Welcome: Meadowlark Ensemble

There is a new chorus in town. Meadowlark Ensemble is a new chamber choir, "consisting of young vocal professionals in the Sacramento area." Directed by Andrew Hudson, the group has announced its inaugural concert centered on Dufay's "Missa L'Homme Armé." The concert will be held Saturday evening, February 15 at the Davis United Methodist Church. Click here for more details in the Sacramento Choral Calendar.

The Benefits of Singing with Others

The book, published late last year, is called Imperfect Harmony:  Finding Happiness Singing with Others, and in it, author Stacy Horn describes how she, as a so-so singer, learned the thrill of singing in a chorus, and especially singing major choral works.  She tells of her experience with the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York, and the book has received a lot of favorable notice in recent months.

Now, if you want to sample her ideas before tackling the book, you can view her TEDx Montclair talk, recorded November 9, 2013.  Here's a link to the 13-minute talk on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBbj2wtjLpE.

Singing Valentines

Valentine’s Day is drawing near, and in case you don’t have any idea for how to wow your sweetheart, here’s a sure winner. Every year the barbershop choruses dispatch quartets to wherever you choose to surprise your honey: at home, at work – wherever. Of course there’s a modest fee involved (this is one of their biggest annual fundraisers), but when you consider the personal service and the surprise and delight of your loved one – it’s a bargain.

Here are the barbershop choruses that you can contact to order a Singing Valentine:

- Women’s chorus

          o Sacramento Valley Chorus, 916/420-1662 or www.sacramentovalleychorus.com

- Men’s choruses

          o Sacramento Capitolaires, 888/877-9806 or www.capitolaires.org

          o Gold Rush Chorus, 530/350-6867 or www.goldrushchorus.org

          o Folsom Harmony Express, 916/941-5380 or www.folsomharmonyexpress.org

          o Nevada-Placer Sierranaders, 530/346-2757 or www.sierranaders.org

          o Voices of California, 800/385-3659 or www.voicesofcalifornia.org 

Recognition for Ryan Murray of MIM Chorus

After 5 years as Choral Director of the 90-member Music in the Mountains Chorus, the Music in the Mountains organization has named Ryan Murray "Resident Conductor and Choral Director."  Commenting on this news, Music in the Mountains Board of Directors President, Sherry Bartolucci observed, "Ryan has led our Chorus with mastery and singular competence.  He is a joy to work with, and has well-earned this additional recognition."

Director and Accompanist Sought for ElderChoir

The following announcement comes from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission:

Do you know of any musicians with the skills and interest to develop a singing/choral program for older adults?  The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and the City's Department of Older Adult Services are looking for a professional vocal coach/director and an accompanist for our collaborative Creative Aging Program’s new Choral Initiative, a program that introduces and engages adults 50 years and older in high quality arts experiences. In the first 2 years of the initiative, we will develop an ongoing older adult singing group at Ethel Hart Senior Center in Sacramento. Plans for future years include developing other similar singing groups in other sites in the city that could collaborate with the Hart group to produce larger events in celebration of their growing elder singing community. The emphasis will be primarily on developing the older voice rather than focusing exclusively on preparing material for concerts.  

Please forward this invitation to apply to skilled musicians who you think can make it a success.  For desired qualifications, compensation, and details about the application process, prospective candidates can review the full RFQ. Application packets are due by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, November 25, 2013. 

Erika Boardman Kraft

Arts Education Coordinator

300 Richards Blvd. 2^nd Floor

Sacramento, CA 95811

916-808-3983 --  SacMetroArts.org

 

Caroling with the Carmichael Christmas Choir

Christiana Quick-Cleveland has just announced the Carmichael Christmas Choir, with all its activity taking place during the month of December.  Rehearsals are scheduled for Dec. 2, 5, 9 & 12 from 7:30 to 9:00 at Rudolf Steiner College in Carmichael.  Then the group will go out caroling at dates, times and locations to be determined.  The cost to participate is $30, and singers must attend at least 3 of the 4 rehearsals.  Interested?  You can register online at this link or by calling Christiana at 916/765-6537.

Get Your Messiah On

Handel’s Messiah is among the best-known choral masterpieces, and for many, the Christmas section of the piece (Part I) is a holiday tradition.  Every year, there are numerous opportunities to hear this music – or sing it yourself.  Anyone who has been a singer for any length of time has probably had at least one opportunity to perform Part 1 of the Messiah, and having learned it, there is great satisfaction in singing it again informally.  Capitalizing on that satisfaction, annual Messiah “singalongs” have been popular for at least the past 60 years.  Every year, there are several in the Sacramento area, and they are already starting to appear.  Dates and sponsors are listed below.  Click on the sponsor to open information about that event in the Sacramento Choral Calendar:

The Noble Experiment – Nov. 10, Roseville

Bethany Presbyterian Church – Dec. 8, South Sacramento

Auburn Symphony – Dec. 10, Auburn

Music in the Mountains – Dec. 20, Grass Valley 

The above events welcome listeners as well as singers, but if a polished performance of the Messiah is what you crave, here are the local presentations: 

Valley Choral Society – Dec. 1, Citrus Heights

Capella Antiqua & the Valley Choral Society – Dec. 7, Sacramento

Yuba Sutter Oratorio Society – Dec. 8, Yuba City

Valley Choral Society – Dec. 8, Sacramento

Carmichael Seventh-day Adventist Church – Dec. 13, Carmichael

American Bach Soloists – Dec. 15, Davis

Enter the Sacramento Valley Choral Coalition

 A new corporation, the Sacramento Valley Choral Coalition, has been formed with the purpose of promoting choral singing in our community and facilitating communication among choruses throughout the greater Sacramento area. Initially, the Coalition will plan and conduct SacSings! – The Sacramento Choral Festival, which will take place at the Harris Center at Folsom Lake College, June 13-15, 2014. SVCC intends to apply for 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit corporation, and in the meanwhile is under fiscal sponsorship by the Friends of the Arts Commission.

Directors are as follows: (1) Clark Abrahamson (Sacramento Capitolaires), (2) Diana Babcock (Van Erp, Petersen & Babcock and SVCC Treasurer), (3) April Bean (Oakmont High School), (4) Cynthia Cates (Valley Choral Society), (5) Dick Frantzreb (Sacramento Choral Calendar and SVCC President), (6) Robert M. Johnson (Music Society at Cathedral Square), (7) David Loofbourrow (Grass Valley Male Voice Choir), (8) Morris Schlesinger (Voices of California), (9) Maxine Verma (Sacramento Valley Chorus), and (10) David Williams (Folsom Lake College).

Further information about the Coalition will eventually be in the new website of the Sacramento Choral Festival, www.sacsings.org.  You can follow the Sacramento Choral Festival on Twitter, @SacSings. And questions can be directed to SacSings@yahoo.com or 916/781-2900.

Singing Clinic for Men

Voices of California (VoCal), Sacramento’s award-winning barbershop chorus, has announced its Third Annual Singing Clinic for men. There are 4 sessions that will be held on evenings from 7:30 – 9:00 at the Collings Teen Center, 1541 Merkley Ave., West Sacramento. The sessions are conducted by “musical directors, clinicians and vocal leaders” of VoCal, and they consist of the following: (1) Posture and Breathing (Thursday 11/7), (2) Phonation and Resonation (Thursday, 11/14), (3) Articulation (Thursday,11/21), and (4) Coordination, range, dynamics and style (Monday, 11/25). There is no charge, and participants may be invited to sing with VoCal at their December 7 performance at Harris Center at Folsom Lake College. You can register online at www.annualsingingclinic.org, and more information is available by calling 800/385-3659 or sending an e-mail to sing@voicesofcalifornia.org.

Singing Well While You Move

More and more choruses are adding choreography to their performances, and they're facing the difficulty of maintaining vocal quality while the singer is moving.  This problem will be addressed in a "Vocal Master Class" on "CHORAL-ography... learning to maintain good vocal technique and projection while moving and acting."

This 90-minute workshop costs $25 and will be held on Wednesday, November 6 at 3:30 p.m. at Pioneer Congregational Church in Sacramento.  It will be conducted by a cast member of the national touring production of "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" that is coming to Sacramento.  The workshop is sponsored by the California Musical Theatre Academy, Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus, and Broadway Sacramento.  An application can be downloaded from this link.  And there is a poster at this link.

Diocesan Choir Festival at Trinity Cathedral

Canon David Link of Sacramento's Trinity Episcopal Cathedral has announced the Twenty-seventh Annual Diocesan Choir Festival, to be held on Saturday, January 25, 2014.  Rehearsals on that day will start at 9:00 a.m., and the event will culminate in a Choral Evensong service at 3:00 p.m.

All singers are invited to participate.  Click here to download a document with more information, or contact Canon Link at sierracanon@yahoo.com or 916/930-8024.

The Best Messiah Story You Ever Heard

In December 1939 a Yuba College instructor assembled a group of singers and instrumentalists to perform Handel's Messiah.  It became a tradition that eventually led to the formation of the Yuba Sutter Oratorio Society (www.ysos.org), which this year will celebrate the 75th anniversary of this annual Messiah performance on December 8 in Yuba City (click here for details in the Sacramento Choral Calendar).

But that's not the best part of the story.  One member of the chorus on December 8 will be LaVerne Grell, who was at that 1939 performance and has directed or sung in every performance since.  And on November 14, she will celebrate her 99th birthday.