What's New at TriangleSings!
If you are revisiting TriangleSings! for the first time in a while, you'll discover the new, updated design that made its debut in March 2009. Got an idea for another addition or improvement, or a way to attract new users to the site? Drop a note to info@trianglesings.org.
Meanwhile...
In early December 2009, we that discovered subscribers using earthlink.net, mindspring.com, ncsu.edu and a few other domains have not been receiving Choral Notes, the TriangleSings! newsletter. While that situation is being remedied, CN will be manually forwarded to these subscribers. In case some are interested in what's been in editions they've missed, here are CN excerpts, beginning with November and going back to last March.
Choral Notes 118, for late November 2009...
Seventh Annual "State of the Site" Report
TriangleSings! made its online debut in November 2002. Each anniversary, Choral Notes updates how things are going. This was the year for complete design and operational overhaul - a new look, additional features, improved content access. Some 350 individual events and calls for singers appeared on the Calendars. Usage statistics averaged 120,000 "hits," 37,000 page views and 6,400 visits per month; newsletter subscribers were steady at around 2,200. In addition to online services and Choral Notes, TriangleSings! continued its co-sponsorship of the Triangle Youth Chorus Trophy.
Though last December saw a record 96 (including repeats) Events Calendar entries, listings - and financial support - began slipping by late spring. In part, this reflected hard times at local opera companies, comprising almost ten percent of Member Groups and sponsors. Thus the website lacked funds for marketing to users beyond "the usual subjects," meaning music lovers and potential concertgoers not already involved in the choral arts.
Keeping things afloat were Strowd Roses Foundation, Alice & Lance Buhl Fund of Triangle Community Foundation, and homepage/Resources sponsors VoChor, Inc. and University of North Carolina Voice Center. Womens Voices joined Choral Society of Durham as an annual sustaining donor; Sandhills Harmony offered a creative approach, contributing $5 per singer; other groups were Calendar sponsors, including Concert Singers of Cary, Durham Chorale, Bel Canto Company, Chapel Hill Community Chorus, Durham Children's Choir, Triangle Youth Music Chorus, Northeast Piedmont Chorale, Heart of Carolina Chorale and Schola Cantorum of Raleigh. Support also came from Resources underwriters Barbara Peters, Connie Jessup, Jean Marie Whaley and Berkshire Choral Festival; Triangle Youth Chorus Trophy collaborators; Restaurant Bonne Soirée; individuals listed at Supporting TriangleSings!
Now, the pitch...If you or your group are not on that list, please know you could make a difference and help TriangleSings! continue, by joining! You may donate online through PayPal or, of course, with a check. Details are online at Supporting, where thanks will follow.
From the Choral Directory
The Opera Company of North Carolina and its general director have parted ways, according to an early October press release. Frank Grebowski held the position for about three of the group's 13 years. Francis A. Acquaviva, Vice-Chair of OCNC's Board, will take over on an interim basis; according to the release, "the Company immediately will begin a nationwide search for a new General Director, and hopes to have the position filled by the first of the year."
Choral Notes 117, for October 2009...
From the Choral Directory
The Piedmont Chamber Singers have named Dr. David Schildkret as Interim Artistic Director for the 2009-2010 season, replacing Dr. William Osborne after six seasons with PCS. Well known to Winston-Salem audiences, David was Dean of the Salem College School of Music from 1995 to 2002. Currently on sabbatical from Arizona State University, he is a frequent guest conductor and is serving as a Visiting Scholar at Salem College, assisting the dean and president "in shaping the future of Salem music," according to a PCS press release.
Elsewhere and Otherwise
Dr. J. Mark Scearce, Director of North Carolina State University's Music Department, has received the 2009 International Raymond & Beverly Sackler Prize in Music Composition. Mark's many works have included choral and opera pieces as well as orchestra, band, chamber ensemble and ballet. According to an NCSU press release: "The recipient of five advanced degrees in music, philosophy and religion, including the doctorate in composition from Indiana University, Scearce has now won six international music competitions, his music honored by the Wellesley Composers' Conference, the June in Buffalo Festival, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the American Music Center, and the artist colonies of Yaddo, Ucross and MacDowell."
Choral Notes 115, for September 2009...
From the Choral Directory
According to a July 9th press release from Long Leaf Opera, the company's executive director, James Schaeffer, "...stepped down effective July 1, 2009." Jim had led LLO since fall 2005; he'll continue his tenure as general director of the Center for Contemporary Opera in New York.
Choral Notes 114, for Summer 2009...
Elsewhere and Otherwise
The Chorus Impact Study - Chorus America's latest research documenting the benefits of choral singing and its impact on children, adults and communities - was featured on CBS Sunday Morning June 14th. You can have a look at YouTube. The study estimates that 32.5 million American adults regularly sing in choruses, up from 23.5 million calculated in 2003. Adding children, there are some 42.6 million choristers in the United States: one in five households has at least one ensemble-singing family member.
Choral Notes 113, for early May 2009...
Elsewhere and Otherwise
The Durham Symphony Orchestra has named William Henry Curry as its new music director, following an extensive search and tryouts for five finalists. He becomes the symphony's third director, succeeding Alan Neilson, who led for 23 years. Bill will continue with the North Carolina Symphony as Resident Conductor and Artistic Director for Summerfest and other programs. His career includes conducting more than 40 orchestras, with many choral/vocal connections: an acclaimed, unexpected debut leading Beethoven's Ninth Symphony; directing the tour and recording of Anthony Davis' Grammy-nominated opera, X; conducting productions of New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Chicago Opera Theatre; composing Eulogy for a Dream, based on the speeches and writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Choral Notes 112, for late May 2009...
Elsewhere and Otherwise
The Durham School of the Arts Advanced Middle School Chorus, an auditioned mixed-voice ensemble directed by Laura Delauney, has won the Triangle Youth Chorus Trophy for 2009. It's the first year a middle school has been honored - and the Trophy's second trip to DSA, whose high school Chorale was the first recipient in 2004. The Trophy is given each spring to a school in Wake, Durham, Orange or Chatham County; the purpose is to encourage and promote choral singing in the public schools, and to recognize the achievements of youth ensembles and music educators. This year, the Trophy's Board decided to also present an Award of Merit: to the Martin G.T. Magnet Middle School Honors Chorus, directed by Ramona Jenner.
Mark Manring's photo montage features mostly shots are of members of the Durham School of the Arts Advanced Middle School Chorus, but the first few pictures highlight the unusual circumstances of this year's award. Director Laura Delauney had to be surprised at a different time and place from her students: it was supposed to be at her house but ended up in a hospital room. (She's fine, returned home that day...and the baby is due any moment.)
Choral Notes 110, for early April 2009...
From the Choral Directory
About the last event listed above by Duke Vespers Ensemble...the director is also the work's composer. Allan Friedman, assistant conductor of music at Duke Chapel and director of Women's Voices Chorus, wrote the 45-minute cantata in 2000 after a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. Based on poetry by Holocaust victims, their children and survivors, along with Hebrew scriptures, the piece features a cappella choir settings of the poems in English, soprano soloist accompanied by oboe, organ and cello, and spoken text. This will be the work's third performance; it premiered in 2001.
Elsewhere and Otherwise
In recent weeks, the choral community has lost two inspirational figures. Carlton Miles and Don Mott probably didn't know each other but they had much in common. Both were highly regarded, thoughtful men to whom others were drawn to and who touched lives profoundly and positively. Carlton taught choirs and coordinated arts events in the Durham Public Schools, most recently leading the remarkable high school ensemble, Spotlight. Don, among other roles, served as business manager for The Master's Men; he was one of TriangleSings! first and most reliable liaisons, dispensing emails of encouragement and even checks when he sensed the website was in need.
Choral Notes 109, for March 2009...
Before you check out listings and info below...a bit of news about TriangleSings! You may not often visit the homepage, but go there now, and you'll discover a new look and new capabilities, the result of an extensive redesign and upgrade. One new feature may be of particular interest: our very own reminder service. Say you're reading online about a performance you may want to attend, and your personal calendar is elsewhere. Next to the event date, there's a prompt; just click, and request an email notice when you wish, from one week to six hours before the gig.
If you have reactions to share about the new design or features...or notice any errors we haven't caught, please contact TriangleSings!