Innovative New Website for Chanteuses

I monitor websites of all the choruses in the greater Sacramento area, and there’s only one I would give an A+ rating to – Chanteuses’ recently redesigned site at www.chanteuses.org. Here are some of the features that make the site stand out, aside from the bright colorful images and clean design throughout:

• Everything you might need or want to know (or that they might want you to know) is clearly and briefly presented on the home page – without clutter: the schedule of upcoming concerts, a news feed, CD information, a rotating “billboard” of items they want to highlight, etc.
• The home page has links to the principal parts of the site at the top, where you would expect it. But the footer at the bottom of every page has not only those links, but contact information, and a link to sign up for their e-newsletter (managed by Constant Contact).
• One of my favorite features is the page devoted to the 18 singers and their music director. There is a head shot identifying each person by name, and when you click on their picture or name, you get a bio, plus links for e-mail, their Facebook page and any other contact point they might have wanted to make public.
• To promote their professionally produced Christmas CD, they have provided 30-second samples of each track.
• There is a page of their history, a concert page that lists events through the end of the year (with a link to reviews), a donation page, and a page that highlights their patrons.

Of course, the challenge in any website is keeping it current and providing new interest, so Chanteuses has carved out a bit of extra work for someone in the organization. But the introduction of this site has raised the bar for the sites of small choruses in our area.

 

 

American River Chorus Is Now Voices of California

Formed as recently as 2010 as a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the American River Chorus has changed its name to Voices of California, in part to eliminate any confusion that they are affiliated with American River College.  But another motivation for the new name is to give the chorus a fresh image.  They explain:  "We wanted to 'rebrand' ourselves as our reputation grows and more people recognize the level of talent we bring to the stage. We are a dynamic singing group committed to truly entertaining shows for all ages. We put about 75 men (from ages 11 to 85) on the risers for a performance, but even more than that come to our weekly practices from as far away as Lake Tahoe, Modesto, Chico, and even Reno and Santa Rosa. Why? Because it’s so much fun to sing this well!"

Part of their success is evident in the fact that they have been invited to perform at the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Conference in Toronto in July.  Of more than 800 eligible choruses, only 29 were invited.

Voices of California will present its spring concert at the Crest Theatre in two shows on Saturday, May 11.  For more details about this event in the Sacramento Choral Calendar, click on this link.

And here is an invitation they have sent out regarding their upcoming Guest Night:  "The Voices of California is holding a Guest Night, Thursday, April 4th 2013 at 7:30 PM. Singers are invited to visit the premier men’s a cappella chorus in the Greater Sacramento area. Guests are promised an evening of singing, fun and fellowship. The location is the Collins Teen Center in West Sacramento."

Amador Choraliers Looking for Alumni

(press release) The Amador Choraliers are looking for people who have ever sung with the group in the past 50 years! They are celebrating their Golden Jubilee this spring and are inviting all alumni to join them for a few songs. If you, or someone you know, were ever a member, please contact Carole at (209) 743-9258 for details. The Choraliers are always looking for new singers as well. Let them know if you are interested in joining them.

Informal Singing at the Choir Bar

Here’s an idea: getting together to sing informally, minus printed music. It’s called the “Choir Bar,” an activity of the Fusion International Arts Center in Sacramento, and it’s been going every other Wednesday for the past couple of months.

Led by the Center’s Executive Director, Gayliene Omary, who learned to love singing in musical theater and school choirs, people sing familiar (typically popular) tunes, and work out their own harmonies. Sometimes sessions are devoted to a particular style (like the Feb. 13th meeting that will focus on gospel music). When they don’t have a piano accompaniment, they sing to recorded tracks.

The “Bar” part of the name is just to suggest a gathering place – all ages are welcome (no hard liquor), but food and drinks are available for purchase. Beyond that, they ask for a donation of $5 at the door.

Gayliene explains that she got the idea from a story on NPR that described a similar activity in Toronto, and you can check out that story at this link.

Fusion International Arts Center (www.fusioniac.com) has a mission to bring people together to communicate through the arts (dance, music, art, and theater) and to build cultural understanding and foster people’s artistic talents. Their building on Arden Way (near I-80) provides a large (16,000 square feet) space for events of all kinds.

For more information about the Choir Bar, contact Gayliene Omary at 916/538-4008 or gayliene@fusioniac.com

Sacramento Children's Chorus to Tour China

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Sacramento Children's Chorus is undertaking a singing tour of China June 18-29, 2013.  For details of the sights they will see and the performances they will give, visit this page on the SCC website.

Folsom Gold Opens Andrew Lloyd Webber Show

On March 24, Folsom Gold, the 12-member mixed chorus that gave its first public concert last June, will open for a show at Three Stages called "The Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber."  The show is sponsored by the Folsom Lake Community Concert Association, and will feature 4 performers who tour under the name, "The Best of Broadway."  The show is sponsored by the Folsom Lake Community Concert Association, and with the 2:00 p.m. show sold out, they have added another show at 7:00.  Follow Folsom Gold through their website:  www.folsomgoldsingers.com.

Grass Valley Male Voice Choir Traveling to England

Flash!  The Grass Valley Male Voice Choir is planning its third trip to Cornwall, England this coming May.  You can find out more about the choir and audition information at this link.

Profile of Folsom Gold

Folsom Gold is one of the area's newest choral organizations, and is directed by Fred Weber, formerly with the Music Department of Sierra College, founder of the Sierra Community Chorus, and an all-around musician well known in the Sacramento community for more than four decades.  Bob Nathan, long-time Sacramento area radio personality, actor/director, and frequent emcee, conceived the group and acts as its manager.  Folsom Gold gave its first public concert this past spring, and is offering a series of Christmas concerts.  Click here to see a profile that appears in the December issue of the Folsom Lake Entertainer.

CapRadio's Insight Highlights Choral Concerts

"Insight" is a daily, hour-long program produced by Sacramento's Capital Public Radio and broadcast at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on KXJZ, 90.9 FM.  Beth Ruyak hosts, and conducts interviews on wide-ranging topics.  This past Thursday's program (11/29/12) included a 12-minute segment in which Beth interviewed Jeff Hudson, CapRadio's arts and theater critic about upcoming holiday performances.  After noting the great number of performances that are imminent, they briefly discussed -- with audio samples -- (1) the dance company, Compañia Mazatlán Bellas Artes de Sacramento, (2) Sacramento Master Singers, (3) Cantus, (4) the Sacramento Ballet's "The Nutcracker," (5) Chanticleer, and (6) the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra.  You can listed to an audio of this part of the "Insight" program at this link.

SCSO KVIE Documentary Rebroadcast

In January 2011, Sacramento's KVIE "Viewfinder" series debuted a documentary on the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra.  The half-hour-long program discusses the significance of choral singing in America and the unique position of SCSO as the only chorus in the US with its own professional orchestra.  With snippets of various performances and interviews of Music Director Don Kendrick, President Jim McCormick, and various chorus members, the video illustrates how the chorus functions and what it is like to be a member of SCSO.  There is an emphasis on the group's tours, with highlights of SCSO's 2006 tour in China.  The program was funded in part by the Cultural Arts Award of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission with support from the City and County of Sacramento.

In April 2012, approval was given to have the documentary broadcast nationally, and since then, it has been shown 63 times in a variety of markets throughout the US.  There is a summary of its airings at this link.  Understandably, SCSO is proud to have given the Sacramento arts scene this national visibility.

Now this program, simply titled "Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra," is being rebroadcast locally on KVIE during the month of December.  Broadcast times on KVIE are (1) Dec. 12 at 7:00 p.m., (2) Dec. 14 at 4:00 p.m., (3) Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m., and (4) Dec. 18 at 11:30 p.m.  KVIE has a web page at this link where one can view the entire show (including a video "extra") or read the transcript.  One can also purchase a video of the program for $14.95.

Commissioned Work at "Light Your World"

The Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus will be giving the first performance of a new work titled, "A Social Network Christmas" by Eric Lane Barns, which was jointly commissioned by SGMC and the Seattle Men's Chorus.  Barnes was in Sacramento recently, rehearsing the chorus in his piece, which he describes as follows:

"The basic premise is, the main narrator of the song decides to stay inside during the month of December, participating in Christmas only through posting on his Facebook page. As the piece unfolds we see various YouTube videos, jpegs and other holiday tidbits he shares as he ‘posts’ on his page.” The piece is performed by the chorus and a small group with choreography and "staging and casting of special characters such as the YouTube phenomenon 'Jingle Cats.'"

Barns is author of the critically acclaimed Fairy Tales, which received numerous awards in Chicago, New York and London. His scores and scripts for Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre include Tuck Everlasting, The Amazing Bone, Simple Jim and His Four Fabulous Friends, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, the latter of which has enjoyed a successful U.S. tour. His musical The Stops, about three lady organists, was awarded Best Musical at the 2006 National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. Barns’ show Rapture of the Deep received a City of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs grant and was co-presented with Seattle’s Balagan Theatre. His most recent show, 2011’s The Holiday Stops, broke all box office records in the history of Richmond’s Triangle Players. He has written songs and underscoring for several independent films, including the upcoming Fallen Jewel, and has been commissioned to write and produce shows and songs for numerous choruses throughout the United States.

Other features of the concert will be traditional holiday numbers such as “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Whisper (Tiny Baby in a Manger Lay),” and “How Could Anyone,” a round that will be performed in American Sign Language by the entire 60-member chorus.

For more details on the November 30-December 8 performances of "Light Your World" by the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus, see their listing in the Sacramento Choral Calendar at this link.

Sacramento Choruses Touring Italy in 2013

Coincidentally, three Sacramento choral organizations are planning tours of Italy in the summer of 2013.  The Sacramento Choral Society – which toured Central Europe in 2004, China in 2006, and Canada in 2009 – is planning a 7-night, 9-day tour spanning June 25 and July 3.  They will be giving concerts in Venice, Lucca and Rome, with visits to Verona and Florence.  More information about this artistic adventure is in the SCSO's website, http://www.sacramentochoral.com/.

As the SCSO arrives, the Slavic Chorale will be leaving Italy.  Their tour is scheduled for June 14-24.  The itinerary has not been publicly announced, but they may still be looking for new members to join them.  Their website is http://www.slavicchorale.org/.

Finally, Schola Cantorum, which performed at the Vatican for the Pope during their 2007 concert tour to Italy, will be returning by special invitation from the Vatican to perform at St. Peter's Basilica next June.  Their tour will run from June 17-25, and they are planning a local preview performance of the tour on June 2.  More details are in their website:  http://www.scholacantorum.com/.