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Choral Blog
(Explanation from Dick Frantzreb: Choruses are organizing, rehearsing and planning concerts. This blog is devoted to the
Sacramento area's renaissance of live choral singing. Send your news to
info@sacchoralcalendar.com.)
- The Sacramento Children's Chorus has suspended operations pending
a reorganization. Here is the statement they sent to their mailing
list:
"After several months of painful discussions, leadership has decided to
suspend programming indefinitely. This will allow leadership to research,
rebuild and restructure. After this hiatus, SCC will hopefully be back
providing choral education to Sacramento youth. This decision did not come
lightly and with this decision the loss of staff. We say goodbye to Beth
Steele, Office Manager who has been with SCC for 17 years. She worked
closely with both staff and with parents and singers. She is the
organization historian and wore so many hats and did all those jobs well. We
also wish Daphne Quist, Executive Director good luck as she enters
retirement after 15 years with SCC. In December, SCC will have their annual
holiday sing-a-long (see below). Please stop by to share a memory, sing a
song and enjoy the sounds of SCC. If you would like to be involved in
rebuilding SCC, please let us know."
- Reviews of Choral Performances. In recent months I have
published reviews of 5 choral performances: Davis Chorale (April 24),
River City Chorale (May 13), Sacramento Choral Society
& Orchestra (May 14), Roseville Theatre Arts Academy Community Choir
(July 3), and Woodland Chamber Singers (July 8). They all
appear in the Capital Region Performance Gallery (www.perfcal.com).
- Ukrainian Alleluia. I think many of us will be interested
in Craig Courtney's Ukrainian Alleluia. Here's what Courtney
wrote by way of description in an e-mail yesterday (2/25/22): ""I have
been to Ukraine twice, as part of the Music in World Culture ministry to
support musicians who have suffered discrimination under the Russian regime.
Many of them were denied entrance into conservatories and many had their
instruments confiscated. Ukrainian Alleluia was written in response to
the stories of suffering I heard there.
"A few years ago, I was invited to direct a 1,000-voice Ukrainian choir
performing this piece. It happened in November in an unheated concert hall,
crowded to the point that people were standing in the aisles. When we
reached a climactic, dissonant chord followed by silence near the end of the
piece, the entire crowd gasped. It was as if all of their suffering
was present in that chord and it pierced their hearts. This piece is
even more relevant today."
You can find Courtney's 4-minute Ukrainian Alleluia on YouTube at
this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gnb5z-UT6A It's performed by the
Beckenhorst Singers under Courtney's direction ─ more information at
this link.
- The Sacramento Valley Choral Coalition is the nonprofit
organization that launched the SacSings choral festivals in 2014, 2015, 2016
and 2018 -- along with display advertising in the Sacramento Bee for choral
concerts, an almost-monthly newsletter, and other projects to promote choral
music in our region. The Coalition has been inactive for the past
several years, and it needs new members on its Board of Directors to give
energy to new projects to nurture the post-pandemic revival of live choral
music. Contact Dick Frantzreb at the e-mail address above if you're
interested in being part of the Coalition's board, and I'll convey your
interest to the current board.
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