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A new choral E-newsletter has been inaugurated by Chorus America member Jim George. The publication title is ENSEMBLE and will focus on Southwest Florida choral groups. The publication has set up a website, www.ensemblemedia.org which will include a calendar of choral events and a photo gallery of the many choruses in the area. The newsletter will be published monthly from September to April and will publish a bulletin in the summer months.
George has been active in the choral art form for over 40 years, having founded and presided over several choruses during his tenure as a singer. "Choirs and choruses have always been my first love since grade school", He said. "It offers participation in something you love well into later life."
The idea for the newsletter came to him as he presided over a local group as president for ten years and noted the fragmentation of choral music in Southwest Florida. The first issue was published in March of this year to an initial e-mail list of 4000. That issue went viral and garnered 1000 new e-mail addresses as a result of the issue being forwarded by recipients. The website had 500 hits within two hours of the newsletter being e-mailed. "Our e-mail list is made up primarily of people who attend concerts as well as those involved in the singing. Our mission is to elevate the visibility of the choral art form in Southwest Florida," George said.
George has already signed up two contributing writers with extensive choral backgrounds and expects to pick up at least four more. Plans for the future include sponsoring a first-ever Choral Symposium in Southwest Florida.