The faculty was joined by special guests Dr. David Conte (Professor of Music and Composition Department Chair-person at San Francisco Conservatory of Music) and David Bloom (Music Director of Contemporaneous, one of the most prominent new music ensembles in NYC). Both gave dynamic and eventful masterclasses about their re-spective areas of composition and conducting. Conte also actively participated in all of the student readings, offering his feedback in real time to the composers as they experienced the Ensemble singing their works for the first time. Bloom joined Vince and Matt on the conducting faculty to coach aspiring and seasoned conductors during their developmental time in front of the full Chorus. In true Institute fashion, the character of these interactions was hallmarked by balanced and pleasant discourse on different techniques in conducting and rehearsing choruses. It is gradually becoming apparent that the Institute may need a new home soon. Although the acoustics and general vibe of the neighborhood and the space have been a perfect spot for us to cultivate new choral music, we have found it prudent to hold the free concert in a climate-controlled space going forward. Additionally, having climate-controlled spaces for the classes and lessons, as well as more properly equipped practice rooms would greatly improve the experience of the students. We have cast our eyes forward with this goal in mind.
SCHOOL OUTREACH The Ensemble was able to do some elementary school outreach this year as well, most notably at King’s Elementary School, an Uncommon School in Brownsville / Crown Heights, Brooklyn. We were fortunate to receive this invitation via alto, Emily Crowe, a member of the Ensemble. To our delight, we discovered that the format of the Pro Ensemble working with very young children works! Activities used included blindfolding the kids and having them walk toward different section members of the choir by voice part on indication. Other learning outcomes included high and low sound differentiation, style identification, and exposure to new repertoire including the whimsical and kid-friendly “Five Childhood Lyrics” by John Rutter and work by the Franco-Flemish early music composer, Josquin des Prez. Both the singers in the Ensemble and the children were delighted by the interaction and we hope to set up more structure in the future to provide this opportunity to more similar school communities. 12
