NEWS AND NOTES

from around the state

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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. 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. 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.

Jenepher Lapp, past director of the East High School Choirs in the KHSC, was inducted into the East Bakersfield High School Hall of Fame in March. Congratulations Jenepher!

Bakersfield College (Dr. Jennifer Garrett) also hosted the return of the Bakersfield City School District’s Middle School Choral Festival on March 10.

SOUTHERN REGION

Congratulations to the Southern Region ensembles who performed at our recent conferences! CASMEC featured Ayala High School (Robert Davis), while Western Region ACDA featured CSULB’s Pacific Standard Time (Christine Guter) and Bob Cole Chamber Choir (Jonathan Talberg), Angel City Chorale (Sue Fink), Tonality (Alexander Lloyd Blake), Vox Femina (Iris Levine), Mt. San Antonio College (Bruce Rogers), Laude/First Congregational Church of Los Angeles (David Harris), and the Spirit Chorale of Los Angeles (Byron Smith).

Congratulations to Miguel Chicas, recipient of the 2022 CCDA Early Career Choral Director. This award is presented to a choral music educator who demonstrates great promise to the choral profession in California. Miguel was also awarded the 2022 Teacher of Promise Award in the Irvine Unified School District.

FAR SOUTH REGION

The Choral Consortium of San Diego presented San Diego Sings! Festival 2022 on April 2 at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, chaired by Ruthie Millgard. This biennial event showcases San Diego/ Tijuana’s diverse choral culture through individual choir performances and massed choir sings, including the audience.

Bach Collegium San Diego (Dr. Ruben Valenzuela, Artistic Director) performed El Mesías: Messiah for a New World, the world premiere of Handel’s Messiah in its new Spanish translation, a newly commissioned Spanish libretto by Mario Montenegro of Tijuana, Baja California. Messiah has been a mainstay of the BCSD season throughout their history. A complete performance in Spanish brought together Valenzuela’s longtime goal of a dynamic, historically informed performance in keeping with Messiah’s ongoing history of a work that adapts, is malleable, and responds to the world around it.

CCSD’s “Conversations with Conductors” series continued with Juan Carlos Acosta (SACRA/ PROFANA, Village Community Presbyterian Church), Dr. Arian Khaefi (San Diego State University, La Jolla Symphony Chorus), Dr. John Russell (San Diego Master Chorale), and Dr. Keith Pedersen (Point Loma Nazarene University, La Jolla Presbyterian Church). Recordings are posted on CCSD’s YouTube channel. CCSD brought its Beer Choir San Diego chapter back from the pandemic with a “For the Love of Beer” gathering featuring Skylarks doo-wop quartet led by Julie Chan and traditional beer choir selections featuring Gina Seashore (Ramona Community Singers) on accordion.

San Diego Kids All Sing was hosted by both CMEA-Southern Border Section and SCVA on Saturday, May 7, with guest clinician Melva Morrison.

NORTHERN REGION

Dr. Ron Slabbink from College of the Siskiyous reports that they “returned to in-person singing this semester and are building community through music once again! The groups are sounding great, and oh yeah, the youngest singer in vocal jazz is 64 years younger than the oldest… how’s that for some intergenerational music making!?”

Dr. Don Kendrick, director of the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, was elated to return to in-person performances on May 14 with Verdi’s Requiem, which includes their debut in the newly renovated SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center (formerly The Sacramento Community Center Theater) and on brand-new Wenger choral risers.

Daniel I. Paulson from Sacramento City College was excited to return to in-person choral performances this Spring. SCC decided to continue to provide virtual recordings of our performance on our newly formed “watch page.” Check out their recitals, concerts, and performances at scc.losrios.edu/music/watch. SCC was also the recipient of a $10,000 grant this past fall. This money will be used as part of a scholarship program for incoming vocal and choral students.

Dr. Andrew Kreckmann from Sacramento State reports that the University Chorale performed Bach’s “Aus der tiefe” (BWV 131) and Ives’s “Psalm 90” with chamber musicians to a very pleased audience. The University Singers and Choral Union (directed by Dr. Brett Judson) also successfully finished their third concert with in-person audiences. The ensembles combined for a May 8 performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C.  Thanks to our Regional Representatives (Andrew Kreckmann, Northern; Kristina Nakagawa, Bay Area; Jennifer Garrett, Central; Carolyn Teraoka-Brady, Central Coast; Tina Glander Peterson, Southern; and Yewon Lee, Far South) for collecting and sharing news from their areas! Send your news to your regional representative if you’d like to be included in a future issue.