Montreal native and Old Louisville resident Andrew Wheaton, 26, was chosen by the Thoroughbred’s board of directors Jan. 19 after an extensive search, said Eric Hunstiger, the group’s president.

“I’m just so in love with barbershop and I want to be a part of bringing good barbershop to anyone who will listen,” Wheaton said midway through his first rehearsal as director.

The penitential season of Lent is celebrated differently in each denomination and congregation, and its music is performed differently by each choir. But the special magic of music of the season is the contemplation of mystery—something that is not only proper to this time of the Liturgical Year, but appropriate for this time of the calendar year as well, as we see the very beginnings of the changing of the seasons.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, we see the first few sprigs of green budding forth on the leaftless trees, or gently but inexorably piercing the snow... In the darkness of winter that still chills us, they are the promise of the joy of the Spring that is to come.

And for the Christian Church, is not Lent also a season of that very same promise? The promise of new beginnnings, of new life?

Mystical music, to celebrate the mystical season of Lent, awaits you here!

Vancouver’s renowned Elektra Women’s Choir stepped into the new world of “crowd funding” at the beginning of February to raise the money necessary to complete their eleventh CD, Pure Elektra, in this the ensemble’s Silver Anniversary season. Choral recordings hold a particular place in the choir’s mandate, explains Morna Edmundson, the choir’s Artistic Director.

“I think when we look at the big picture of Elektra’s legacy, the music we’ve released on CD is possibly the most important aspect of all.  That and causing many fine arrangements and compositions to be created.” she says. “But it’s when we record those that other choirs become aware of them and the pieces live on in different parts of the world through different choirs’ interpretations.”

Crowd funding is defined by Wikipedia as “the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.” So far the campaign, which relies on social media and email to spread, is working. Launched a week ago, the choir is thrilled to announce that almost $1000 has been raised.

“We know that Elektra has fans all over the world,” states Bruce Hoffman, the choir’s Marketing Director. “Elektra has represented Canada in Australia, sung in New York City at Carnegie Hall, and have dedicated fans that purchase the choir’s CDs in Japan, Europe, and across North America. We’re hoping that those fans and friends will want to be part of this project, and with crowd funding, no donation is too small!”

“I like thinking of other voices than ours learning the melodic lines of something that was first sounded in an Elektra rehearsal,” adds Edmundson. “Two pieces on the “Pure Elektra” CD that I’m excited to see move out into the world are Changed Forever, Kate MacColl’s beautiful arrangement of Shari Ulrich’s moving song, and Solitude by our own Stephen Smith.”

The CD will also include works by Canadian composers Kathleen Allan, Allan Bevan, Timothy Corlis, Jeffrey Enns, Ruth Moody, Sheldon Rose, and Mark Sirett.

The Pure Elektra campaign may be found on IndieGoGo.com at http://igg.me/p/54211?a=337241

and the YouTube video that accompanies the campaign (which features a performance of Elektra singing Ruth Moody’s One Voice) may be found at http://youtu.be/F6pW9p6WBG0?hd=1.

A grassroots choir is a group of like-minded people who get together in a casual setting to sing simple arrangements of popular music and singer-songwriter material. Toronto’s Choir!Choir!Choir!, founded in February 2011 by Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman, is a shining example.

One inspiration for the grassroots choir movement is PS22, the children’s choir at Public School 22 in Staten Island, New York, directed by Gregg Breinberg. He started blogging about PS22 in 2006 and since then, their videos have been viewed online over 39 million times.

Bishop said it is the greatest lesson he has learned while working as the artistic director for the Young People's Chorus of Erie and as the director of choral activities at Penn State Behrend.

"What I've learned is that children and young teens are more than ready to make a contribution to the world, if we will just let them," he said.

With that type of attitude, it is easy to understand how Bishop led the YPC of Erie to apply and be accepted into the 2012 World Choir Games to be held from July 4 to 14 in Cincinnati. It is the first time the biennial games, sometimes known as the Choir Olympics, will be held in the United States. The 2010 games were held in China.

"We've got people from 16 to 62, people from substance abuse rehab, to people that have been in placements in hospital, to community members, to school kids that are not fitting in, all sorts of people."

Day, who until Jan. 1 had directed the choir for most of 50 years, was hearing the song for the first time. In fact, it was the premiere performance of “Sing Your Song Through Me,” a song written with Day in mind and dedicated to her.

The song was the “perfect gift” for a woman who had dedicated much of her life to music and a ministry of song. The gift was given by the choir and the church members at a special reception Jan. 28 at the church.

A record company has begun a worldwide search for the singer who can sing a note so low that it is thought never to have been sung before.

Written by Military Wives composer Paul Mealor, the choral work De Profundis includes a low E, which lies more than two octaves below middle C.

C'mon, you know you can do it! A few shots of vodka, and no problem.

He had been pushing for two years to get his kids involved in the Super Bowl. He thought that he would have heard something by then, so he figured he was out of luck.  But the call from the NFL did come, with a vague message: "We have something we'd like you to do on the weekend of February 5."

ICC management had to sign a five-page nondisclosure form but weren't told what it was for.  They waited four or five more days before they got their answer: They'd be providing the choir to back up Kelly Clarkson when she sings the national anthem at Lucas Oil Stadium, right before the game.

"We went, 'anthem choir!?' " Leck says.

Mount Calvary Church, Baltimore (Roman Catholic, Anglican Use), seeks an alto or counter-tenor for its all-professional liturgical chamber choir.
Requirements : strong general musicianship with excellent sight-reading, musical and personal reliability, and commitment to ensemble singing. Compensation : $85 per call (combined rehearsal and service) Call: Sunday mornings, 8:30 rehearsal, 10:00 Solemn High Mass; 12-15 additional holy day liturgies scheduled well in advance; 3 separate seasonal rehearsals (scheduled to meet singers' schedules). Additional Opportunities : singers may assist as Chanters for Solemn Evensong on Sunday afternoons (3:45 warm-up, liturgy concludes at 5:15) for $50 stipend. Repertory : Gregorian chant (neumatic notation); Renaissance polyphony; Anglican repertory; recent composers (Part, Britten, Panufnik, Berkeley, Messiaen). Ensemble: eight professional singers. Contact: Dr. Daniel Bennett Page (Organist and Choirmaster) This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //--> ]]>. DPage@UBalt.edu . 410-837-5319.

EDMONTON - The position of artistic director at Pro Coro Canada was finally announced Friday night, and the winner is: Michael Zaugg.

The sixth person to hold the job since the choir was founded in 1980, the Montreal-based Zaugg beat out some fairly stiff competition in San Francisco’s Magen Solomon and Yale Russian Chorus conductor Mark Bailey to replace Richard Sparks, who left last year for a position at the University of North Texas.

• Reasonably intuitive to use: click on a name, then click where you want it to go (can't drag). Entering the names in the first place is kind of a pain, but that's true for any system. Fast.
• Flexible section names (in case you have baritenors or other "transsectionals")
• Switch two singers' seats easily (something hard to do in Word)
• Move groups of singers at once (for example to add a singer in the middle)
• Browser-based; print directly from browser (a mixed blessing)
• Did I mention it's free?

• Can't save to file; you have to do a complicated workaround to save charts from one session to the next
• Row width is limited to 15 seats (really?)
• Name length limited to 10 characters
• Fixed cell width (although you can change it manually)
• Can't edit singer or section names within cell; have to create a new cell and discard the old one if you change somebody's section designation

"Let All the World in Every Corner Sing!"

February 10, 2012
7:30 pm
Anderson Chapel
Free admission

The School of Music presents a celebration of world Christianity through hymns performed by multiple North Park musicians. Selections will also be complemented by guest speakers Tony Zamble, Maria Vastis, Dean Terry Lindsay, Rajkumar Boaz Johnson, and Terrance Smith.

Musicians

• University Choir, directed by Julia Davids
• Chamber Singers, directed by Julia Davids
• Women's Chorale, directed by Tom Tropp
• Brass Ensemble, directed by Joseph Lill
• Leslie Michele Moore
• Margaret Wilson, piano accompanist
• Michael C. Gagne, organist

Selection Highlights

• Nigra Sum - Pablo Casals
• The Lord's Prayer - Maurice Durufle and David Fanshawe
• Salmo 150 - Ernani Aguiar
• Hold On - Jester Hairston
• And many other congregational hymns from various cultures

• 1-2 public performances of all program participants with a pianist
• 1 individual voice lesson per week
• 2-3 coaching sessions per week with a professional opera coach/pianist in interpretation, diction and style
• participation in 1-2 vocal Master Classes
• 2 language classes per week

Opera Chorus Program: 

• Rehearsal – 1st Sunday of each month at 9:45 a.m. (unless otherwise specified)

• Performance – 1st Sunday of each month 11:00 a.m. and High Holy Days

• Salary – $100.00 (Rehearsal and Performance)

• 3 confidential letters of recommendation directly from the referee
• 3 additional names of references with phone numbers and e-mail addresses
• A DVD recording of the candidate’s performance work and/or a sample of published scholarly work.

(Ref. LSW14/33/0112)

The Department of Music is the oldest institution of its kind in South Africa and proud of its tradition of more than a hundred years of service to music education, music performance, creative work and research. Today this tradition is continued in a dynamic and innovative way, to the extent that currently the Department is recognised as a leading institution in the promotion of art music in the inclusive sense of the word. 

Duties: Teaching and training in Choral Conducting at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels • supervising postgraduate students • full responsibility for the Department’s programme in Choral Conducting • functioning as conductor and artistic director of the departmental academic choir, Schola Cantorum • working closely with the lecturer in Orchestral Conducting • contributing positively towards the aims of Department at all levels. 

Requirements: , Master’s degree in Music or equivalent • a proven record as successful choral conductor at an advanced level. 

Recommendations: Doctorate in Music • Ability to teach Music Education subjects • the ability and positive attitude to function with ease in a multilingual environment • an established profile as a university lecturer. 

Commencement of duties: 1 July 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter 

Closing date: 29 February 2012 

Enquiries regarding this post: Prof. Winfried Lüdemann on 021 808 2336 or wl@sun.ac.za 

Enquiries regarding remuneration and benefits: Human Resources Client Services Centre on 021 808 2753 

Please note that the actual interviews will be preceded by a public presentation on your professional expertise of approximately 20 minutes as well as by a public choir rehearsal of approximately 60 minutes. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The University will consider all applications in terms of its Employment Equity Plan, which acknowledges the need to diversify the demographic composition of the staff corps, especially with regard to the appointment of suitable candidates from the designated groups. 

The University reserves the right not to make an appointment. 

Your application, comprising a comprehensive curriculum vitae (including the names and contact details of at least two referees), must reach the University before or on the closing date of the advertised post. 

Apply online at http://www.sun.ac.za/vacancies 

It is important that applicants request their referees to forward confidential reports by the closing date to vacanciesHUMAN@sun.ac.za 

Candidates may be subjected to appropriate psychometric testing and other selection instruments. 

Written by Military Wives composer Paul Mealor, the choral work De Profundis includes a low E, which lies more than two octaves below middle C.

It is six semitones below the lowest note found in a mainstream choral work - a B flat in Rachmaninov's Vespers.

The search for the bass voice will take place via trade magazines and online.

"My setting of De Profundis calls for a rich and powerful voice; a voice that can not only touch the heart with its sincerity and truth, but also make every fabric of the human body resonate as it plunges into the very lowest parts of the vocal spectrum," said Mealor.

(Ed. note: the current Guiness World's Record for lowest note is F#, a whole step above this target, sung in 2011 by US gospel quartet singer Roger Menees)

Forty-five members of Indianapolis Children's Choir will sing the national anthem along with recording artist Kelly Clarkson at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Sunday, the local not-for-profit announced Thursday.

The choir members will be conducted by ICC founder Henry Leck and Assistant Artistic Director Joshua Pedde.

“Grant has become a critical member of our artistic team, and I am delighted that he has agreed to take on additional leadership responsibilities in the coming seasons,” said Mr. Domingo. “He is a beloved colleague and a superb conductor, with memorable performances at LA Opera and other major U.S. opera companies.”

The ladies of the choir celebrated the society’s 175th anniversary last season by investing in new two piece blue outfits which they wear at concerts.

But what to do with the old dresses that are still in good shape since they are only worn when the Choral appears on stage.

The answer was to see if another country which has a reputation for its singing could make use of them. And yes, please, two groups in Africa said they could.

Now the dresses and some spare fabric are going to projects in Malawi and Uganda. One has a community choir and the other a tailoring school.

Goodwill and thought for others clearly travel well too.

Artistic Director Wanted for The Charlotte Chorale. Concert season is from Oct. to April with Monday night rehearsals, 3 major concerts, 3 church concerts and 3 workshops. Responsibilities include directing rehearsals/performances, auditioning/selecting member, conducting workshops, attending board and committee meetings, serving as liaison with school & community. Send resume to The Charlotte Chorale: PO box 494451; Port Charlotte, FL 33949 or thecharlottechorale@yahoo.com.

The American Choral Directors Association is pleased to announce that Mary Hopper has been elected the national President-Elect Designate.  Mary will have a wide range of responsibilities along the presidential track and will assume the Presidency of the Association in July, 2015.

“It is an honor to be asked to serve ACDA in this way, and to have a part in continuing the tremendous work of our Association on behalf of the choral art,” said Mary.

Dr. Mary Hopper is professor of Choral Music and Conducting at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (Wheaton, Illinois).  She has served as the President of the ACDA Central Division and her choirs have appeared on divisional and National ACDA Conferences.

CAMDEN, NJ -- A high school choir from Camden is rehearsing for a European competition.  Although they'll sing a selection in Latin, language is hardly the biggest barrier for 25 students from Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy who want to attend the Young Prague festival.

"We have to raise $45,000, and we're not halfway there yet," says Suzzette Ortiz, conductor of the concert choir. The school's gospel choir and string section will compete as well.

Gospel choir director Benita Farmer, like Ortiz an accomplished musician and teacher, passes out the sheet music for "Sapientia IV."  It's part of a sacred song cycle written in Latin by Czech composer Jiri Teml. The strong, young voices seem at home in the language, just as the string quartet under the direction of Patricio Acevedo seems comfortable with its classical repertoire.

When My Pop Choir started up in Oakville last fall it drew about 60 people, a turnout that prompted owners to add six new locations: two in Mississauga, one in Burlington and three in Toronto, all of which opened this week. Like Choir! there is no audition and no musical training needed. All that’s required is a love of singing. Even the tone-deaf are welcome.

These ensembles — unlike church choirs that sing sacred songs and performance choirs that require auditions — are part of a growing cultural phenomenon attracting downtown hipsters and retired suburbanites. But why the surge in popularity?

• accompanying rehearsals on Tuesday evenings from 7:00-10:00 in Matawan, NJ
• leading sectional rehearsals
• playing for coachings with with soloists, and for dress rehearsals
• accompanying for performances as repertory requires

My piece Waiting..., a roughly 24-minute work for chorus, string quartet and piano, based on wonderful poetry by Alameda writer Elisabeth Eliassen, will be premiered this Saturday in San Francisco by the Sanford Dole Ensemble.  The concert also includes local premieres of works by David Conte and Peter Scott Lewis, as well as a world premiere of a piece by Sanford Dole.

"All New - All Local"

Saturday, February 4, 2012
8:00pm
San Francisco Conservatory Recital Hall
50 Oak St., San Francisco

Featuring four new works by Bay Area composers receiving their local premieres:

David Conte: The Nine Muses with text by John Sterling Walker
Peter Scott Lewis: The Changing Light sets three poems about the light in California by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Michael Kaulkin: Waiting... sets various poetry by Elisabeth Eliassen
Sanford Dole: Gertrude and Alice songs from a work in progress about the lives of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas with text by Brad Erickson

Tickets are $30 at the door or via PayPal at www.sde.org.

1. Assures an effective fund development program; helps the Board of Directors design, implement and monitor a viable fundraising plan, policies and procedures.
2. Assures all legal and regulatory documents are filed in a timely manner and monitors compliance with relevant laws and regulations pertaining to non-profit organizations.
3. Works with the Board to monitor and evaluate RMAA’s relevancy to the community, its effectiveness and its results.
4. Maintains a work environment that recruits, retains and supports quality staff and volunteers.
5. Facilitates the integration of RMAA into the fabric of the community by using effective marketing and communication activities.
6. Serves as chief spokesperson for RMAA; assures proper representation of RMAA to the community.

1. Bachelor’s degree in business management or related field required. Master’s degree in business management (MBA) or certification as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) preferred.
2. Five years in an Executive Director or senior management position required. Non-profit experience, especially in the performing arts arena, strongly preferred.
3. Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Therees Hibbard, the director of the Chamber Singers, began her schooling in Virginia and then earned another degree in Colorado, followed by a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal music education and choral conducting in Oregon.

Hibbard then moved to London for 12 years, where she was a choral conductor, singing tutor and senior lecturer at a series of colleges and universities, including the London College of Music.

"London is a wonderful place for the performing arts," Hibbard said.

The 17-movement work for chorus and orchestra features texts by some of the most famous advocates of peace and compassion in the 20th century, including Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, and Anne Frank, the 15-year-old who died while incarcerated by the Nazis in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.

Passages from the Bible and the Qur’an also feature in the piece, together with new texts by Terry Waite, who was held captive by the Islamic Jihad Organization in the Lebanon for 1,763 days (four years 
of which were spent in solitary confinement) before his release in November, 1991.

In Elliot Eisner’s book The Arts and the Creation of Mind (2002, Yale University Press), Eisner states, “The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.” In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows, Eisner outlines Ten Lessons the arts Teach:

• The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.

• The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.

• The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.

• The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.

• The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.

• The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.

• The arts teach students to think through and within a material.

• All art forms employ some means through which images become real.

• The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.

• The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.

• The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.

The National Art Education Association (NAEA) gives reprint permission for the above 10 lessons, with proper acknowledgment.

Michael Gossen has been named the new director for the Ankeny Community Chorus. Gossen replaces Steve Carstenson, who had directed the Ankeny Community Chorus since its inception in June of 2001. Carstenson recently accepted a position as worship minister at Grinnell Christian Church in Grinnell, making it impossible for him to continue with the chorus, according to a press release.

Gossen served as guest director for various performances in 2011, including the annual holiday concert in November and performances at Catholic Charities’ No Room at the Inn and the Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas luncheon in December. In addition to serving as director of the Ankeny Community Chorus, Gossen is the secondary-level Bible instructor for Des Moines Christian School. Besides extensive study in music education, Gossen’s background includes six years as secondary vocal music instructor for Des Moines Christian School, where he led choral groups in many superior ratings at festivals and competitions.

Karen Grylls ONZM, Artistic Director of Choir Aotearoa New Zealand, has been selected as a 2011 NZ-UK Link Foundation Discretionary Award winner.

She is Associate Professor of Music at Auckland University and one of New Zealand's most experienced and distinguished choral educators.

She is heading for England next month to study current best practice in UK choral education, helped financially by the NZ-UK Link Foundation.

She is going to explore the choral education programmes of Ex Cathedra in Birmingham and other institutions involved in the training of singers, particularly at the start of their careers. Karen Grylls explained "As we aspire to create a professional profile for Voices NZ Chamber Choir, it is very clear that choral education will play a large part.

By Helson Hernandez

HAVANA -- Mailan Avila is the director of the “Solfa” children’s choir of the Schola Cantorum Coralina. As she commented, “This year we’re again on a CD that has been nominated for a Latin Granmy. The album is “Reir y Cantar,” together with the legendary songstress Omara Portuondo.”

HT: Have you always been linked to the choral movement?

Mailan Avila: As a child I was a founder of the “National Choir of Pioneers of Cuba,” and later when I was in my mid-level music studies I sang in the women’s choir of Professor Maria Felicia Perez. Also, along with other professors, I founded the Cantoria Escenica of the “Grand Theater of Havana.”

But when his cue from the conductor arrives, in the form of a graceful and rhythmic finger-point, the few words Walker does speak march out in a low, deep bass that resonates through the chairs, the music stands and the rib cages of those around him.

Smith, 14, a freshman at Concord High School, is a member of The Choral Academy, a group of young singers who have found joy in singing choral music. That art is sometimes lost in schools, and now, with the increase of contemporary praise bands, in churches.

Associated Press:

Organizers of the Palestinian version of “American Idol” said Thursday the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers have banned residents from participating in the popular reality show.

 

The organizers said Hamas told them the program is “indecent,” in what appears to be a new attempt by the fundamentalist militant Muslim group to crack down on behavior it sees as contrary to its conservative interpretation of Islam.

Hamas permits male barbershop style singing groups that do not use musical instruments and sing of the glory of Islam and to fighting Israel. Young, prepubescent girls also perform in their own singing groups, but teenage girls and women are never seen singing in public. Many devout Muslims believe singing by women is provocative.

At Boydbrain Music, we are introducing the powerful new SATB Anthem and Modern Hymn,  called  "A Prayer for the Saints" !  

This incredible message has been brilliantly arranged for your choir.  You'll love the recurring motif in the piano accompaniment and marvel at the smooth harmonic transition in the second modulation.  Even more importantly, the lyric content is a profound prayer, expressing the heart cry of every Christian. The melody is beautiful and singable, making this modern hymn very appropriate for congregational worship.  As a result, "A Prayer for the Saints"  is currently available in two formats on our Boydbrain Music website:

**  The powerful SATB Anthem PDF is available for $15.00, with permission to make an unlimited number of copies (for your choir and accompanists only).

**  A Worship Pak for  "A Prayer for the Saints"  is available for $10.00.  It includes a lead sheet for rhythm section, a reproducible hymn sheet (bulletin or hymnal size), and a Vocal/Piano score.

Subtitled  "Your Saving Grace,"  "A Prayer for the Saints"  is in the current repertoire of  The Sons of Jubal, a large mens' choral group sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Convention and consisting primarily of Ministers of Music and Worship (and others who faithfully participate in local church worship ministry) from all over the state of Georgia.  The Sons of Jubal Director, Dr. Jon K. Duncan, chose  "A Prayer for the Saints"  as the theme for the group's annual Rehearsal & Renewal Retreat in early January, 2012.  The men in this amazing choral group will be sharing this anthem in monthly concerts throughout the year, and the piece will be included in the concert repertoire for a trip to Korea (not South!) in a April.  The Sons of Jubal have been invited as a featured group at a large choral festival.  Prayers for this endeavor are greatly appreciated! 

Ministers of Music and Worship from all over the state of Georgia, who have heard  "A Prayer for the Saints"  as a result of their involvement in The Sons of Jubal, have ordered this powerful prayer anthem for their choirs.  At our home church, it was first introduced as a vocal solo.   Our wonderful Adult Choir has also sung the SATB anthem version of   "A Prayer for the Saints,"  and our congregation has shared in this message as a worship hymn.  In the local church environment, many of our members have commented on the lyrics of this Kingdom message.  Our prayer is that this piece could have an impact all over the world, expressing the deepest longings of God's people everywhere.

Your Choir could begin learning  "A Prayer for the Saints"  at your next rehearsal.  Or, if you do not have a choral group at your church, you can introduce this modern prayer hymn as a vocal solo and then use it for congregational worship.  Our Worship Pak contains everything that you will need. 

To listen to the computer demo and view the music for  "A Prayer for the Saints", go to our Boydbrain Music website.  Click demo link, minimize media player, and then click "view anthem" link for best results.  You'll find  "A Prayer for the Saints"  on our Home Page, as a featured anthem, and on our "Adult Choir"  music page.  Here's the link to the website:  http://www.boydbrainmusic.com

COMING SOON:  The TTBB arrangement, as sung by The Sons of Jubal, will be added to our website.  A full orchestration is also in the works!

The Midwest Motet Society,

The Chamber Choir for Chicago’s Southland

Announces

Auditions for their Spring 2012 concert cycle

Beginning February 1, 2012 and continuing through March 13, 2012.

All voice parts are welcome and encouraged to audition, however we need altos and low basses.

Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings in Flossmoor and begin March 13.

“From Venice to Vienna: Music from the Salon”

Sunday, June 10, 2012 at 4:00 pm

at Trinity Lutheran Church

2901 Western Avenue,

Park Forest, Illinois

Repertoire to be sung includes:

Italian Madrigals by O. Vecchi, C. Gesualdo, G. Gastoldi and Orlando di Lasso and German Partsongs by F.J. Haydn, F. Mendelssohn, J. Brahms and F. Schubert

The Midwest Motet Society
P.O. Box 706
Flossmoor, IL 60422
(708) 206-0380
marie@midwestmotet.org
midwestmotet.org
Marie Grass Amenta, Founder and Music Director

Quotes from Current Midwest Motet Society Members

"Marie Amenta has a rich knowledge of the composers who truly love the choral instrument.  She programs gems of pieces that are as fun to sing as they are to listen to."-- Ruth Hansen, MMS Mezzo-Soprano

“Rep is key. Many groups repeat much of the repertoire from year to year, but I look forward to each MMS season and being presented with new music to challenge and thrill me.”-- Kari Coventry Smith, MMS Soprano

"I haven't sung music at this level, with this attention to detail and professionalism, since college. Everyone on the South Side, and beyond, should get out and hear it, because it's an incredible treat when it's performed at this level, and it simply isn't done very often at all these days." --Russell Hansen, MMS Baritone

For the 2012 David L. Strickler Series concert, Albion College will host S.O.U.L. (Singers of United Lands) – a touring group of four professional singers from four different continents. The concert is in Goodrich Chapel on Sunday, February 12 at 4:00 PM. Albion College’s own choirs will be joining S.O.U.L. for some pieces. S.O.U.L.’s mission is developing international and cultural relationships through vocal music from around the world. S.O.U.L. provides workshop, presentations, performances, and lessons for audiences of all ages during a 6-month tour throughout the USA and Canada.  The singers focus on international vocal music, world history, and linguistics from their four native countries.  The 2012 S.O.U.L. Team is:

Paola Granado- Bolivia
Virgil Sequeira- India
Engelhardt Unaeb- Namibia
Zuzanna Rybińska- Poland

 Admission to the performance is free, and the concert is open to the public. For more information about music department events, email music@albion.edu or call (517)-629-0481. More details about S.O.U.L. are available at www.singersofunitedlands.org.

The David Willcocks Oral History collection includes several interviews with Willcocks, as well as those with family and colleagues such as vocalist Dame Janet Baker, conductors Neville Marriner and Simon Carrington, and composer John Rutter.

A very modest Shirley was overwhelmed to discover that she was to receive an Order of Australia medal, but it was not something that she let go to her head.

Shirley is receiving her award for her service to music through Yeppoon Choral Society, a community organisation she has been involved in since 1964.

As I mentioned the other day

• Shrock listed many composers I had never heard of.  That shouldn't be too surprising of course, but I was.  I don't normally catalog my ignorance for others to see, but I bolded the composers that I hadn't heard of and kept a record of them.
• If Dr. Shrock listed "favorites" of the composer at the end of the description, I counted the number of entries.  According to the number of entries, the top four composers of the Renaissance are Orlando di Lasso (68 entries), Palestrina (39 entries), William Byrd (34 entries), and Josquin Desprez (32 entries).
• Rounding out the Top Ten are:  Victoria (27), Guerro (27), Tomkins (25), Weelkes (24), Tye (22), and Gesualdo (21).

• cover letter summarizing qualifications and stating teaching and concert programming philosophies,
• curriculum vitae indicating all areas of expertise and teaching competencies,
• undergraduate and graduate transcripts,
• three letters of recommendation, and
• a video (DVD or web-link) with 1) a rehearsal recorded facing the conductor from within or behind the ensemble, and 2) a live unedited performance which may be recorded from the audience. 

For full audition and program details and registration see the pages at

• http://oregonbachfestival.com/sfyca
• Send email to Elin England
• Or call (800) 457-1486

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Director of Music Ministry

Are you passionate about ministry through music?  Are you excited about co-creating quality worship, multi-generational community, and meaningful outreach?  Are you eager to be a part of a creative team?  If so, consider joining us at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, New Hampshire, as our Director of Music Ministry, and help us tap the power of music to fulfill the mission and vision of our church.

The music ministry we imagine will take time to develop and will continue to evolve.  For a job description that reflects our current vision please refer to www.concorduu.org/jobs.

Qualifications: A degree in choral conducting or comparable experience, competence in one or more instruments and voice, and training and experience sufficient to carry out the duties listed in the job description.  Experience with Unitarian Universalist music is a plus.

Start Date:  August 1, 2012 Time Requirements: 20 hours per week (on average)

Salary: $25,000 per year.

If you are interested in this position please submit your resume, three references with contact numbers, a letter sharing what attracts you to this position, and examples you may have of your work to:

Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger

274 Pleasant St, Concord, NH 03301

michael@concorduu.org

603-410-4830

For preferred consideration apply by:  February 20, 2012

Please don't hesitate to contact Rev. Leuchtenberger with any questions.

With next month’s production of “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” a number of production roles have been filled by former students, working to share their experiences with this year’s class.

“It’s a pretty cool thing that, from the technical side, these guys have learned and decided to make that their vocations, but they all started in our productions,” said Eric Kauffman, UAHS vocal music director. “When they were students here they all did dual duty. If they weren’t in a scene, they were doing something backstage, or in here on weekends working to get the musicals ready.”

" . . the Framers embedded within the country's constitution a clause stipulating that Congress provide for copyrights and patents -- which is to say, that they endorsed the notion of intellectual property. But here is the kicker. They did so for only a limited term. Their purpose was to encourage innovation, to reward inventors and authors, and ease their inventions and writings into the public domain with reasonable alacrity -- so that they could be of benefit to all.

 

The aim of the entertainment industry is to maximize profits, and they have pushed again and again for the extension of copyright. That they have succeeded time and again in the last few decades is a sign of their power. But the truth is that, in repeatedly extending copyright, Congress is denying to the rest of us what is rightly ours: works that, until recently, would have found their way into the public domain." 

But after finding out it came from a 12-year-old boy who died tragically in a bike accident, Paul Silcox has dedicated a piece of music to the family of the young donor who saved his life.