Dear Choir,
It seems rather odd to be writing this within a week of our final performance of the season, but the 2007-2008 year was unusual in many ways. We saw many achievements that included the North Carolina premiere of Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light, collaborations with The Raleigh Symphony and the Triangle Wind Ensemble and a return engagement with The North Carolina Symphony. It was a banner year of great music, creative presentations and vibrant participation. It was also one of our longer and time consuming schedules and I am deeply grateful to all of you for the commitment shown to make all of this possible.
As we enter our 18th concert season, the 2008-2009 schedule features some familiar and very new offerings that I am excited to write about as outlined below.
Symphonic Choir - The Symphonic Choir will perform their usual full slate that includes an encore presentation of Voices of Light, Holiday Pops with The North Carolina Symphony, a classical Holiday program in Cary that will include Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, a performance of Brahms’ A German Requiem with duo grand pianos and our popular annual American Celebration at Koka Booth over Memorial Day weekend.
Chamber Choir - In addition to the Symphonic Choir, for the first time we will be offering a Chamber Choir that will be close to a year-round schedule. This choir will sing a wide variety of repertoire that is a cappella and with piano, rehearses mostly on Tuesday evenings. They will sing as part of the Classical Holiday program in Cary in December as well as present a spring program that will include performances in Greensboro, Durham and Cary. Members of this group will also be required to perform in some Symphonic Choir events. Schedules for both groups are enclosed with information about audition dates. All spots in the Chamber Choir are open for audition though it is hoped that past participants will be interested in returning. Please note that I am asking people who have sung in chamber choir in recent years to audition again this year. Priority will be given to those with advanced singing and reading ability as well as their ability to clear the rehearsal and performance dates.
Solo opportunities are available for the Brahms Requiem (soprano and baritone) and Ceremony of Carols (women’s solos). Those who are interested should prepare the solos that they are interested in and schedule and audition time during either the Symphonic or Chamber auditions.
Concert Dress - We are looking to have different dress options for different concert environments. Men will need to have tuxedos as well as an all black outfit like we used (and will use again) for Voices of Light. This includes a long sleeve solid black shirt that can be collared like a dress shirt or a Turtleneck or Mock Turtleneck and blacks slacks or trousers. Men should also have a white short sleeve dress shirt for use at the Koka Booth amphitheater when we perform there. Women are no longer required to buy a specific concert dress though the ones that they used in the past are fine if you still have one and wish to use it. The current guidelines for the women are included in this packet.
Concert Groupings – The fall season is being counted as one season and one commitment. We need the consistency of full participation so all concerts are being linked with the prime focus being on Holiday Pops. We will consider individual conflicts for Voices of Light or the Classical Holiday Concert on a case-by-case basis, but the expectation is that singers that sign up for fall concert participation will participate in all three events. I realize that Holiday Pops is a major commitment with four concerts over Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, but as an organization we cannot afford to have our membership cherry pick the events based on interest or convenience. We will consider conflicts if we hear about them prior to the opening rehearsal on September 8th. To be honest, I’m aware that we have had cases in the past where people obviously know that they intend to miss a program and choose not to say anything so that they can participate in another concert of interest. I’m not anxious to rattle a saber here, but I will consider dropping singers from the group when this type of manipulation occurs. Though we are an amateur chorus, we are an organization that sings at a professional level and requires a high level of commitment from their singers.
Accompanist News – Most of you know by now that after 8 years, Linda Velto is leaving us to attend seminary this fall. We will miss her deeply, not only for her incredible music ability but also for her sunny and positive influence. Throughout our history, we have been the beneficiary of fabulous accompanists such as Sarah Rogers, Jodi Adams, and Linda. Our good fortune continues when Allen Bailey becomes our regular accompanist. Allen is considered one of the area’s premiere pianists and has accompanied North Carolina Master Chorale, The Vocal Arts Ensemble of Durham and many area recitalists and teaching studios. We are very fortunate to have Allen and I very much look forward to working with him.
In closing, I want to thank David Lindquist, Karen Davis and Geiselle Thompson for their outstanding leadership as Executive Director, Board Chair and Chorus Committee Chair, respectively. It is this vital leadership that keeps The Concerts Singers strong and vibrant year after year. My thanks also to all of you for your love and dedication to great music making. Have a great summer and we’ll see you on September 8th if not sooner.
Sincerely,
