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From the Chair

by Brian Newhouse

Our Choral Stories D E PA R T ME N T S 4

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from the chair

Our Choral Stories Choral singing is a formative experience for so many— including me.

I

am four years old. Someone has just pulled a gown all starchy and stiff over my ears. Now I’m getting a big red bow hung from the collar and it drapes down across my tummy. The bow is Santa-Claus red, the gown is angel-hair white, and I am smitten with the high-school girl who is about to lead a group of us squirrely preschoolers—my first choir —in song. I may have just asked her to marry me. She pats me on the head.

I am ten years old. The farmers, carpenters, store clerks, homemakers, even our dentist, they’re all singing up front in our country church, and I am standing in the pew while everyone else sits.

When they finish, I whisper to my parents, “I wish they’d keep doing that, forever.”

I am in high school choir. I am in college choir. I am in a church choir. I’m in the Dale Warland Singers (how did that happen?). Every choir is shaping me, not just musically, but way more important, as a person. I’m learning to collaborate with others, to work hard and solve problems, to make connections and community, to literally breathe with others and create something moving in the world that wasn’t there moments ago; to try as best we can to make beauty.

That’s what choral singing is and does, along with a host of other reasons why it’s so formative for so many of us. And why I feel it’s so important for our country today.

This is my first letter as Chorus America’s board chair, so hello!

Like you, I am passionate about choral singing. I love the breathtaking beauty or thrill of the music, of course, but also the community of those who make it, those vulnerable and brave enough to open their hearts and throats and share this with others.

In my day job, I lead the classical division of Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media and try to connect classical music of all kinds with radio and digital audiences. But the heart of my heart’s in choral. So we routinely present groups like Conspirare, the Eric Whitacre Singers, Cantus, the American Spiritual Ensemble, VocalEssence, and the King’s College Choir in concert to sold-out Minnesota houses and live broadcasts; we curate a

whole month of choral radio programming (April: “Voices of Spring”) and buck the trend among many radio programmers who shy away from vocal music of any kind; and several years ago we started the 24-hour online Choral Stream.

Take a crazy guess what kind of music is on there.

I’m also on the risers with you. In a midsized urban church, our SATB choir of 20 has become “my village”: dear friends who work hard to make music at the highest level we can, in service to our faith community. The choir’s good: we got picked to sing at the last winter’s ACDA convention in Kansas City. Yours truly even had a solo—and I made an epic faceplant in front of a packed house.

Life lessons in humility and grace just keep coming, wherever you are on this choral journey.

So, that’s a snapshot of your board chair. I’d love to hear your first choral memory at bnewhouse@mpr.org, and learn how it started you on this path!

I also want to make sure you know that thousands of these stories have coalesced and resulted in the Chorus Impact Study.

If you were at the Philadelphia Conference in June when we published it, you learned that after years of research, data collection, and number crunching, we have a powerful new case for the necessity of this music in our culture. The recommendations and tools published in this issue of the Voice and online will help you translate that data into action.

I loved learning from the study that there are some 54 million Americans singing in choirs today, and the number’s growing.

Isn’t that something? So many people trying to make a difference in their communities through song. I hope that every choir in the country takes this study and runs with it. Along with them, I’ll do whatever I can over the next three years as Chorus America board chair to see that building and strengthening community through singing together keeps going, forever.

I love the breathtaking beauty or thrill of the music, of course, but also the community of those who make it, those vulnerable and brave enough to open their hearts and throats and share this with others.

Brian Newhouse Chair, Chorus America

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Awards

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antabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley participated in the 2019 European Choir Games in Gothenburg, Sweden, earning a gold medal in the Grand Prix level of the competition. Cantabile’s Young Men’s Choir, appearing in its first international competition, also received a silver diploma. The 2019 games brought together 171 choirs and over 6,300 singers from 47 countries, and Cantabile was one of only two American choruses to participate.

Two choruses are the recent recipients of $100,000 grants: Resonance Ensemble of Portland, Oregon, received support from the Oregon Community Foundation Creative Heights Initiative to commission and premiere

An African American Requiem from composer Damien Geter. Central Florida Community Arts (pictured) in Orlando was surprised with a 2019 Disney Grant to expand its outreach programs for youth in underserved communities. n

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The Voice EDITORIAL DEADLINES: Winter 2019/20: November 15, 2019 Spring 2020: January 24, 2020

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s part of its 25th anniversary celebration, the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus (JCC) commissioned a public art installation in downtown Jacksonville. JCC held a public unveiling and block party on Friday, August 9, where JCC’s Touring Choir performed during the ceremony.

The installation is based on a design by JCC graphic designer Carolyn Audije and was brought to life by sculpture artist Jenny Hager-Vickery.

Lyon s Named Di rector L au reate

YPCC Sparks Collaboration to Create Opera Illuminating Wrongfully Convicted

© G re t j e n H e l e n e . co m

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groundbreaking new opera can trace its inspiration back to Cincinnati’s Young Professionals Choral Collective (YPCC).

Blind Injustice, premiered by the Cincinnati Opera in July with the help of 16 YPCC singers in the chorus, is based on the book of the same name that explores the true stories of six people who were falsely convicted and

ultimately freed after years of imprisonment as a result of efforts by the Ohio Innocence Project.

YPCC artistic director KellyAnn Nelson learned about the Ohio Innocence Project’s work from the fiancée of a YPCC singer and then brought the idea of creating a production to the Cincinnati Opera.

Premieres

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n June 9 in Palo Alto, California, iSing Silicon Valley gave the world premiere of Never Shall I Forget by Adam Schoenberg, a setting of Elie Wiesel’s Night, adapted by Charles Anthony Silvestri. The piece was supported by Chorus America’s 2018 Dale Warland Singers Commission Award.

In June, The Crossing premiered Aniara, the Philadelphia ensemble’s first choral theater work, over three years in the making. The project was a collaboration involving composer Robert Maggio, The Crossing director Donald Nally, and Klockriketeatern—a Finnish nomadic theater company led by artistic director Dan Henriksson.

The work is based on a 1956 novel by Harry Martinson that follows a group of voyagers whose spaceship is thrown off course after fleeing Earth. The first performances were given June 20–23 at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Philadelphia. The collaborators then brought the production to the Netherlands July 3–4 and to the Finnish National Opera September 17–21.

In April, Siskiyou Singers of Ashland, Oregon, presented the world premiere of I’lana Cotton’s Butterfly, performed in English, Hebrew, and Japanese. The piece was commissioned as

a tribute to Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania at the outbreak of World War II, who defiantly approved visas for thousands of Jews fleeing the Nazis. The chorus featured the piece during its tour of the Baltic States this summer, including a performance before the Sugihara Memorial at the Holocaust Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Two choruses presented world premieres from composer Ola Gjeilo: Albany Pro Musica— where Gjeilo serves as composer-in-residence— gave the premiere of Joy for chorus and orchestra on May 5. On October 5 in Denver, Kantorei presented the premiere of The Road, Gjeilo’s musical portrait of his homeland, Norway, with texts by poet Charles Anthony Silvestri. Gjeilo also accompanied the choir at the concert.

On May 18, Seattle Pro Musica presented the world premiere of Panta Rhei (“everything flows”) by artistic director Karen P. Thomas, a 13-minute work for chorus, string orchestra, and soprano solo (sung at the premiere by Roomful of Teeth’s Estelí Gomez) incorporating Hebrew Psalms and writings of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus.

The Winston-Salem Girls Chorus celebrated its 20th anniversary on April 28 with a gala concert, giving the premiere of My Cage, u

t the 2019 Conference in Philadelphia, Chorus America named Mary Lyons (pictured), immediate past chair of the Pacific Chorale and former Chorus America board member, as Director Laureate.

The honor recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership as members of Chorus America’s board of directors and had significant impact on the choral field.

Lyons served on the Chorus America Board for a total of 21 years, most of them as a board officer. She applied her leadership and philanthropy to support key program areas such as education and community engagement and conducting programs.

Her expertise and guidance helped develop what is now the Chorus America Education and Community Engagement Award.

NCC P erforma n ce at Korea n Dem i l i tar i z ed Zon e E n co u rages P eace

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n July 13, the National Children’s Chorus (NCC) performed with the Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra inside an old military facility at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. The performance was part of the 2019 Lindenbaum Music Festival, founded to encourage harmony between the two Koreas. The collaboration required multinational meetings and government approvals in order to gain special access to the restricted area within the Korean DMZ.

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Cantate Chamber Singers Marks Transition with Commission for Two Conductors

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t Gisele Becker’s final concert as music director of Cantate Chamber Singers, she celebrated the end of her 25-year tenure in a unique way: conducting a piece side by side with music director-designate Victoria Gau. “I had requested a piece be written for my last concert that would be in part for two conductors,” said Becker. “Andrew Simpson, a very dear friend and our accompanist, wrote the piece to my husband Bert’s poetry. Vicki and I were doing it as a team, which I thought gave just the right impression that I’m completely in support of the future.” Added Gau, “It was a symbolic thing.

And it let me start to become a familiar face in rehearsal and get to know the singers.”

The moment marked an artistic director transition two years in the making, where Gau took on a music director-designate role for the entirety of Becker’s final season. Becker, Gau, and Cantate board chair Thad Garrett shared some thoughts behind their approach and takeaways from the process.

How did the plan to overlap the transition by a year come about? Who was involved in the decision?

Gisele Becker (GB): I really didn’t want to be over-involved. I thought that was important for me not to have any input. I gave Cantate two years’ notice—at the time, it seemed ridiculous, because it’s a very part-time job for a very small organization. But I thought in terms of where the organization was in their strategic planning, I wanted to make sure that there was room for the new director to have input on the next number of years.

Thad Garrett (TG): The first step was deciding what we as an organization wanted to do. To many people, Cantate was Gisele, and we spent the first year alone holding focus groups with singers, our advisory board, and donors on whether

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The Voice, Fall 2019

Incoming and departing music directors Gisele Becker (left, in foreground) and Victoria Gau (right), are recognized with composer Andrew Simpson (center) after teaming up to conduct Simpson’s piece [It Is Time] in Becker’s final concert with Cantate Chamber Singers.

TG: It was after we made that decision to have an overlap year that we started realizing the potential benefits. Of course, one of the biggest ones is that it helped us communicate to our audiences and our donors that we weren’t going anywhere. To stress that point, we held donor events with both Gisele and Victoria present as a warm transition. That was hugely successful.

to continue. At the end of that year, the board felt we had enough singers and donors committed to stay on board that we voted to find a new music director.

It was also wonderful to give Vicki a year to ease into the group. We had a casual social event for the singers to meet her in August 2018 before we started rehearsals for Gisele’s final season.

We needed some ideas about her first season for grant applications—those are always due a year or more before the season begins. We did not have her start attending board meetings until January 2019 (about halfway through the transition year). It really allowed her to hit the ground running. I just can’t imagine what this would have been like without that overlap—I think we would have lost many more singers and donors. We had our first rehearsal with Vicki, and it still feels like the choir I fell in love with! Challenging music and a strong sense of community.

Initially, we planned to start the search process so that we would be auditioning candidates during Gisele’s final year, but we soon realized that was a big risk. We were going to be stretched very thin planning and preparing for Gisele’s final concert and send-off celebration, and—the much more significant reason—we were afraid that if our search failed, we wouldn’t have time for a second search. We wanted to give ourselves a cushion, in case we needed to do a second search or reconsider our decision to continue on.

What were the benefits of having a full year with the incoming and outgoing artistic director?

Victoria Gau: For me, it was fantastic. When I was in graduate school, one thing that I’ll never forget my professor saying is, “We build our careers on the bones of our predecessors.” What usually happens is you step into a situation where the organization has basically no relationship with you and is very sad that this person that they love has left. And you have to kind of step in and make your mark.

With this setup, I was able to build a relationship with the Cantate organization, starting with major donors who I was introduced to by Gisele herself, who said, “This is the person who has been chosen, and I feel wonderful about this choice.”

We were able to present a sense of continuity and confidence from the outgoing music director.

That’s unique. I had access to board members and the chair, and I had access to Gisele! I started to do things like go to development committee meetings, and I was able to plan my own season, which was huge.

Over the course of the spring, Gisele began her gentle process of enabling people to let go of her.

She would say things like, “Well, I don’t think you really need me at this board meeting,” and she started to step back as I stepped in. It felt like a long build to my first rehearsal. I feel like we are starting already in relationship.

What—if any—were the challenges of handling the process in this unique way?

Anything you would do differently?

GB: The main challenges were personal ones in that you still have to be very involved, but you can’t be too involved. Because the next season doesn’t involve me. After 25 years, everybody turns to you for particular things. So there are times when my response was, “Well, don’t ask me—I won’t be here.”

TG: Potentially, the biggest challenge for me would have been if Gisele and Vicki did not hit it off. One thing we did have to be mindful about was that the publicity for Vicki’s selection never overshadow honoring Gisele’s legacy, and vice versa. We came up with a timeline for the announcements and paid attention to the language we used. It all went very smoothly. Gisele’s final concert and retirement party were a huge success, and it was wonderful to have Vicki be a part of it. It was a celebration of Gisele, but it was also a celebration of Cantate— all that we’ve accomplished and the exciting future that lies ahead.

We had also briefly considered inviting the finalists to conduct pieces in our concerts. We decided against that. I am very glad we made that choice.

We held audition rehearsals with the finalists that were brief, but we definitely got what we needed.

It also let Gisele achieve her wish, which was to be completely removed from that process. She didn’t want to influence our decision—intentionally or unintentionally—and I very much respected that.

chorus connections commissioned for this occasion from composer J. Reese Norris, who was in attendance.

The Master Chorale of Flagstaff premiered Earth Teach Me, commissioned from Kira Zeeman Rugen, on April 13 during its Festival of Women Composers.

On June 9, the 18th Street Singers of Washington DC gave the premiere of Keep Close the Ghosts of Memphis, with text by Yannick Morgan and music by Mike Rowan.

On September 28, another Washington group, The Capital Hearings, premiered give me your tired, your poor by Cooper Baldwin, the winner of its 6th Young Composers Competition, and Ar Bhain Tu Diom by Ryan McCarty.

In May, the Taylor Festival Choir premiered Chelsea Loew’s LUNA, a four-movement choral cycle for flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, at the 2019 Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. n

Appointments and Retirements

©J e nnife r Girard

©Co u rtesy o f th e NEA

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teve Smith was named president of Berkshire Choral International.

Smith joins the organization from the Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus, where he served as executive director.

Mary Anne Carter (pictured) was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 1 as the 12th chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Carter had served as acting chairman of the agency since June 5, 2018.

Chicago a cappella has appointed John William Trotter (pictured) as its next artistic director, succeeding founding artistic director Jonathan Miller. Trotter has served as the ensemble’s principal music director since 2015 and is associate professor of music at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. He begins his new position in July 2020.

Eric Tuan (pictured) has been named the artistic director of the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir in Oakland, California, taking over after 33 years of leadership by founding artistic director Robert Geary, whom Tuan sang under as a chorister. Tuan u

I

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also serves as founding artistic director of Peninsula-based chamber chorus Convivium and director of music at Christ Episcopal Church, Los Altos.

The New York City Gay Men’s Chorus selected Gavin Thrasher (pictured) as artistic director. Thrasher was most recently with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, where he was assistant conductor and youth programs director before serving as interim artistic director and conductor.

Scott Allen Jarrett (pictured) has been named president of the board of Early Music America.

Among his conducting posts, Jarret directs the Bach Akademie Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Back Bay Chorale in Boston, is resident conductor of the Handel

and Haydn Society Chorus, and oversees music at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel.

Shannon Arnold (pictured) was named artistic director of the Fort Myers (Florida) Symphonic Mastersingers.

A recent graduate of Temple University’s choral conducting master’s program, Arnold also serves as director of the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church Chancel Choir and Bell Choir.

Phoenix’s ProMusica Arizona named Patti Graetz (pictured) as artistic director/ principal conductor. Graetz has enjoyed an international solo career and has held roles as a music director, conductor, and educator and has been with the ensemble since 2015 when she served as assistant conductor. The organization was also awarded $4,400 by the City of Peoria to offer free performances at public venues and senior communities in Peoria during the 2019-2020 season.

YPC National Ensemble Gives Inaugural Performances

©Alexis E scam ez

©Lydi a Bi t t n e r-B a i rd

chorus connections

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he Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC) announced the formation of YPC National, an independent nonprofit dedicated to facilitating the creation and development of youth choruses inspired by the YPC model around the U.S. Over the summer, YPC held the firstever events of its new YPC National choral ensemble, Concinamus.

On July 16, 40 YPC singers traveled to the Dominican Republic for several days of workshops and a culminating performance together with YPC National member Coro

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The Voice, Fall 2019

Juvenil Dominicano, where the combined singers made their debut as Concinamus.

The YPC choristers then headed to Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, for a week-long residency with YPC-inspired choristers from five states. Composers Bruce Adolphe and Jim Papoulis, who were commissioned by YPC National to write pieces for the residency, worked directly with the singers and conductors on their new works, which were premiered at week’s end. Concinamus also gave an encore performance at the Tennessee ACDA Conference.

The San Francisco Boys Chorus appointed Eric Choate (pictured) as artistic director, and previous director Ian Robertson has been named artistic director emeritus. Choate is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is director of music at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in San Francisco.

Key Chorale in Sarasota, Florida, recently celebrated two appointments: Johnette Cappadona (pictured) has taken on a newly created position of director of community engagement. Cappadona comes to the chorale with a long career in arts management and development, including many years with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Jamal Sarikoki (pictured) has been named associate conductor. Sarikoki also currently serves as minister of music and worship at Venice Presbyterian Church and artistic director of the Venice Community Concert Series.

Chicago-based Acappellago announced Vicki Linich (pictured) as its next music director, succeeding founders Dennis and Pat Smith. Linich also directs the Congregational Church of Batavia and is president and owner of Linich Music.

The New York City Master Chorale appointed Dusty Francis as artistic director.

Francis joined the organization in 2014 as assistant conductor.

The Houston Chamber Choir appointed April Harris (pictured) as manager of operations. A 10-year arts management veteran, Harris comes to the organization with a background in theater, instrumental music, and visual art.

Jenny Wong (pictured) was named interim artistic director and conductor of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

Wong also currently serves as associate conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Brian Newhouse stepped down as host of Classical Minnesota Public Radio’s live broadcasts with the Minnesota Orchestra after more than 25 years. Newhouse continues to serve as managing director of classical programming at Classical MPR and chairs the Chorus America board. n

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he Chorus America board of directors elected Brian Newhouse (pictured) as its new chair during its June meeting. Newhouse is managing director of classical programming at Classical Minnesota Public Radio in the Twin Cities. The programs he manages reach more than three million listeners each week. He succeeds Catherine Peterson (pictured), who served in this role for the past three years.

The board also welcomed eight new members (pictured l-r) in June: Jeff Barnett, partner & CFO, Dorsal Capital Management LLC; Dashon Burton, professional singer; Iris

Derke, co-founder and general director, DCINY; Miguel Felipe, associate professor and director of choral activities, University of Arizona; John Nuechterlein, former president and CEO, American Composers Forum; Molly Pontin, VP & education director, Pacific Chorale; Andrea Ramsey, composer, conductor, and music educator; and Anthony Trecek-King, president and artistic director, Boston Children‘s Chorus. © D av i d J o h n st o n

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appella Romana (Portland, Oregon) released a new recording, Venice in the East, highlighting the development of ancient liturgical traditions on the islands of Crete and Cyprus during the Renaissance, when they were under Venetian rule.

The Gothic Catalog issued a CD of the music performed at the dedication service of the recently renovated Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California—the tenthlargest diocese in the United States—featuring many newly commissioned works and a 225-voice choir with orchestra and organ.

GIA Publications published The Melodic Voice: Conversations with Alice Parker, a series of interviews with the composer, conductor, and teacher that offers an intimate view of her life and music, written

by Cameron LaBarr and John Wykoff. n

C horu s A mer ica B oard of Di rectors E lects New L eaders

© Tat i a n a D a u be k

Releases

Grant Gershon and Anne Keiser rotated off the board after nine years of service. David Howse (six years of service) and Hugh Davies (three years of his second board service) rotated off as well. Michael McCarthy completed nine years of his second board service, ending a total of 21 years of board service, primarily as Chorus America’s dedicated treasurer.

Garden State Girlchoir presents-

Girlchoir National Convention “Let Freedom Sing!”

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Sunday, July 12 - Friday, July 17, 2020

Girlchoir National Convention is a six-day choral festival bringing together two young

women singers from every state in the Union to celebrate the beauty, recognize the power, and affirm the importance of girl choirs. Coinciding with the 2020 Democratic National Convention, participants in this non-partisan festival will enjoy once-in-a-lifetime musical, cultural and civic opportunities.

For more information, visit gardenstategirlchoir.org.

Or contact us at letsisterhoodsing@cychoirs.org or 215-849-1762.

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9

Voices of CHANGE

Building a More Inclusive Choral Community A panel discussion at the 2019 Conference capped off Chorus America’s inaugural “Voices of Change” program—an effort to foster more collaboration and inclusiveness in the Philadelphia-area choral community and provide leaders with education on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Now the time has come to identify insights from this cohort that are relevant to choruses elsewhere. What might choral leaders expect when venturing into DEI discussions and attempting to build new connections in their choral communities? Voices of Change participants, facilitator Nicole Robinson, and Chorus America staff reflect on what was gained over the course of the year, as well as seeds planted that will take continued work to nurture.

B Y M I K E R O WA N

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n a brisk Friday morning last October, 22 individuals from Philadelphia’s vibrant choral community gathered downtown for the first in a series of workshops on diversity, equity, and inclusion in and across their choruses. Many represented institutions long considered pillars of the local arts community.

But for the most part, the group didn’t know each other.

“The choral community here is just so broken down into different segments and sections,” notes Waltier Blocker, artistic director of the St. Thomas Gospel Choir.

“What truly excited me about this program was the opportunity to get to know the community at a much deeper and meaningful level,” says Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia executive director Flo Gardner.

“I mean, I’ve been singing with the Mendelssohn Club since I was 19, but I’ve never actually met anyone from Singing City,” which, much like her organization, is a large, auditioned community chorus with decades of history. “We’ve been working in the same space, performing in the same venues for years.”

A Microcosm of a Growing Imperative Philadelphia’s situation is not unique, explains Chorus America associate director of membership and programs Christie McKinney, who spearheaded the Voices of Change pilot. She has often observed similar fragmentation when facilitating local programs with Chorus America. “Choruses frequently get so wrapped in the grind of keeping their organization alive that they tend not to make time for building community among their colleagues in the area,” McKinney says.

The pilot aimed to address this isolation, as well as to emphasize a more fundamental need for choruses to broaden their communities. “There is a constant question from our membership about how to stay relevant, with so many ways that people can spend their time, and this question is often tied to how choruses can grow their audience,” McKinney says. “And I think inherent in audience-building is the question of who’s in your community.” When choruses don’t know their peer institutions across town, it indicates that they may not be paying attention to segments of their community where they could form important relationships and expand their reach, McKinney adds.

Diversifying these relationships has never been more important for choruses, especially for those focusing on Western European musical traditions. North America’s increasingly diverse audiences are demanding that arts organizations reflect their communities and make room for voices of marginalized populations in their programming. “There is a growing outcry in this country to address long-standing inequities—barriers to participation and distribution of resources,” says Chorus America president and CEO Catherine Dehoney, “and increasing awareness in the last few years that we haven’t made as much progress as we once thought.” Dehoney adds that choruses should be aware that

Vo i c e s o f C h an g e Pa r t i c i pan t s

P

articipants in the Voices of Change inaugural cohort represented a cross-section of Philadelphia’s vibrant and diverse choral community, and a wide range of artistic and administrative roles.

Philadelphia Heritage Chorale Donald Dumpson, Founder and Artistic Director Darlene Elliott, Singer Michael Gilmore, Singer Kelly Mobley, Chair

Chorus America Christie McKinney, Associate Director of Member Services and Programs Mike Rowan, Associate Director of Communications

Philharmonia Mitos Andaya Hart, Artistic Director Austen Wilson, Singer Singing City Jane Murphy, Board Member Cortlandt Matthews, Choir Administrator and Office Manager

Commonwealth Youthchoirs Martha Platt, Managing Director The Crossing Jonathan Bradley, Executive Director Alexandra McFadden, Operations Manager

Sister Cities Girlchoir Anne Agresta Dugan, Camden Program Manager Alysia Lee, Founder & Artistic Director Emily Watkins, Philadelphia Program Manager

Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia Flo Gardner, Executive Director John Leonard, Acting Artistic Director Charlotte Sibley, Chair

St. Thomas Gospel Choir Waltier Blocker, Director Daryn Stewart, Singer Charles Holloway, Singer

Opera Philadelphia (T-VOCE) Michael Bolton, Vice President of Community Initiatives Veronica Chapman-Smith, Manager of Out of School Time Initiatives Valerie Gay, T-VOCE co-founder Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus Joseph J. Buches, Artistic Director Anthony Reisinger, Chorus President Ron Perri, Organization Coordinator

leading arts funders are committed to investing in cultural equity, and organizations that want to make a case for this type of funding will be urged to show their impact on a wider community.

Another reason Gardner felt eager to join the cohort was that she had already noticed these shifting attitudes reflected in Mendelssohn Club audience surveys. “It wasn’t uncommon for us to see comments to the effect of, ‘You shouldn’t be singing that repertoire [e.g., gospel]—it feels weird,’ or ‘That’s a lot of white people up there.’”

For Blocker, there was an opportunity to

Facilitator Nicole Robinson, Founder & CEO, Cultural Connections by Design

Guest Presenter ©Temple Univ.

While participants in the Voices of Change cohort—who represented symphonic, professional, church-based, children and youth, and volunteer choruses from various distinct communities—came in with DEI goals for themselves and their organizations, they faced a common challenge of uniting disparate facets of the Philadelphia choral scene.

Rollo Dilworth, Vice Dean, Professor of Choral Music Education, Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance

gain tools to help him interact with the members of his already quite diverse chorus.

“I deal with individuals that are from so many different backgrounds, from ages to genders, to sexualities, to religions. This program is important to give me a different perspective from a leadership position.”

Chorus America faced a challenge of its own that became apparent as Dehoney and McKinney worked to assemble a racially and ethnically diverse Voices of Change cohort.

They found Chorus America’s current Philadelphia-area membership to be heavily skewed toward predominantly white u www.chorusamerica.org

11

Voices of Change choruses—a result of the organization’s history of serving mostly choruses with the same independent 501(c)(3) model. It took targeted searches of the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance membership and the nonprofit database GuideStar to identify majority-minority choruses in the area.

“The Right Environment” Identifying a diverse group of organizations was only one step in a deliberate process.

Philadelphia was chosen as the inaugural location because of its proximity to Chorus America offices in D.C., because the 2019

Conference in Philadelphia provided a natural outlet to share outcomes, and because the city is home to a funding source interested in cultural equity and also new to choral music.

Much care was given to designing a welcoming space so that dialogue around potentially sensitive topics would not feel threatening. An essential ingredient was a trusting relationship with the facilitator of the program. Working with a facilitator who represents a minority group specific to the cohort city’s history—especially if the facilitator knows that city well—can help tremendously, advises McKinney. Chorus America connected with Nicole Robinson, a career music educator who happened to be launching her own DEI consulting

“I deal with individuals that are from so many different backgrounds, from ages to genders, to sexualities, to religions. This program is important to give me a different perspective from a leadership position.” –Waltier Blocker

12 The Voice, Fall 2019

company in Philadelphia. “I believe you have to start with understanding self,” Robinson says of her approach to diversity education. “We cannot start making transformative change until people individually start changing and developing.”

When the workshops began, Robinson set the tone for individual growth with activities that emphasized personal discovery along with collective responsibility.

Her first reading assignment for the cohort illuminated the effort required to foster diversity through a memorable, parablestyle story about a backyard pond, “The Right Environment,” which conveys the lesson that a healthy ecosystem where all inhabitants can thrive demands detailed preparation and follow-through.

The program was configured to include multiple leaders from each participating chorus, making it easier to break the ice early on. Participants began by pairing off with someone from another organization, learning about each other, and introducing their partner’s chorus to the full group.

“Nicole immediately set us at ease—she is particularly humble and approachable, and has a really good sense of humor,” Gardner

explains. “You just felt like you were in a safe place that allowed you to be vulnerable in a way that you’re not given a chance to do very often.” “When I got to know everybody during the first gathering, it was almost like family,” says Charles Holloway, a singer with St. Thomas Gospel Choir. “If we trust each other, then we are free to open up and accept different ideas from every person and every type of organization. You have to build the foundation from the bottom up.”

Shared Vocabulary, Shared Experiences With a supportive environment in place, Robinson was able to introduce new concepts and stimulate discussion. Though many of the participants had previously engaged in DEI work, they found it enlightening to frame the issues in a group setting. “I came in with the idea that I had a pretty good handle on the ‘isms’ or the oppressions that happen within our society,” says Veronica Chapman-Smith, who works with T-VOCE, a choral program for underserved youth founded by Opera

“We’re constantly trying to make sure we have the correct vocabulary, so that people don’t feel isolated or excluded.”

–Veronica Chapman-Smith

Philadelphia. “I’ve learned that I’m not as well-versed as I thought I was.”

She and others appreciated the chance to unpack terminology that was perhaps familiar, yet not fully understood. A hallmark of Robinson’s teaching is the use of proprietary games she has developed, including a card game that illustrates a concept coined by UCLA law professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw called “intersectionality”—how facets of one’s identity such as race, gender, and education level can “intersect” to create more privilege in some situations and, in others, more marginalization. For many participants, it flipped a switch. “I think I really understood intersectionality for the

first time in its full sense because of the card game,” says Jonathan Bradley, executive director of The Crossing.

Bradley appreciated the emphasis on the functionality of key terms, which he feels allowed him to apply them in conversation.

“For people to have a discussion, there need to be definitions,” he says. “We need tools to assess and understand each other’s experiences so that we can build bridges between the worlds that we live in.”

Chapman-Smith is trying to introduce these discussions to her group of teens, many of whom belong to minority groups, including the transgender community.

“We’re constantly trying to make sure we have the correct vocabulary, so that people don’t feel isolated or excluded,” she says.

For some, it was helpful simply to know that they were in the same boat as other participants. “I’m always thinking it’s just my choir—but others have the same challenges that I have,” says Blocker.

Anthony Reisinger, diversity and inclusion chair and incoming president of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus (PGMC), feels the same way: “It’s like, oh, wow, we’re not alone.” u

www.chorusamerica.org 13

Voices of Change

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“I think that there’s a lot of power in shared experience,” says Sister Cities Girlchoir artistic and executive director Alysia Lee. She recalls that the room was buzzing with conversation during lunch and in between sessions, as participants asked each other how the workshop content they’d just absorbed applied to their organizations. “I think there is definitely a greater sense of people feeling like they can reach out to each other about anything across the cohort, because we had this experience together,” she adds.

“What resonated the most with me in this particular program is not necessarily what I’m doing for my organization,” says Reisinger.

“It taught me a lot about me.”

“To be relevant, art always has to answer the question, why should anybody care? I think challenging ourselves in that way is healthy for the development of choral music.”

–Jonathan Bradley

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As with anything that takes time to process, several of the participants experienced their most valuable learning moments in situations where they faltered. “Even before we started this cohort, I shared with the chorus that we were participating in this program, and that this was a topic that we as an organization feel strongly that we need to explore,” Gardner says. “I was informed afterwards that one of our singers who is not white felt called out by me saying that diversity was an issue in our chorus. I really struggled with why that was.”

The situation was tricky to address, says Gardner, since the issue was brought to her indirectly and she did not want to risk further singling out the chorister by responding herself.

Instead, the person who brought the concern to Gardner communicated with the hurt singer and acknowledged the chorus’s ongoing learning process with DEI work. In addition, when speaking about important DEI-related topics, she now scripts her remarks with extra

© MG Pi ctu res

Robinson and a panel of Voices of Change participants shared an overview of the program and reflections on the process at Chorus America’s Philadelphia Conference.

help from volunteers on the Mendelssohn Club’s chorus management council. “In hindsight I realize that when I’m talking about something that can be sensitive, I should put more thought into the exact words I use and how I frame it,” she says.

“My aha moment was hearing Nicole say that those of us who are in a privileged class need to stand up, because we have the power to help those that are marginalized,” says Reisinger. The words hit him particularly hard because a close friend who is differently abled told Reisinger that he stayed home from this year’s Pride festival when he couldn’t find a way that he could participate with the chorus. “It was really important to him—it was the 50th anniversary of the events of Stonewall Inn, the biggest Pride festival we ever had.

Nobody came to him and said, ‘How can we accommodate you to make sure that you get to enjoy this with us?’ I felt horrible.”

Reisinger took that painful exchange as a call to improve. “We talked this week about putting together a checklist for next season of things to think about that we can share with our events committee—to take everybody into consideration as they’re planning activities. It felt really good that out of a lesson that I learned, we had a conversation and now we have an action.”

Immediate Actions and Longer Journeys From the outset, Robinson guided the cohort to think ahead to outcomes. At the first meeting, every represented chorus decided on one big-picture issue that it wanted to address within the organization, so that by the program’s end, each group would formulate concrete action steps.

Bradley wants to focus first on board development and, though detailed announcements were not ready to be made public right away, cultivating a broader range of collaborations with communities that The Crossing has not engaged with.

Other participants named these same issues as priorities. In addition, at the Mendelssohn Club, Gardner aims to update hiring practices. “Through this process we realized

that the way in which we approached our artistic director search created barriers for people that didn’t have a doctorate, for example,” she says.

Some actions are small. “One of the very first things we did is put a sign on the restrooms in our rehearsal space to make them gender-neutral,” says Reisinger. “It was quick, but it showed that we were aware.”

Bradley is looking forward to holding open rehearsals and proactively inviting students of color and a wider range of students in general. Continued education is another way to get started—Reisinger says he invited Robinson to speak at PGMC’s summer board retreat.

And while visible first steps provide momentum, grappling with these issues and seeing lasting progress requires patience. Reisinger tries to foster an atmosphere where people are comfortable making mistakes and learning from them.

He says his greatest sense of accomplishment came when a senior member of the chorus asked if he was using the correct gender pronouns with auditionees. To foster that atmosphere, he advises trying to avoid publicly calling people out when they make well-intentioned errors—such as using those pronouns incorrectly.

Lee’s reflections center on spirited conversations among the cohort about big-picture questions that didn’t result in clear answers. Should increasing racial and ethnic diversity be a priority for every chorus? Particularly if inclusivity efforts have paid off with some populations—such as the transgender community—but have not been as successful at attracting people of color? Based on her experience, Lee imagines there will be predominantly white organizations that do all the right things but still don’t see a change in their composition for some time.

As many wrestle with how best to overcome historical obstacles to diversifying their organizations, Robinson reassures leaders that it’s okay to have a specific u

“If we trust each other, then we are free to open up and accept different ideas from every person and every type of organization. You have to build the foundation from the bottom up.” –Charles Holloway www.chorusamerica.org 15

Voices of Change artistic identity, whether it be gospel, early music, or any genre—the wide range of musical traditions is something she greatly appreciates about Philadelphia’s choral scene. At the same time, she encourages every chorus to take whatever steps it can to be as inclusive as possible. The real key, as Bradley articulates, may be questioning who choruses are serving and what needs their programming fulfills in the lives of others. “To be relevant,” he says, “art always has to answer the question, why should anybody care? I think challenging ourselves in that way is healthy for the development of choral music.”

Debates like the ones that Bradley and Lee highlight will challenge the field for years to come. Fortunately, it seems these discussions will continue. Early returns suggest the pilot has succeeded in forging connections across the Philadelphia choral community that will last beyond the program’s end. The feeling that the conversation has just begun was a prevailing theme—and the cohort felt it has many areas of potential collaboration it can explore.

“I think that there is an opportunity to build and expand audiences, now that we have this network that we’ve built.”

– Flo Gardner

“I think that there is an opportunity to build and expand audiences, now that we have this network that we’ve built,” says Gardner. “I know that I’m committed to trying to make that happen, whether that means attending more of my colleagues’ performances, perhaps sharing resources, marketing—it can be pretty grassroots.”

Adds Lee, “There was a strong sense of wanting to capitalize on the sheer number of folks that are involved in choirs in Philadelphia and the high level of expertise in the room. That’s something that could be explored further, outside of DEI. If we met four times for eight hours for this

program, people could make time for a semi-annual meeting.”

Voices of Change also brought valuable insights for Chorus America as it prepares to continue its work on these issues. “We’re planning to start building a DEI component into every program we offer,” says McKinney.

She also stresses the importance of continuing to offer future standalone cohort programs like the one in Philadelphia and a sense of further clarity on Chorus America’s role as the convener. “What Chorus America provided was an opportunity for the people in the room to establish a sense of trust and let them have the hard conversations,” says McKinney, “which inevitably leads to more questions.”

Those future iterations will aim to strike the same balance of self-discovery and communal action that Robinson instilled in the Philadelphia participants.

“I think it’s up to us now, collectively, to figure out how we’re going to move forward,” says Gardner. n Mike Rowan is associate director of communications at Chorus America. He also sings with a number of ensembles in Washington DC and directs The Capital Hearings.

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Insurance 101 For Choruses

What’s the best way to identify your chorus’s insurance needs and find affordable options to cover them?

Choral leaders who have gone through the process share what they have learned.

B Y KAT H RY N M U E L L E R

W

hen the Tennessee River flooded Huntsville, Alabama, during a massive rain 18 years ago, there was so much water in the offices of the Huntsville Community Chorus Association (HCCA) that no one was sure whether it came from the ground or the roof.

According to current board member Sally Priester, “we didn’t quite know where to begin.” HCCA had minimal property insurance that covered replacement of furniture and flooring, but not the two cabinets of music that were destroyed. After that event they updated their insurance policies, and following an organizational expansion this year they are re-inventorying their music library to insure it closer to its value.

Priester says “we have always been very cautious about the nuts and bolts of the business end” of the choir’s operations.

How do you connect those nuts and bolts to assemble the right insurance for your chorus? Insurance for choral organizations can be bewildering, and paying premiums sometimes feels like an expensive tradeoff for money that could be spent on your music and mission. But property damage, workers compensation claims, and weather cancellations can threaten the financial well-being and even existence of your organization. Paying out of pocket for serious property damage or injury could bankrupt a chorus, and an organization can also get in legal trouble for not having state-mandated coverage.

While insurance can at first be overwhelming, “you can’t just let it go,” says Justin Fyala, executive director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC. “It’ll come back to haunt you.” What began for him as an intensive self-education project in a previous job has developed into deep interest in insurance for choruses. “It’s so important to understand it a little instead of just pushing it aside,” he says. “The bottom line,” says Fyala, is to “make sure you have at least the minimum coverage required by your region while making sure the policy coverages work with your organization’s size and scope.”

It’s a good practice to re-evaluate your chorus’s insurance once a year, says Bob Middleton, director and owner of the Arts Insurance Program, which specifically works with performing arts organizations. (The Arts Insurance Program is partnering with Chorus America on a new affinity insurance program for members; see sidebar.) A review would also be wise if you think you’re paying too much in premiums or are worried that you don’t have enough coverage. According to Middleton, who has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, “probably 50 percent of the companies out there do not have the proper insurance in place.” u www.chorusamerica.org

19

Insurance 101 for Choruses

A Range of Coverage The insurance needs of a choir vary widely with the size and complexity of the organization. Consider the experiences and policies of The Capital Hearings, a small, volunteerled organization based in Washington DC vs. the Los Angeles Master Chorale, a large, professional chorus.

As a condition for receiving grants, the DC Commission for the Arts required The Capital Hearings to have liability insurance, and so did some of the group’s venues.

Since the a cappella ensemble has a smaller budget of under $50,000 and no paid staff, it opted for only a general liability policy.

Through the Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance website, ensemble founder (and lawyer) Dileep Srihari was connected with a local agent offering a package that includes some miscellaneous coverages relevant to fundraising events, such as full liquor liability. Srihari found the alliance’s package to be well-tailored to nonprofits.

The $1,100 premium was double what some better-known carriers had quoted, he says, “but there is some peace of mind in knowing that we’re not likely to run into situations that aren’t covered.”

A much larger organization, the Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) has 18 staff members, a board of 20, and pays all its singers union-scale wages. LAMC issues about 300 W-2’s each year to its employee base. According to CFO Steven Neiffer, its insurance includes “pretty much the full suite of things”: workers compensation, general liability, umbrella, directors and officers bundled with employment practices, and property insurance. LAMC also has coverages for cyber liability, business interruption, abuse and molestation, and hired and non-owned automobiles. (See below for details on these types of insurance.)

The organization’s total annual insurance premiums are about $50,000.

Starting Your Search Getting the right insurance is a two-step process. For one thing, you need to find an agent who understands the needs of choral organizations and knows the insurance products that can be tailored to meet them.

In a previous life Neiffer was in the com20 The Voice, Fall 2019

mercial insurance business, but even he thinks it’s essential to find an insurance broker. “You don’t do this on your own,” he says. A broker who has experience with choral organizations will have guidelines for coverage levels and know the risks your work represents.

Unfortunately, choruses are not always well served by the insurance industry at large. Bob Middleton founded the Arts Insurance Program to meet the insurance needs of performing arts organizations.

“The performing arts in general are only supported by five or six insurance companies that actually have programs for them,” says Middleton, “and within that culture itself, choirs are not really discussed.”

How do you find an agent who understands insurance for choirs? Middleton suggests talking to peer organizations— both locally and nationally, since your insurance agent does not have to be local— and getting recommendations. That’s what Craig Coogan, executive director of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, did several years ago when he began a review of the ensemble’s insurance. “We asked other local arts organizations, LGBT organizations, and general nonprofits for recommendations.”

Coogan felt that the agent and company he chose had a good understanding of the needs of nonprofits. “There was certainly some education about our specific business,” he says, “but they learned quickly and in fact came up with some product recommendations that worked really well for us.”

Types of Insurance Then comes Step Two: Before you get down to business with your agent, familiarize yourself with the types of insurance available and choose the ones that apply to your chorus. There are four main policy types and many other coverages that you may want to add for a customized insurance profile.

1

Commercial General Liability

According to the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, commercial general liability is the “core” coverage that every nonprofit should carry. It covers property damage or injury to a person on the organization’s watch. Many performing venues require $1,000,000 in liability coverage from organizations using their space. When you name the venue as an “additional insured” under the policy, your insurance company

New! Chorus America Insurance Program

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horus America now offers an affinity insurance program in partnership with the Arts Insurance Program, LLC. This new program provides our members with access to discounted insurance rates and an insurance company with expertise in working with performing arts organizations.

Highlights include: • Potential savings on insurance coverage premiums (estimated 20-40% savings) • Quotes available for General Liability, Workers’ Compensation, Directors & Officers, Umbrella, and Cyber Liability • Access to an insurance company that understands performing arts business needs • The flexibility to craft a program specific to the needs of your chorus For more information and to fill out a simple online application to receive a free quote, visit http://bit.ly/ChorusAmericaInsurance.

Please note: The Chorus America Insurance Program is available to Chorus America chorus members purchasing insurance in the U.S. only and does not include health insurance.

should supply a certificate of insurance that you can provide to the venue.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC recently used its liability insurance when a member hit his head backstage and needed physical therapy. The insurance company quickly handled the claim. Fyala feels the hassle and expense would have been much greater if the chorus had been directly responsible for the full cost.

“Having insurance not only gives you peace of mind,” he says, “it gives your singers peace of mind that if something does happen, they know that they can come to you.”

2

Directors and Officers; Employment Practices Liability

Directors and officers insurance (D&O) protects the personal assets of board members and designated employees from lawsuits related to their work for the organization.

Without D&O insurance, if a creditor sued for financial mismanagement or a former employee brought a suit for breaking employment laws, your board members’ personal assets could be at stake. Middleton jokes that a choir usually does not add a D&O policy until an attorney joins the

board and asks, “Where’s the coverage?” If you have a board, he says, you should have D&O insurance.

D&O can be combined with employment practices liability (EPL), which covers claims made by employees for hiring and firing practices, discrimination, and harassment. It protects the organization from claims that it’s not following the polices laid out in the employee handbook.

3

Workers Compensation

If you have employees or independent contractors, you must have workers compensation insurance, which covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees who are injured on the job.

It can be one of the thorniest areas of insurance for choruses because of the way performers’ work is commonly classified.

Most states group choral singers and conductors with ballet dancers and Broadway actors, whose work can involve vigorous movement, props, and pyrotechnics.

Because of that, performers in this category are often considered too great a risk to receive standard coverage. Instead, they end up in the “assigned risk” pool, eligible

only for state-sponsored coverage that is limited and very expensive.

The good news for choruses is that there are insurance companies that will work with them to provide conventional and affordable workers compensation insurance, but, according to Middleton, “unless you are an agency that specializes in the performing arts, you’re probably not even aware of which carriers will do this.” That’s why it’s so important to have an agent who has experience working with choral organizations.

4

Property

In your personal life, you probably have homeowners or renters insurance.

If your chorus owns property, you want similar protection. Commercial property insurance covers business property like furniture, supplies, and equipment, and also covers your building if you own it. It pays to repair or replace items that are stolen or damaged in a fire or natural disaster.

An important consideration when shopping for property insurance is whether to insure your property for its actual cash value or its replacement value. If your well-used risers get broken and new ones cost $10,000,

but the depreciated value of yours is $4,000, you won’t be able to replace them with an insurance payout for actual cash value.

5

Other Coverages

If your chorus has specific needs you would like your policies to cover, you may be relieved to know that most of the additional coverages below are relatively low-cost at $500-$1,000 per $1 million of coverage.

Umbrella insurance: Umbrella insurance provides a higher monetary limit of liability coverage. Most general liability policies provide $1,000,000 of coverage, so if you perform at a venue that requires $5,000,000 of insurance, you’ll need an umbrella policy that would kick in if you had any claims over $1,000,000. If your organization is large, with many assets, you may also want the additional coverage that an umbrella policy provides.

Auto insurance: If your organization owns a vehicle, you’ll need commercial auto insurance, which allows unspecified drivers and has higher limits on liability coverage than a personal auto policy— $500,000 or even $1,000,000 per accident, compared to $300,000 for a typical u

Chorus Seeks Artistic Director Heartland Men’s Chorus – Kansas City’s 100-voice gay men’s chorus seeks its next Artistic Director. The selected director will plan and lead beginning with the Chorus’s 35th season in 2020-2021.

As a member of GALA Choruses, Inc., Heartland Men’s Chorus (HMC) has established an international reputation as a leading chorus in North America. With a mission of excellence in performance, the advancement of men’s choral music, building community and reaching diverse audiences, the Chorus presents entertaining concerts of musical depth and stylistic variety that draw the largest audiences for choral programming in the Midwest.

Concert repertoire ranges from choral standards and classical selections to popular styles, including Broadway, rock and the Great American Songbook.

Program production often includes fully staged shows, choreography, costumes, lighting and multi-media. The Chorus is known for programs that inform and educate about contemporary issues relevant to the LGBTQ community and the quest for equal rights. These programs deliver powerful messages that allow HMC to achieve its vision: Our Voices Enlighten, Inspire, Heal and Empower.

The Artistic Director position is full time with salary and benefits commensurate with experience. For more information and to request application requirements, email hmc@hmckc.org. To learn more about HMC and the search process, visit hmckc.org.

www.chorusamerica.org 21

Insurance 101 for Choruses personal policy. The premium cost is similar to that of a personal policy.

If you rent vehicles to transport people or equipment, you can add a non-owned and hired automobile policy to your general liability. It provides liability and damage insurance and is generally much less expensive than purchasing insurance through the rental company. If you both own and rent vehicles, you can add non-owned and hired coverage to your commercial auto policy.

Inland marine: Originally developed to cover goods coming off ships and being transported to markets, inland marine covers portable equipment such as risers, music, and recording equipment when they’re being transported or used off-site. It is usually attached to a property policy, and can also be written to cover rented or borrowed equipment like instruments or costumes.

Valuable papers: You may have some coverage for music and other valuable papers under your property insurance, but it is likely quite limited and might not cover the full cost of replacing your library.

A valuable papers endorsement could help fill the gap.

Business interruption: Usually attached to property insurance, business interruption (also called business income interruption) insurance covers expenses and lost income due to a weather event or other disaster.

Typical business interruption insurance covers operations only for the building you’re based in. If you perform in other venues, you’ll need dependent business interruption insurance because you’re dependent on another building for your performances.

The cost of business interruption insurance depends on your exposure and how much money you want to insure against.

When considering it, think about what would happen if your venue burned down the night before your biggest concert of the year, Middleton says. “We had a client who had a business interruption claim last year over $6 million, and it was huge, but if they didn’t get that money, it would have impacted them in an incredible way.”

Abuse and molestation: An amendment to general liability insurance, abuse and molestation (also called improper sexual conduct and physical abuse liability) covers the organization in the event of allegations of abuse. The Nonprofit Insurance Alliance recommends that any organization work22 The Voice, Fall 2019

ing with “youth, developmentally disabled individuals of any age, or senior citizens” consider this coverage, and children and youth choruses, schools, and other programs where adults are working with children may be required to have it.

Volunteer accident: Volunteer accident insurance provides medical coverage for volunteers injured while engaged in chorus activities. It is included in most comprehensive general liability policies; make sure it’s included in yours so that your volunteers (including volunteer singers) are covered.

Student accident: Similar to volunteer accident, student accident insurance covers students if your organization operates educational programs.

Cyber liability: According to Middleton, cyber liability insurance is becoming more popular because of the hacking, phishing, and computer intrusion that are almost daily occurrences in the performing arts. It covers business interruption, data loss, and liability for lawsuits (for example, if patrons’ personal data is stolen).

Neiffer cautions choruses to carefully read the contract of any third-party service they’re using to sell tickets or take donations online. In most cases the contract will stipulate “that any cyber crimes that happen with regard to transactions with your customer base are your responsibility.” He says anyone in that position should consider a cyber liability policy.

Crime: A Crime policy is often added to a property policy with a low limit, say $10,000, for crimes such as employee dishonesty, fraud, and kidnapping or extortion. It can be written to have a higher limit or even be a standalone policy that lets your organization choose which types of crimes to cover.

Terrorism: Thanks to the federal government’s loss-sharing Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, most insurance companies include terrorism in all policies, including general liability, workers compensation, and property. You would need a separate terrorism policy only if you have a unique exposure, such as performing on the National Mall for the 4th of July.

Errors and omissions: Usually purchased for a premiere performance of a new musical work, errors and omissions coverage insures the piece against copyright trademark infringement claims.

While it’s expensive—usually $2,000$6,000, according to Middleton—it would protect your organization if it were sued for using someone else’s material.

Event insurance: Purchased for a specific date, event insurance covers a special occasion such as a street festival or fundraiser that is not part of your normal performance operations. Event insurance can include a higher limit than your general liability policy, and claims against it will not go against your general liability policy or affect that premium.

International travel: Purchased for the dates of a foreign performance or tour, an international travel policy provides liability and medical coverage for your volunteers and employees. Since most domestic workers compensation and liability policies do not apply overseas, it is essential to protect your personnel and organization.

Putting it all Together Once you’ve armed yourself with knowledge and found a good broker, you’re ready to collaborate with the broker on crafting your insurance coverages. Says Fyala, “you want to go in with a general idea of the policies that you’re interested in, and then you can tweak the policies with their advice.”

Working with the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, a group-share organization, saved the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington $4,000 a year on its workers compensation policy alone, he says.

Neiffer acknowledges that nobody likes to pay for insurance. As another way to reduce costs, he recommends asking your agent about bundling different policies (e.g., liability, D&O, and property) with one insurance company, which may reduce your premiums, but with the caveat to “make sure that the coverage is going to give a million dollars for each one of those things, rather than a million dollars total for all” the policies in your bundle.

“It seems like it’s a wasted cost if you go through a whole year and nothing happens,” he says. “But you know, it’s there for peace of mind and that time when something bad happens. It’s an investment in your fiduciary and financial safety.” By establishing that security, your chorus can focus on your members and the music. n Kathryn Mueller is a writer and GRAMMYnominated soprano. She has sung with Seraphic Fire, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and True Concord, and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her choral conductor husband, two small children, and geriatric dog.

MAY 14 - 17, 2020 WWW.PODIUM2020.CA

The Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime

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eleased in June at the Philadelphia Conference, Chorus America’s Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime shares exciting new data about the powerful impact that singing in a chorus has on people across generations, as well as on the communities in which they live.

The report shows that choral singing in America is stronger than ever, with more than 54 million Americans singing in choruses, and that the percentage of Americans singing has also risen over the past decade. People who sing experience personal benefits, are more connected to others, and are more likely to contribute positively to their communities. And findings comparing older choristers (65+) to older Americans in general suggest that choral singing is an important way to help older Americans remain active and stay healthier longer. The full 2019 Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime is available at chorusamerica.org.

The data in the Chorus Impact Study matters most as a tool that can help you tell your chorus’s story and help make the case for singing together. That’s why, in addition to the key findings, the Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime includes recommendations targeted to three important audiences: choral leaders, community leaders and policy makers, and the funding 24 The Voice, Fall 2019

community. These recommendations offer actionable ideas for applying the study findings to your programming, recruitment, and advocacy efforts.

Also available at chorusamerica.org are some digital tools to use in this work. These include infographics that can be shared in presentations or on social media, PowerPoint slides summarizing study findings, Americans of and talking points to draw on all ages sing together during speaking opportunities today or include in materials like programs or newsletters. ing has also increased over Whether you are citing the Chorus the past decade, up to 17% Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime in your today from 14% in 2008. grant applications, discussing the results • Music education in schools remains at a board meeting, or mentioning the key to supporting lifelong singing, with study when you invite your mayor or your 76% of choral singers reporting that their senator to your next performance, we hope first singing experience was in elementary, the report helps you leverage the power middle, or high school. of choral singing to improve lives and • People who sing feel more connected strengthen communities everywhere. to others. 73% say group singing makes

54M

Talking Points • Choral singing in America is stronger than ever, with over 54 million adults and children participating in choral groups today. The percentage of Americans sing-

them feel less lonely, and nearly 7 in 10 choral singers say that singing has helped them socialize better in other parts of their lives.

• Chorus members give back to their communities in a big way. They are more likely than other Americans to donate

Photo: ©Jamie Pham Photography; icons: ©istock.com/jojotgdc and Rambo182

Tools for Putting the New Chorus Impact Study Report to Use

Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime

money and volunteer their time to a variety of causes both inside and outside the arts.

• Choral singers are remarkably good citizens. 90% of singers report that Recommendations: they vote regularly vs. 55% of the of the How to Put this Report to Use general public, and singers also run for The Chorus Impact Study: Singing for public office more frequently than their a Lifetime includes recommendations fellow Americans. targeted to three key audiences.

• Choruses are powerhouses of connection and tolerance. Singers are more Choral Leaders in likely than the general public to Communities, Schools, say that “it is always better to and Places of Worship find ways to talk to and work • Create opportunities with people you disagree to discuss the many ways with.” And 63% believe your chorus benefits your that singing has made of singers ages 62+ community, schools, and them more accepting of reported improvements places of worship with in chronic health people who are different conditions due elected officials, key leaders, from them. to singing and other policymakers.

Invite • Choral singing promotes civic leaders, elected officials, healthy, vibrant aging, as 69% of and funders to your concerts, making singers ages 65+ report a “very good” each performance an advocacy opportunity. quality of life, vs. 22% of the general public • Use data from the Chorus Impact Study of the same age. in your grant proposals and development • Nearly 20% of older singers reported opportunities.

Illustrate the positive impacts improvements in one or more chronic health of choral singing on people, communities, conditions due to singing. and beyond.

20%

• Throughout multiple channels— programs, emails, websites, newsletters, subscription letters, donor receptions, and preconcert lectures—use information from the study to help establish an awareness of the personal and communal benefits of choral singing.

• Support in-school choral music programs. With more than 75% of choristers beginning to sing before they leave high school, these programs are crucial to the future of choral singing. Use the data in this report to encourage local communities and school districts to strengthen music education and choral music opportunities as an entry point to the lifelong benefits of choral singing. If your chorus is not part of a school, think about additional ways you might support K–12 choral programs, such as offering professional development opportunities to teachers or volunteering.

• Consider how your chorus’s current or future programs can help support and expand singing opportunities for older singers to extend the benefits of choral singing over a lifetime.

• If you are a choral leader in a place of worship, use the data in this report to u

ore at Learn m .org Chorale Phoenix

Christopher Gabbitas, New Artistic Director www.chorusamerica.org 25

The Chorus Impact Study demonstrate how choirs inherently promote and support attributes of a strong religious community, providing inspiration, fellowship, motivation, and care for one another.

• Consider how your chorus can contribute to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion in your community.

Because choral singers as a group are unusually tolerant and highly value diversity, and because choruses are places where singers of different races and ethnicities interact with each other, choruses have a lot of potential for doing effective diversity, equity, and inclusion work. The fact that most ensembles are predominantly made up of one ethnicity (predominantly white in the case of respondents to this survey) reveals an important opportunity for choruses to more fully realize this potential.

• Draw on the information in this study to help with singer recruitment.

Talk with prospective singers about the benefits of choral singing and the positive characteristics of choral singers in general to make a strong case for joining your chorus. Review the data on the reasons singers join choruses and tailor your messages to appeal to their motivations, particularly if you want to attract singers in a specific age range.

Look for potential singers through organizations where your current singers feel connected and give their time— where there may be people with similar attributes and interests.

Community Leaders and Policymakers

VII

CORALUA

INTERNATIONAL CHOIR FESTIVAL

JULY

2020

YOUNG AND ADULT CHOIRS AND INDIVIDUAL SINGERS

Trondheim, Norway

26 The Voice, Fall 2019

• Choral singers are a large and influential group of people who exhibit high levels of civic involvement and care for their communities. Consider the power of this constituency and think about how you can partner with singers and choruses to address issues, benefit your community, and raise support for policies and initiatives.

• Look for additional ways to involve choruses in community gatherings and events. When convening health and wellness policy conversations, consider including choral leaders at the table.

• Ensemble singing has the potential to improve mental and physical health for older adults, retaining them as active community members. Support projects and organizations that offer singing opportunities to benefit older constituents, whether working or retired.

• Do your part to make sure that your town, region, and state benefit from a healthy arts sector, including supporting school arts funding and arts education initiatives that establish this important pipeline. Give consideration to policies that encourage the development and sustainability of choruses and other arts organizations.

Funding Community • Choruses are powerhouses for civic engagement and creating community connections. They are a relatively inexpensive means of encouraging public participation in the arts with a low barrier to entry— just bring your voice! Consider how your grant priorities allow for the sustainability of these valuable organizations.

• Choruses also promote mental and physical health for older adults, which, in turn, has economic and social benefits for communities. If you fund programs that support older adults, consider the benefits that choruses bring to your funding portfolio.

• Involve representatives of the choral community in your convenings, research, policy, and planning dialogues.

• Consider supporting additional research on the benefits of ensemble singing. The findings in this study are limited in two ways: they are based on selfreporting, and many reflect correlation, not causation. Our hope is that this report will provide stimulus and support for the research community to further investigate the benefits that choruses and choral singers offer our communities. n

Study Funders: The 2019 Chorus Impact Study was made possible through lead support from the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Katherine B. Andersen Fund of the Saint Paul Foundation, the NAMM Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. This project was also supported by the May Festival Chorus, the San Francisco Girls Chorus, Choral Arts Society of Washington, the Colorado Children’s Chorale, Encore Creativity for Older Adults, Indianapolis Children’s Choir, and Kirkwood Baptist Church.

Chorus America’s Conducting Academy

Chorus America presents the

2020 Choral-Orchestral

Conducting ACADEMY

gives choral conductors a unique opportunity to develop choral-orchestral skills and enhance their university training.

The Academy will focus on Haydn’s Creation. The program concludes with a performance in Meng Concert Hall.

Faculty Rob Istad

Conducting Academy Dean Director of Choral Studies, California State University Fullerton; Artistic Director, Pacific Chorale

Lucinda Carver

July 13–19, 2020 Build choral-orchestral skills and advance your career in a supportive learning environment with master teachers.

Vice Dean, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music

David Hayes

Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies, Mannes School of Music; Staff Conductor, Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Eugene Rogers Director of Choirs, University of Michigan

Duain Wolfe

Director and Conductor, Chicago Symphony Chorus; Conductor, Colorado Symphony Chorus

d Ava etails i choru lable same at rica

In partnership with

Applications for Conducting Fellows and Scholars Now Open!

Deadline: January 15, 2020 n Conducting Fellows | $1,325 (limited to 12 participants) n Conducting Scholars | $950 (limited to 16 participants)

.org/ ca20 20

n Choral Education Workshop | $475 The 2020 Conducting Academy will partner with California State University, Fullerton’s Choral Education Workshop for K-12 music educators. Led by Christopher Peterson, professor of music at CSUF, this returning program combines professional development with the opportunity to sing a choral masterwork and runs concurrently with the Academy.

The workshop is open to all levels of conductor and requires no audition.

Online registration is open.

2019 Conference in Philadelphia With sessions focused on forward-thinking administrative, artistic, and community-building ideas, Chorus America’s 2019 Conference in Philadelphia brought the choral community together.

All photos by MG Pictures

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horus America’s 2019 Conference, held in Philadelphia from June 26-29, brought together over 500 choral leaders for four days of learning, professional development, and making meaningful connections. This year’s Conference was also a bit of a homecoming for Chorus America, as the organization was founded in Philadelphia over 40 years ago.

The vibrant and diverse Philadelphiaarea choral community continues to be an important force in moving the choral u Commonwealth Youthchoirs at the Opening Night Concert

(L-R) Opening plenary presenters Kai Ryssdal, Mara Walker, and Eddie Torres with Chorus America president and CEO Catherine Dehoney The Philadelphia Heritage Chorale at Saturday’s Closing Concert 28 The Voice, Fall 2019

The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia performing Tan Dun’s Water Passion after Saint Matthew Inset: Alice Parker presents at a breakout session

Conversations among colleagues during Peer Forums

“The highlight of the Conference were the moments between sessions and events when I could connect with colleagues and friends.

The sessions were great but it’s the networking that puts Chorus America at the top.”

Visiting the exhibit area

www.chorusamerica.org 29

2019 Conference field forward, and Conference 2019 highlighted the city’s choruses with an impressive roster of concerts, including a special Closing Concert on Saturday afternoon.

Host chorus the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia gave the Philadelphia premiere of Tan Dun’s Water Passion after St. Matthew, and other performances featured Choral Arts Philadelphia, Commonwealth Youthchoirs, Philadelphia Heritage Chorale, St. Thomas Gospel Choir, The Crossing, and The Princeton Singers.

Connecting with colleagues at the Opening Night Reception

Conference Support

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onference attendees helped bolster Chorus America’s programs and services by generously supporting the 2019 Conference Campaign. Donors contributed more than $27,017, including a $5,500 gift in matching funds from ACFEA Tour Consultants. In addition, Chorus America received proceeds from DCINY’s Fun Run to be contributed towards this year’s Conference Campaign. Auction efforts coordinated by board members Corty Fengler, John Earls and Mary Doughty Mauch, raised nearly $46,000, including a silent auction and a live auction led by auctioneer Jonathan Miller. Many thanks to all our donors!

Amanda A. Adams-Barney Frank S. Albinder John Alexander Lauren Anderson Phyllis Anderson Anton E. Armstrong Joan Aspan Mary Ann Aufderheide Ann Meier Baker Amanda Bauman Carla Beauchamp Stephen Marc Beaudoin Marina Belica Christina Benson Charles Andrew Berardesco Liza W. Beth Dorte Bille Harold G. Black Brainerd Blyden-Taylor Ragnar Bohlin Liam Bonner Mimi Bornstein Sarah Bowe John Andrew Bradford Elise Margrete Brancheau Ryan James Brandau Elladean Brigham Andrew Brown Lou Brummet Philip Brunelle Ian Bullen

30 The Voice, Fall 2019

Andrea Burgoyne Betsy Burleigh Frank Cassel Trevor Cloak Jill Clymer Linda Sharon Coleman Jennifer C. Collins Craig B. Coogan Casey Cook Shawn Crouch Matthew Culloton Tad Czyzewski Ofer dal Lal Michael R. Davis Debra Defotis Catherine Dehoney Ellie Dehoney Mary Deissler Rhett M. Del Campo Iris Derke Stan DeWitt Kathy Dilenschneider Jennifer Dilzell Dominick DiOrio III Joy Douglass Michael A. Drummond Angelica Marie Dunsavage Christopher Eanes John G. Earls Rikke Ramm Eberlein Morna Edmundson

Brandon Elliott Anne R. Grobstich Erps Todd H. Estabrook Timothy Evers Kathleen A. Fargnoli Miguel Ángel Felipe Corty Fengler Caroline Firman Katherine L. FitzGibbon Julie Flanders José Daniel Flores Caraballo Thomas Fowke II Allison Fromm Flo Gardner Marthalia Joyce Garrett Wanda Gereben Grant Gershon Angie Godfrey Lisa Graham Carey Grassinger Carol Haas Gravagno Louise H. Greenberg Matthew Greenberg Willie Griffin Jonathan Griffith James A. Grigsby Erin Guinup Greg Harris Jennifer Hayman Rebecca Heindel Elfrieda E. Heinrichs Emily Frye Henriksen Stacey Hill Shayla A. Hines Justin Hockemeyer Kathleen Holt Kathryn Hunt Robert M. Istad Anthea Jackson Josh Krugman Robyn Reeves Lana Virginia R. Lange Mary Langsdorf Mark W. Lawson Don Lee

Jacob Levine Rachel Lurie Mary A. Lyons Katie MacDonald Jacob Alexander Mandell Nancy C. Maret Melissa Margolis Anne Matlack Whitney McColley Luke McEndarfer Christie McKinney Allison McMillan Ann P. McNair Scott Mello Jonathan M. Miller Marcela Molina Marty L. Monson Julie Morgan Anne Moul Brian Moul Wendy K. Moy Steven P. Neiffer Brian Scott Newhouse Mark Nickel JJ Norman John Nuechterlein Joseph Osowski Nora O’Sullivan Kevin T. Padworski Cheryl H. Parsons Catherine Peterson Dianne Peterson Vince Peterson Molly Pontin Mark Powell Marilyn Pryor Patrick Dupré Quigley Andrea Ramsey Doreen Rao Leonard Ratzlaff Susan Reardon David R. Richie II Dail M. Richie Meredith A. Riekse Gregory C. Ristow

Matthew Robertson Eugene C. Rogers Jen Rogers Marc Ross Mike Rowan Peter Rutenberg Valerie Sainte-Agathe Lee Linden Saville-Iksic David Schelat Jeremiah Selvey Karen Sessler Elizabeth Shepley George Phillip Shoultz III Charlotte Sibley Karen Siegel Julie Skeen Alison Skinner Katie Skovholt Ben A. Spalding Jan Špalek Jenni Stadtmiller Jennifer Lee Stammers Edmund W. Stawick Brandon Straub Rana M. Strickland Steven R. Sunderman Barbara M. Tagg Linda Tedford Karen P. Thomas Ryan Tibbetts Sandra Timmons Tia Titgemeyer Scott Tucker Gretchen M. Upholt Amie Vandersluis Bruce Walker Lauren Walker Stephanie Webb Lizz Wells Nate Widelitz Gayle Wieand Douglas Hughes Wilton Hannah Won Michael Wu

Perform at the Meyerson

Dallas, Texas • July 15-19, 2020 SATB and SSA Choirs Invited

Jane Ramseyer Miller, artistic director of GALA Choruses, speaking at the President’s Dinner about the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and the important social justice work done by choruses

Conference programming also featured a session on “Voices of Change”—a Chorus America program that brought together a cohort of Philadelphia-area choral leaders to explore issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the year leading up to Conference (see article on p. 10).

Plenaries included Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal in conversation with Eddie Torres of Grantmakers in the Arts and Mara Walker of Americans for the Arts about arts funding and social impact, and musician, educator, and founder of the nonprofit organization Play On Philly Stanford Thompson talking about the arts as a tool for positive personal and community change. At Thursday’s Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration, which featured a special performance led by Nolan Williams Jr., Chorus America released findings from the new Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime report (see article on p. 24). u

Guest Conductor Dr. Julie Yu-Oppenheim

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

Rhythm & Songwriting Clinician Jim Papoulis

www.NTChoirs.com • Ann Smith • ann@ntchoirs.com • 469-301-1718

“The intensive nature of the conference, the camaraderie, and the national networking opportunities make this by far the most valuable professional development opportunity for me.”

GREAT VENUES CONCERTS FESTIVALS CULTURAL EXCHANGE SIGHTSEEING 1-800-300-8841 info@concept-tours.com www.concept-tours.com David Morrow leads a Roundable discussion on performing music from the African American tradition

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MELODIOUS ACCORD, INC. Study with Alice Parker Sharing the Song Oct. 30-Nov. 2

This three-day workshop on the campus of Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis will provide inspiration and instruction for those who would like to lead singing in school, worship, and/or community settings. Info@sharingthesong.org

Melodious Accord Seminars

Plenary speaker Stanford Thompson

2019 Conference Breakout sessions deepened conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion and explored topics like recruiting great new board members and programming a season that is artistically adventurous while furthering organizational and financial goals.

“As a first-time attendee, I was particularly impressed with how well Chorus America seemed to live up to its mission. The organization really seemed interested in furthering thoughtful, forward-thinking, and community-building ideas and organizations.”

The 2019 Conference offered many opportunities to connect with colleagues, including facilitated Peer Forums, Roundtables for small group discussions, One-on-One consultations, and informal networking events like a happy hour mixer for composers and conductors.

Professional and professional-aspiring chorus leaders attended a special Professional Chorus Incubator. This extended, peer forum-style discussion explored current trends in the

Groups of 4-5 musicians with common interests join Alice Parker at her home in scenic western Massachusetts for discussions on composition, choral conducting, song leading, teaching, or melody studies. Meeting dates for the 3 day period and focus for the group will be mutually agreed upon. Form your own group or we can help assemble a class.

Get more details on our website www.melodiousaccord.org or contact kay@melodiousaccord.org Current and former Chorus America board members at the Chair’s Reception

32 The Voice, Fall 2019

Conference Sponsors, Funders, and Exhibitors

T

hanks to those who supported the 2019 Chorus America Conference in such a significant way.

Lead Sponsor ACFEA Tour Consultants Sponsors Albany Pro Musica International Festival Arts People ASCAP Barbershop Harmony Society Berkshire Choral International Chorus Connection Distinguished Concerts International, New York (DCINY) ECS Publishing Group Encore Tours Gothic Catalog John C. Griswold Family Foundation Maestro by Tumlare, Performance Tour Specialists Manhattan Concert Productions MUSICFOLDER.com Worldstrides Onstage Programs

Above: St. Thomas Gospel Choir at the Opening Night Concert Right: Presenter Ceci Dadisman at a breakout session on Facebook advertising

professional choral field as well as possibilities for future development.

This year’s Conference would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors—especially lead Conference sponsor ACFEA Tour Consultants—which underwrote many of the sessions and events. We are so grateful to all the speakers, performers, donors, exhibitors, and volunteers and to our host and partner organizations for making the 2019 Conference a success. n

Special Underwriting Chorus America and the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia are grateful to the following funders for their support of the Conference.

Popplestone Foundation William Penn Foundation National Endowment for the Arts

“I found that there were relevant and interesting topics during every session.

This really energized me with ideas to bring back for board development and for the organization to try.”

The Crossing with composer Kile Smith after performing his work The Arc in the Sky at their Friday concert

Conference Exhibitors ACFEA Tour Consultants Albany Pro Musica Antioch Chamber Ensemble Arts Consulting Group Arts People Chorus Connection Classical Movements Commonwealth Youthchoirs Consortio.io Dean Artists Management Distinguished Concerts International, New York (DCINY) ECS Publishing Group Encore Tours Fick’s Music GIA Publications & Walton Music Give by Cell Gothic Catalog Harmony Helper INTERKULTUR Lawdon Press Maestro by Tumlare, Performance Tour Specialists Manhattan Concert Productions Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, Composer Mormolyke Press MUSICFOLDER.com Oxford University Press Perform International Prague Concert Co./Musica Orbis Festival See-a-Dot Music Publishing Stage Accents VOCE Witte Travel

www.chorusamerica.org 33

Chorus America

Honors Award Winners Photos by MG Pictures

E

Erick Lichte (center) and Stash Bylicki (right) accept Chor Leoni’s Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from presenter Anton Armstrong.

ach year, Chorus America’s Awards Program honors excellence in the choral field.

At our Philadelphia Conference, we presented 11 awards that recognized a broad range of achievements, including artistic excellence, innovative community engagement programs, adventurous programming, generous philanthropy, and distinguished service. Visit youtube.com/ chorusamerica to view video tributes to many of the award winners.

Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence (Honoring an adult volunteer chorus)

Chor Leoni Chorus America Distinguished Service Award Alan Harler Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art Brad Wells

Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal Katherine FitzGibbon Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award Singing City

Katherine FitzGibbon (right) accepts the Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal from presenter Vince Peterson.

Chorus America Education and Community Engagement Award (Honoring the best emerging program no more than four years in existence)

VocalEssence Singers Of This Age

Jeffrey Brillhart (center) and Lauren Anderson (right) accept Singing City’s Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award from presenter Alice McAllister Tillman.

Alan Harler (left) accepts the Distinguished Service Award from presenter Joshua Jacobson.

34 The Voice, Fall 2019

Molly Buzick Pontin (left) presents (l-r) Mary Ann Aufderheide, G. Phillip Shoultz, and Philip Brunelle with the Chorus America Education and Community Engagement Award for VocalEssence Singers Of This Age.

Members of C4 accept the Chorus America/ ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming from ASCAP’s Michael Spudic (left).

Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming C4: The Choral Composer/ Conductor Collective Coro Allegro Brooklyn Youth Chorus u

MUSICA ORBIS PRAGUE FESTIVAL 2020

*Antonín Dvořák, Slavonic Dance No. 3

David Hodgkins (left) and Kevin Neel (right) accept Coro Allegro’s Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming from ASCAP’s Michael Spudic.

ASCAP’s Michael Spudic (left) presents Brooklyn Youth Chorus’s Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming to (l-r) Eric Williamson, Megan Lemley, and Dianne Berkun Menaker.

16th - 20th July 2020 BE INSPIRED BY THE CITY OF SPIRES!

> FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES in the historical centre of Prague > INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS in Prague and surrounding area > Enthusiastic LOCAL AUDIENCES > MASS participation

in St. Vitus’s Cathedral at Prague Castle

> WORKSHOPS led by experienced lecturers

www.musicaorbis.com www.chorusamerica.org 35

Chorus America Officers

Chair Brian Newhouse Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media (MN) Immediate Past Chair Catherine Peterson ArtsBoston (MA) Treasurer John Earls Prospect House (OH) Secretary Marie Bucoy-Calavan University of Akron (OH)

Members of the Board

Jeffrey Barnett Dorsal Capital Management LLC (CA) Charles Berardesco North American Electric Reliability Corporation (DC) Dashon Burton Professional Singer (NY) Roland Carter University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (TN) Shawn Crouch Frost School of Music at the University of Miami (FL) Iris Derke Distinguished Concerts International, New York (NY) Rollo Dilworth Temple University (PA) Mary Doughty Mauch Conductor and Community Organizer (IL) Joy Douglass Newton Public Schools, retired (MA) Morna Edmundson Elektra Women’s Choir (BC) Todd Estabrook Handel and Haydn Society (MA) Miguel Ángel Felipe University of Arizona (AZ) Corty B. Fengler Cappella SF (CA) David Hayes Mannes School of Music (NY) Elfrieda Heinrichs The Heinrichs Foundation (ON) Robert Istad Pacific Chorale; California State University Fullerton (CA) Craig Jessop Utah State University (UT) Robyn Reeves Lana Cincinnati Youth Choir (OH) Mark Lawson MorningStar Music Publishers (MO) David Morrow Morehouse College (GA) Linda Moxley Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (MD) Steven Neiffer Los Angeles Master Chorale (CA) John Neuchterlein American Composers Forum, former (MN) Elizabeth Núñez Young People’s Chorus of New York City (NY) Dianne Peterson The Washington Chorus (DC) Molly Buzick Pontin Pacific Chorale (CA) Andrea Ramsey Composer, Conductor, and Music Educator (MO) Leonard Ratzlaff University of Alberta (AB) Eugene Rogers University of Michigan (MI) Karen P. Thomas Seattle Pro Musica (WA) Anthony Trecek-King Boston Children’s Chorus (MA) Duain Wolfe Chicago Symphony Chorus (IL); Colorado Symphony Chorus (CO)

36 The Voice, Fall 2019

(L-R) Nancy Fushan, Marge Ostroushko, and Jeanie Brindley-Barnett accept Giving Voice Chorus’s Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award from Alice Parker (center) and ASCAP’s Michael Spudic.

Robert Berry and Laura Snead of the Archie W. Berry and Grace Berry Foundation accept the Chorus America Philanthropy Award.

Beth Willer (right) accepts the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award from presenters Vanessa Rose (left) and Dale Warland.

Dale Warland Singers Commission Award Presented in partnership with the American Composers Forum

Lorelei Ensemble and Jessica Meyer, composer

Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award Giving Voice Chorus Michael Korn Founders Award for Philanthropic Contribution to the Arts Rollo Dilworth Chorus America Philanthropy Award The Archie W. and Grace Berry Foundation

Advertising Index ACDA Choral Journal................................................. 18 ACFEA Tour Consultants ........................................... 12 Albany Pro Musica.....................................................C3 Berkshire Choral International..................................... 2 Choral Canada............................................................ 23 Chorus America....................................................27, C4 Chorus Austin............................................................. 16 Commonwealth Youthchoirs........................................ 9 Concept Tours............................................................. 31 Coralua Trondheim..................................................... 26 Cultural Tour Consultants........................................... 32 Encore Tours................................................................. 7

Hal Leonard Corporation............................................ 17 Heartland Men’s Chorus............................................ 21 Manhattan Concert Productions................................C2 Melodious Accord...................................................... 32 Musica Orbis.............................................................. 35 MUSICFOLDER.com...................................................... 7 North Texas Metroplex Children’s Choirs.................. 31 Pacific International Choir Festivals.......................... 13 Phoenix Chorale.......................................................... 25 University Music Service........................................... 26 Witte Tours................................................................. 14 Yale School of Music................................................. 14

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID CLEVELAND, OHIO PERMIT #498

1200 18th Street NW, Suite 1250 Washington, DC 20036

2020

e Sav the !

Date

Chorus America

Conference

Hosted by Seraphic Fire

Sessions for choral leaders and managers, networking events, concerts, and more!

More info at chorusamerica.org

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Miami, FL | June 17–20