SacSings!

SacSings! – The Sacramento Choral Festival took place at Harris Center for the Performing Arts at Folsom Lake College this past weekend and generated over-the-top enthusiasm among both participating choruses and audiences. The event was designed as a showcase for the 20 participating choruses: the 8 concerts each presented 5 very different choruses performing 20-minute sets. Half of the concerts were in the Harris Center’s 850-seat theater and half in its 100-seat recital hall. In addition to the performances, there were 26 displays in the Harris Center’s lobby, most representing participating choruses.

The overwhelming opinion among choruses was that they were glad to have participated. Although audiences were smaller than anticipated, each chorus benefitted from the months of pre-Festival publicity, from the opportunity to introduce themselves to new listeners, and from the opportunity to hear and connect with at least some of the other participating choruses.

Audience members were often dazzled by what they experienced. Many came to hear choruses they were familiar with, but left surprised and delighted by the performance of one or more choruses that they had never heard before – in many cases a chorus they didn’t know existed.

The question in everyone’s mind was, “Will there be a second SacSings?” The answer depends on the continued enthusiasm of participating choruses, as well as those that did not participate. It also depends on working out details of financing, planning, organization, logistics, and publicity. But Harris Center is reserved in the name of SacSings! – The Sacramento Choral Festival, June 12-14, 2015.

Want to Sing at Carnegie Hall?

After a successful performance at Carnegie Hall in 2012, retired Sac City College Choral Director Doreen Irwin and her “Sacramento City College Alumni Choir” have been invited back. The dates are May 21-25, 2015, and Doreen needs to source 50 to 100 excellent singers to make up the choir for this “once in a lifetime” experience.

The cost is $1,349 per person (not including airfare), based on quad occupancy. Participants can also get a room for one, two or three for an added fee. Non-singing guests are welcome for the same fee. They get tickets to the concert, and participate in all the tour activities, such as a post-concert celebration reception cruise aboard the “Spirit of New York,” that includes a buffet dinner, music and dancing while sailing with view of sights like the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. The first deposit of $250 is due October 1, and there is a payment schedule.

Doreen expects to start rehearsing late in the fall, and at least once a week in the spring, most likely at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church on Wednesday evening. She notes that all the music will be memorized.

There is much more information which Doreen will be happy to give prospective singers. Many details are in the document at this link:  http://www.sacchoralcalendar.com/News/Irwin_Carnegie_2015.pdfContact her by e-mail, DoreenIrwin@comcast.net or by phone at (916) 991-5232.

Ryan Murray Chosen as Ansbacher Fellow

Music in the Mountains announces that Resident Conductor and Choral Director Ryan Murray has just been selected as a winner of the 2014 Ansbacher Fellowship for Young Conductors with the Vienna Philharmonic through the American Austrian Foundation.

"This fellowship provides promising young conductors from the United States the opportunity to spend up to four weeks at the Salzburg Festival observing the world's leading conductors and artists at work during rehearsals and performances. Fellows will live at Schloss Arenberg, located a mere ten minutes from the Festival Hall, where they also be able to interact with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, who are in residence at Schloss Arenberg during the month of August."

Local Sweet Adelines Make Good

Congratulations to the Sacramento area's two outstanding Sweet Adelines choruses!  The Region 12 competition (Northern California, Northern Nevada, Southern Oregon and Hawaii) was held at Reno this past weekend and both the Sacramento Valley Chorus and Sierra Gold came home with honors.

Sierra Gold was recognized as the "most improved" and placed third in the Division AA category (31 to 60 singers on stage).  The Sacramento Valley Chorus not only repeated their overall second-place showing, but did so scoring their best-ever 640 points.

You can get information on this year's competition from the Region 12 website, www.sairegion12.org.  And starting April 29 (until May 13), you can view performances online by buying a pass code for $20.

One more thing.  You can see both of these fine choruses perform at the Sacramento Choral Festival, June13-15 (www.sacsings.org).

Way to go, ladies!  And special kudos to the two dynamic directors, Lynne Ericson of the Sacramento Valley Chorus and Ron Black of Sierra Gold.

#CollegeChoir Choral Workshop

The San Joaquin Delta College, Delta Singers and their music director German Aguilar will be working along the side of the Sacramento City College #CollegeChoir in a public choral workshop/ choir exchange. The evening will offer you the opportunity to watch and learn while these two ensembles work on their choral excellence through collaborative coachings, exercises, discussions, teaching demonstrations, and the general sharing of music and ideas. All interested students, educators, future teachers, high school or college musicians and choral singers would benefit from this exchange. This workshop is free, is open to the general public, and will be held in the Performing Arts Center Theater (PAC 150). For more information or to make reservations visit our eventbrite event site. http://sccchoralworkshop1.eventbrite.com.

New Children's Choir in Auburn

A new children’s choir has been formed. It is the Auburn Youth Chorus, and it has been founded and is directed by Lyndsay Barham. The Auburn Youth Chorus is intended for children in grades 3 through 6, and the program includes ear training, music theory, vocal care and sight singing. Sessions have just begun on Wednesdays from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. at Auburn Grace Community Church, 3126 Olympic Way in Auburn. The cost is $100 per semester or $200 per year.

Miss Barham has a B.A. in Music Education and Vocal Performance from William Jessup University, and she is a recent recipient of an M.M. in Choral Conducting from California State University, Sacramento. She is also the Director of Music at Forest Lake Christian High School in Auburn where she directs 3 high school choirs, a contemporary band, and a junior high school choir.

For more information, check the Auburn Youth Chorus website at http://auburnyouthchorus.vpweb.com.

Voices of California Honored as "Chapter of the Year"

The Far Western District of the Barbershop Harmony Society includes 76 choruses in the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii.  At its convention this past weekend in Riverside, Sacramento's Voices of California (VoCal) was named "Chapter of the Year."  With many outstanding choruses in the Far Western District, this is a significant honor, one that VoCal has now won twice in only 4 years of its existence.  You can see them in action in their May 3 show at the Performing Arts Center at Sacramento City College (visit www.voicesofcalifornia.org for information) or at SacSings! - The Sacramento Choral Festival, June 13-15 at the Harris Center for the Performing Arts at Folsom Lake College (visit www.SacSings.org for more information).

Join a Chorus - See the World

Last year saw numerous local choruses on summer overseas tours – mostly to Italy.  This year, there are even more planned:

• Vocal Art Ensemble - May 7-12 - Scotland and England
• River City Chorale - June 1-8 - Holland, Germany, France & Switzerland
• Sacramento Master Singers - June 19-27, 2015 - Scotland
• Placer Pops Chorale -  July 12-20 - Barcelona

It's too late to join these groups as a singer, but there may still be time to tag along as a non-singer.  Check their websites for details.

Capital Public Radio Highlights Choral Works

On March 7, Capital Radio News reporter Jeff Hudson did a rundown of three major upcoming choral events:  concerts by the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, UC Davis Symphony and Chorus, and the Sacramento Master Singers.  The 3-minute piece included interviews and sample of the music to be performed, and you can hear a recording at this link.

SCSO on Radio and TV

It's always great to see choral music covered in local media.  The Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra (SCSO) is an organization that always garners excellent publicity.  The latest is an interview of Music Director Donald Kendrick and SCSO President James McCormick on March 3 by Beth Ruyak, host of Captital Public Radio's "Insight" program.  They discussed their upcoming European Masterworks concert and last summer's trip to Italy, which included a performance at the Vatican.  You can still hear the interview at this link.  You can also still access the excellent half-hour program in KVIE's "ViewFinder" series that profiled SCSC.  The program is online at this link.

Mary Poppins Sing-Along

Here's a creative idea for a chorus fundraiser.  The Placer Pops Chorale will host two screenings of the newly re-released, Mary Poppins movie.  And while the characters are singing those very famous songs, the words will be displayed above the screen so that the audience can sing along.

This will all take place at the State Theater at 985 Lincoln Way in Auburn at 2:00 and 7:00 on Saturday, April 5.  Tickets are $10 and can be reserved by calling 916/543-8797.  Get more information at www.placerpops.org.

Chorus for Those with Parkinson's Disease

Colla Voce of the Sierra, in collaboration with McConnell Music Therapy, has organized a community chorus for people affected by Parkinson's Disease and their caregivers and families.  "This is a non-performance chorus, led by board certified Music Therapist, Kathleen Humphries, MA, MT-BC. No musical experience is needed. This program is supported in part by Sutter Medical Group and Colla Voce of the Sierra. The goal of this group is to provide support for people and families while engaging in singing exercises that help to sustain vocal abilities."  The 10-week program began February 12 and is held at Pioneer United Methodist Church in Auburn.  For information, contact Tara McConnell at 916/996-1589 or tara.mmts@gmail.com.