News and notes
from around the state BAY AREA As schools are starting and church and community choirs are returning to in-person rehearsals, we don’t have any performance news to share just yet, but the choral arts are alive and well in the San Francisco Bay Area! In conjunction with the CCDA Summer Summit 2.0, we hosted meet-ups in the South, East, and North Bay regions. Thank you to Bret Peppo, Julie Ford, LaNell Martin, and Jenny Bent for organizing and hosting! (See photos from meet-ups from around the state on pages 20-21!) With the new school year there are also a few job celebrations to mention. Congratulations to Bruce Koliha on his retirement from his long-term church position at San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church. We know Bruce will be missed! Kristen Redaniel will be teaching elementary and middle school music in Hayward, and Noah Rulison is directing the choral program at Menlo-Atherton High School. We are also overjoyed to welcome Christy Rohayem back to the Bay Area as choir director at Mt. Eden High School.
CENTRAL COAST REGION Cricket Handler and Jill Anderson, directors of the Canzona Women’s Ensemble, have been attending the bi-monthly “Living with the Pandemic: Safety Guidance for the Arts” webinars hosted by Dr. Neha Nanda (Director of the Center for Emerging Pathogens at the Keck School of Medicine) and sponsored by Californians for the Arts. Cricket and Jill also meet regularly with a group of directors of women’s choirs
32 • Cantate • Vol. 34, No. 1 • Fall 2021
Send news of hirings, retirements, awards, commissions, premieres, collaborations, or projects to your regional representative!
in weekly Zoom meetings organized by Morna Edmundson, director of Elektra Women’s Choir in Vancouver, Canada. The choir directors involved are from across Canada and around the US, and cover a variety of topics related to music-making in the COVID era. Vocal Arts Ensemble director Gary Lamprecht has announced dates for the Central Coast Spring Choral Festival: March 17-18, 2022. Find more details on the Central Coast Regional page on the CCDA website.
CENTRAL REGION In July about half of the 120-member Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus met for the first time in sixteen months. Socially distanced in a church parking lot and under the direction of Daniel Afonso, the Chorus learned four short works and “performed” them at the conclusion, to the great delight of all involved. Amanda Marsh was named the new choral director of Clovis High School. The position was previously held by Jennifer Appleby, who has taken a position in elementary music with Houston ISD. Dylan Walters was named director of Choral Music at Culter-Orosi School District. Dylan is an alumnus of the Fresno State Choral Department. The Bakersfield City School District hired Maritza Borja as a Visual and Performing Arts Department Academic Coach. She will be providing education and training to choral directors and spending time in classrooms to assist new teachers.
In the Kern High School District, Christy Rohayem will leave East High, and recent CSUB graduate Neiman McDuff will become the new director at East. Ridgeview High director Elizabeth Provencio will be moving to pursue her master’s degree at CSUF while Ryan Clippinger, former director at Arvin High, will be taking over at Ridgeview. Arvin’s new choral director, Abbie Rosenthal, is a recent alumni of CSULB, and Michael Ellsworth moved back to Bakersfield just in time to become the choral director at Frontier High. Jenepher Lapp retired in June after 37 years of teaching (35 of those at East Bakersfield High School). Throughout her teaching career she served in several roles for California ACDA and within Kern High School District. She was a recipient of many awards including the CMEA California State Choral Music Teacher of the Year, and the Kern County Choral Music Educator of the Year. Although she retires from active teaching, she plans to continue adjudicating, clinicing, and guest conducting. The Bakersfield Master Chorale, now it its 89th season, recently announced that Jennifer Garrett will serve as the new Artistic Director, with Ryan Clippinger and Braeden Addison as Assistant Directors. Thank you to Robert Provencio for his years of service with the Bakersfield Master Chorale.
SOUTHERN REGION Two choir camps were able to offer a summer camp experiences for young choral musicians in July and August: Pacific Chorale and Fullerton
California Choral Directors Association
