the Fall 2010 issue of The Voice magazine.

A cappella opera

May 12, 2010 by Allen H Simon Leave a Comment

It’s not often that you get to hear "a concert-length a cappella opera that recounts the creation story of the ancient Zoroastrians" — while you watch the sun set over the Olympics.

"Haptadâmã: The Seven Creations of Ancient Persia" by Seattle composer Eric Banks was premiered in the pavilion at Olympic Sculpture Park Friday evening, and the magnificence of the setting was equaled by the grandeur of the piece. The concert repeats again tonight. While not every element sounded note-perfect, its ambitious scope and musical variety made it well worth catching.

Banks has led the Esoterics, the performers of the piece, since 1992. The vocal ensemble has recorded 10 CDs and won the Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming four times since 2001.

Vox Humana – NEW choral ensemble

May 12, 2010 by David Childs Leave a Comment

Vox Humana, a new 24-voice chamber choir based in Nashville, Tennessee, is currently raising money for its upcoming concert and recording on June 20th. Please check out the Vox Humana website at: www.voxhumanaensemble.com for details about donating, participating in the on-line auction (two choral composition commissions are included), or attending the VH concert/dinner on Sunday, May 16th, and/or the VH concert on Sunday, June 20th. Your support is greatly appreciated!

David N. Childs, Artistic and Executive Director

Shoreline Chorale – CT Choral Composition Competition

May 10, 2010 by Noah Glynn Leave a Comment

Shoreline Community Chorale is excited to announce our Choral Composition Competition. In an effort to promote and celebrate CT composers of all ages and levels of ability, The Shoreline Community Chorale is hosting a contest, in which five (5) pieces will be selected to be performed and recorded at our fall 2010 concert – “Celebrating Connecticut Composers”. The composer of the 1st prize selection will receive a $150 award, to be presented at our fall concert.

The contest is open to: Composers living in, or who are from Connecticut, including college students whoe currently attend a Connecticut institution. All ages and levels of ability are encouraged to enter.

Entry forms are available at: http://www.shorelinechorale.org/files/CCC_form.pdf

Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir to be formed

May 10, 2010 by Allen H Simon Leave a Comment

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Council Member Letitia James will announce the formation of the Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir, co-founded by Francisco (Frank) A. Haye, Jr. (pictured) at Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street (between Court and Adam Streets), Brooklyn, New York on Thursday, June 10.

The Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir is an ensemble committed to bringing this city together through artistic expression. The ensemble will encourage members of this great city to appreciate, learn and celebrate the diverse cultures which make the City of New York great.

Central Brooklyn is known for its cultural arts institutions and initiatives, and the choir’s home base will be located in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, where Council Member Letitia James represents the 35th District.

Stranded singers from Mt. View High doing benefit concerts to pay for overtime stay in Paris

May 10, 2010 by Allen H Simon Leave a Comment

Getting stranded in Paris last month, by the volcanic eruption that grounded cross-Atlantic air traffic, was a mixed blessing for the Mountain View High School Madrigal Singers.

They’d already been on the road for two grueling weeks, performing at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and Notre Dame in Paris, and were travel-weary. Back home in Mountain View, family plans, homework, SATs and familiar beds were calling. Their flight was to leave Friday, April 16.

But all that was suddenly put on hold while a vast plume of ash from an April 15 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland drifted over Europe, grounding thousands of planes and stranding millions of travelers. The volcano shot a cloud of smoke and steam miles into the air, posing a threat to aircraft. One European country after another shut down air traffic.

For the next six days the group had a ball. Now, however, there’s a bill to pay that will run upward of $53,000 to cover the unplanned extended tour.