News and notes
from around the state BAY AREA In-person conferences are back, and we couldn’t be prouder of our Bay Area representatives! Between CASMEC and ACDA Western, we heard Bullis Charter School, the San Jose State University Choraliers, and Choral Audacity perform. We also had wonderful presentations from Jenny Bent, Justin Montigne, Corie Brown, Jeffrey Benson, and Angelina Fitzhugh. While we were in Long Beach, Dr. Charlene Archibeque was recognized as the official conference honoree, and in Fresno, Ken Abrams received the 2022 CCDA Choral Director of the Year. Congratulations, Charlene and Ken! We also owe a huge thank-you to Susie Martone and Angelina Fitzhugh for coordinating the All-State Honor Choirs. Spring brought many performances to the Bay Area as well! SJSU debuted their Latin American Choral Festival, “Son de la Vida,” which included workshops on style, culture, repertoire, and performance practice, paired with the return of their high school and junior college invitational festival and a finale concert. In May, the Santa Clara Chorale and Santa Clara University Choirs, led by Scot Hanna-Weir, joined the San Jose Chamber Orchestra to present the premiere of “Kohelet” by SCU alum Henry Dehlinger. Five San Jose-based community choirs joined together for the 12th annual concert to benefit Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence. The choirs included were Orchard City Community Chorus, Serendipity, San Jose Military Veterans Chorus, Resounding Achord, and Rainbow Women’s Chorus.
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In June 2022, The Choral Project, led by Artistic Director Daniel Hughes, celebrates their 25th anniversary, albeit a year late because of the pandemic.
CENTRAL COAST REGION Congratulations to the Cal Poly Women’s Chorus, who performed at CASMEC, and the singers from the Stevenson School who sang in the Gospel Honor Choir at the ACDA Western Region Conference. Kudos to Willow Manspeaker, Honor Choir Co-Chair and choir director at Stevenson School. SING!, the children’s chorus program funded and operated by the Music Academy of the West, was re-launched in January. This free after-school program is open to kids in grades 1-6 from Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria, with approximately 210 students from 33 schools. The SING! students performed with the London Symphony Orchestra on March 26.
CENTRAL REGION In March Burt and Polly Vasché participated in a video interview with a local arts information network, telling how they became involved in music and how the choral art has affected their lives. One of Polly’s Downey High School Choir grads serves as co-host of the program. The interview may be accessed on YouTube or Facebook under “Mistlin Gallery/ Expose Yourself to Art.” In the greater Modesto area, Anastasia Legatos-Jacobs has recently taken a new position with the Waterford Schools, teaching K-12 Vocal and Instrumental music.
30 • Cantate • Vol. 34, No. 3 • Spring/Summer
The Central Region was well represented at CASMEC this past February 17-20. Julie Dana served as the CCDA State Conference at CASMEC Chair, Dr. Ángel M. Vázquez-Ramos presented and served as the logistics liaison, and John Sorber and Ryan Clippinger held a successful Choral Leadership Academy. The Fresno State Concert Choir directed by Dr. Cari Earnhart and Clovis North Women’s Chorale led by Heather Bishop gave inspiring performances that were celebrated by educators around the state! Congratulations to Cari Earnhart, program chair, on successfully leading a team of dedicated choral educators through the pandemic and to our in-person ACDA Western Region Conference. The Clovis North Singers (Heather Bishop) also traveled to Long Beach as a featured choir in the Conference. The Bakersfield College Choirs (Dr. Jennifer Garrett) were featured in “Stories of the Pandemic” during the conference for their virtual performance of Andrea Ramsey’s “Stomp on the Fire.” This year’s CMEA Choral Educator Award was awarded to Julie Dana (Fresno City College). In addition, Julie was recently elected as the new ACDA Western Division PresidentElect. Congratulations Julie! The Kern County Music Educators Association awarded Patrick Burzlaff (Centennial High School) the Music Educator of the Year Award, and Ingrid Borja (James Curran Middle School and Sequoia Junior High School) the Choral Educator Award for the 2021-2022 school year.
California Choral Directors Association
