Teacher. Performer. National Event Organizer. “We’ll have a session during the conference about degendering musical spaces and accepting transgender and nonbinary students in choirs—many of our groups now describe themselves as ‘tenor-bass ensembles,’” he explains. “I’m particularly interested in how we use choral ensembles to support the emotional life of men in a society where they don’t always have opportunities to express that.” The concert by Minneapolis-based Cantus will be co-sponsored by IMC and the Strickler Endowed Concert Series at Albion. It’s a project, according to Parr, that would be very difficult for either entity to sponsor on its own.
Members of the Michigan Educators Male Ensemble, pictured in Goodrich Chapel, clockwise from bottom left: Clayton Parr, ’80, Dustin Morris, Nathan Masterson, Marc Meyers, Ian Bäby, Thomas Kaiser, Jeff Cachero, Gaylord High School Principal Chris Hodges, ’07, Chris Ludwa, and Michael Peterson. The ensemble will perform in Albion on March 21 during the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses 2020 National Seminar.
Having students from Michigan and Ohio State on the same stage—not to mention students from Harvard—is always a momentous occasion. That gathering becomes even more so when it happens in a small south-central Michigan town. But it’s just one performance out of many taking place in March, as Albion College and Albion First United Methodist Church are sponsoring the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses 2020 National Seminar, a biennial event. “There’s going to be more than a thousand singers,” says Clayton Parr, ’80, professor of music and director of choral activities. He is also the executive secretary for Intercollegiate
34 | Albion College Io Triumphe!
Men’s Choruses (IMC) and notes that along with some of the country’s top collegiate glee clubs, there also will be performances by professional group Cantus, adult choruses, and a mass high school group assembled from six Michigan schools. Also performing will be the Michigan Educators Male Ensemble (MEME) a chamber group founded by Parr shortly after he joined Albion’s faculty in 2012. Parr suggests that the conference could serve as a recruiting tool for Albion, and a way to raise its reputation among peers across the country. But he quickly also emphasizes the importance of supporting music for men.
“When I was a student at Albion, Mel Larimer and Dave Strickler emphasized the need for musicians to listen to other groups perform, in order to sharpen your ears and develop your craft,” Parr says. “The Strickler Endowed Concert Series has given us the means to bring fine concerts to campus.” Parr notes that he has been planning for this event since it was announced that a Courtyard by Marriott hotel would be built on Superior Street in downtown Albion. The hotel opened in spring 2018. “The opening of the hotel gave us the opportunity to host an event like this,” he says. “It’s going to be a great event and it’s also a chance for students to hear something they can’t hear anywhere else.” Visit imc2020.us for details on the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses 2020 National Seminar. This short web address will link to a page on the Albion College Music Department website.