The World Symposium on Choral Music is an eight-day festival held every three years, organized by the International Federation for Choral Music. The next symposium is scheduled for July 2020, to be hosted in Auckland, New Zealand. In anticipation of WSCM2020, symposium artistic director John Rosser, who also founded and directs the Auckland-based chamber choir Viva Voce, spoke with Chorus America about next year’s event and its theme, tangata whenua.
The Chorus Impact Study: Singing for a Lifetime sheds new light on the impact choral singing has on individuals and communities—especially singers ages 65 and up.
Last fall, Indiana University music professor, conductor, and composer Dominick DiOrio took a sabbatical to travel across the United States to observe a wide spectrum of professional vocal ensembles, from small to large and from nascent to established. After attending rehearsals and performances and meeting with artistic directors, executives, and singers, he was left with the sense that, at their core, these professional choruses have more in common with their community counterparts than he imagined.
Since last fall, a cohort of Philadelphia-area choruses has been coming together for a series of workshops and online learning activities exploring issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their choruses and choral community.
Chorus America has announced the recipients of its 2019 awards program, recognizing a broad range of achievements in choral music, including artistic excellence, adventurous programming, innovative education programs, and lifetime service to the choral art.
Said president and CEO Catherine Dehoney, “Chorus America is thrilled to honor these exceptional choruses and choral leaders who inspire our colleagues and enrich our communities through their outstanding work.”
More and more choruses are developing in-school programs in partnership with local schools and nurturing their own youth choruses. In doing this work, they are learning that successfully involving more young people and their communities in choral singing often involves meeting them where they are.
UPDATE: The Angel City Chorale was eliminated in the semifinal round of America's Got Talent. It sang Bruce Springsteen's 9/11 anthem "The Rising" in their final performance, which aired on Sept. 11.
Nonprofit leader, humor blogger, and truth-teller. It’s a unique job description, but a perfect fit for Vu Le. Le is the executive director of Seattle-based social justice organization Rainier Valley Corps and the author of NonprofitAF.com, a blog that mixes pop culture and pictures of baby animals with candid insight into the current state of nonprofits.
Expanding its work around issues of equity and inclusion in classical music, the Sphinx Organization has launched EXIGENCE, a new professional vocal ensemble made up of singers of color. What were the impulses that led to the creation of EXIGENCE? Why is this development important to the choral field?
