Welcome to Choral Notes for the second half of APRIL 2008. The amazing array of events below makes errors more likely -- so you are cautioned, as if it were December, to check with presenting groups before heading to a performance.

This newsletter brings you updates on information at TriangleSings!, the website for vocal ensemble music in central North Carolina. Sent out the last week of each month -- more often as needed -- Choral Notes also covers other items of interest to the local choral arts community.

CN now goes to more than 2,000 subscribers. You are encouraged to sign up for the free newsletter...to forward this edition to fellow music enthusiasts...to circulate, print out and post listings on TriangleSings!...and to help support the website.

Upcoming on the Events Calendar (April 15-30)

The April Calendar is cosponsored by the Durham Chorale, presenting their annual spring concert, Sweet Sounds of Spring, on Sunday afternoon, April 27, at the Durham Academy Lower School Auditorium. The month's cosponsor is the Choral Society of Durham, which will be joined by three other choirs in the monumental Britten: War Requiem at Duke Chapel on Saturday and Sunday, April 19th and 20th. Thank you!

NCSU Choral Ensembles, Spring Choral Collage, April 16
Durham Savoyards, The Yeomen of the Guard, April 17-20
Durham Children's Choir, Hansel and Gretel, April 18 and 20
Greensboro Oratorio Society, Mendelssohn's St. Paul, April 18
Choral Society of Durham, Britten: War Requiem, April 19 and 20
Bel Canto Company, Homecomings, April 19 and 21
North Carolina Master Chorale, Verdi's Requiem, April 19
Triangle A Cappella Meetup Group, Meetup, April 19
Dei Laudes Choir, Around the World in 60 Minutes, April 20
Hudson Festival Choir, And Peace Will Come, April 20
Northeast Piedmont Chorale, Mendelssohn's Elijah, April 20 (in Butner)
The Master's Men, A Cappella Songs of Faith, April 20
Raleigh Boychoir, American Music Festival, April 20
Chapel Hill Community Chorus Cantare, The Earth Is Not Our Own, April 20 (in Henderson)
UNC Chamber Singers, Carolina Choir and Glee Clubs, Brahms' German Requiem, April 22
NCSU Chamber Singers, Chamber Singers Concert, April 23
Duke Chorale, Chorale Celebration, April 25
Concert Singers of Cary, Russian Music Under the Stars, April 26
Central Carolina Children's Chorus, Spring Concert, April 26
Choral Society of Greensboro, Haydn's The Seasons, April 26
Chapel Hill Community Chorus Cantare, The Earth Is Not Our Own, April 26 (in Chapel Hill)
Long Leaf Opera, National Vocal Competition Event, April 26
Johnston County Homeschool Educators Choruses, Riverwood Street Festival, April 26
Durham Chorale, Sweet Sounds of Spring, April 27
Greensboro Oratorio Society, Mendelssohn's St. Paul, April 27
Northeast Piedmont Chorale, Mendelssohn's Elijah, April 27 (in Creedmore)
Meredith College Choral Ensembles, Spring Choral Concert, April 27

Auditions/Calls/Singing Opportunities

Bel Canto Company, April 28-29

Elsewhere and Otherwise

Setting the stage for the upcoming performances of the War Requiem is a free lecture, "Public Memory and Private Anguish in Britten's 'War Requiem.'" This will be presented by Philip Rupprecht, associate professor of music, who came to Duke in 2006 from Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York; his research on Benjamin Britten has included numerous articles and conference papers, and his book, Britten's Musical Language (Cambridge University Press, 2001). The lecture will take place in Room 104 of the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building, East Campus, on April 18th, beginning at 4:00 PM.

Berkshire Choral Fest reports openings for all voice parts for the Canterbury, England, and Vancouver weeks; in Sheffield, Massachusetts, there's still space for sopranos, tenors and basses for weeks 1, 2 and 4, and altos for week 4. For details on 2008 dates and programs, visit the website, where you also can apply online.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the July 5-8 Songs by the Sea, which will feature Alice Parker and Donald Neuen, has a few slots remaining for tenors and basses.

Next month, there'll be new information about another fabulous summer singing option: the Music at Ogontz Choral Symposia, scheduled this year for July 12-18 (Richard Marlowe) and 19-25 (Sir David Willcocks).

Recent reviews of interest at Classical Voice of North Carolina: Sherrill Milnes & Greensboro College Voices Make a Stirring Elijah, Isabella Provides an Outstanding Concert, Love and War In Cosi fan tutte (Capital Opera).

After months of hype and early glitches, Chorus America's "Singer Network" looks as if it soon will be a reality. Billed as "the first-ever community website for choral singers," the website will offer articles, interactive features and tools for singers, including a choral recordings archive, discussion forum and "events calendar for upcoming concerts, workshops, masterclasses and more." There'll be an annual membership fee; you can sign up at Learn more about Singer Network.

Sundays on WCPE (89.7 FM), Ken Hoover's "Great Sacred Music" airs from 8:00 to 11:00 AM; Rob Kennedy often features choral music on "Peaceful Reflections," 9:00 PM to midnight. WCPE broadcasts live Metropolitan Opera performances on Saturday afternoons in season, and Robert Galbraith plays recordings on "WCPE Opera House," Thursdays at 7:00 PM. Elsewhere, on WKNC (88.1 FM), Glenn Weeks presents "All Things A Cappella," Sundays from noon to 2:00 PM.

Choral Notes Coda

You can access the main sections of the TriangleSings! website with a click below:
Learn about performances, for this week or whenever.
Discover singing opportunities -- the "other" Calendar.
Check out local ensembles by name, place, type or rehearsal day.
Find goods and services for singers and choruses, and links to choral-related websites.
Read about TriangleSings! or the Choral Notes newsletter.

Note: Newsletter items need to be received by the 21st of the preceding month. Website postings (for the Calendars, Directory or Resources page) may be done anytime at Submit Information; Member Group liaisons make changes in listings at the Editing Page. Urgent notices, such as a performance cancellation, should be sent to info@trianglesings.org for possible distribution as a Choral Notes "alert."

'Til next time...
Carol