Madison Choral Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission includes community outreach. They are known for their concerts and high-level choral music performances that bridge text, music, and singers and spectators.
In this choral drama and immersive installation, a teenage orphan takes an icon into a palace charged with power, vengeance, and dissent. The piece also explores the benefits of choir singing as one of the most inclusive activities.
Since 1996, the Choral Project has gained an international reputation for performing high-level choral literature and bridging the gap between text and music and between singer and spectator. The Ensemble has appeared in concert performances, at choral festivals, and invitationals across the United States and internationally. In 2004, the group performed in the mixed choir division at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales and was awarded a second-place finish.
The group has also toured extensively, performing at National Cathedral, San Francisco’s Mission Dolores Basilica, and Santa Cruz’s Holy Cross Church, as well as in venues throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Costa Rica. The Ensemble has won many awards and distinctions, including the 2003 Silicon Valley Arts & Business award for Performance of the Year; a 2010 Arts Council Silicon Valley Artist Laureate award in the “On Stage” category; and the first-place award at the ACDA National Student Conducting Competition.
In addition to its performance activity, the group is committed to educational outreach. The Ensemble conducts workshops and master classes at local schools, hosts a yearly Choral Composition Contest for high school students and undergraduates, and provides a choral mentorship program for young high school singers. It also serves as a visiting chorus for other choral groups.
For its contributions to the community, Choral Project has received several awards and accolades, including a Rhode Island Historical Society “History Maker” honor, a prestigious Excellence in the Arts award from the South County Center for the Arts, and the Arts and Business Council’s Citizen of the Year award. The Ensemble is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
With its thoughtfully curated repertoire and deep musicality, Choral Project has become one of the most innovative voices in contemporary choral music. Increasingly, the Ensemble has taken on social causes, and 2019 will explore the idea of home in its concerts, including an exploration of the region’s seemingly intractable homelessness crisis with proceeds from the event slated for three homeless advocacy organizations. The group has released eight albums: The Cycle of Life, Of Christmastide, Water & Light, Winter, One is the All, Tell the World, and Yuletide.
The choral program at WCU is an integral part of the college community. More than 250 students participate each semester in one of our eight ensembles, singing for large and enthusiastic audiences on campus and throughout the region. We regularly welcome internationally renowned guest composers and clinicians, have an active ACDA student chapter, and offer educational workshops for teachers and high school students. And, perhaps most importantly, those who sing with us at WCU find a community place where singing abounds and art flourishes.
Our PCI Choral Conducting Masterclass is a unique opportunity for advanced graduate students and early-to-mid-career professional choral directors who aspire to lead their independent ensembles. In addition to rehearsals and performances with Seraphic Fire, participants in the Masterclass will work on conducting techniques with the PCI faculty.
A stipend is provided on a per-project basis. Preference will be given to those who can commit to the entire season schedule.
Choral Project singers must have superior reading skills, the ability to learn music independently and attend all rehearsals and performance dates. If your availability is limited, you should indicate this on your application and be prepared to be added to a waitlist.
During a rehearsal, the choir may need to change its configuration. For example, it might be necessary to add more sopranos, move sopranos up or down a voice part, split tenors and basses into fours, or reconfigure the choir as a whole better to address particular musical issues such as tone color or blend.
You can save a lot of time if the choir sight reads well. This is because you don’t have to spend as much time on diction, timbre, and blend that need to be addressed to be able to sight-read effectively. Also, the choir can use this time to work on other elements of musical expression, which are not as easily dealt with in a single, isolated session. Planning the rehearsal in small, workable sections (from a few measures to a few pages) is important.
In 2007, The Choral Project created an annual choral composition contest to encourage the creation of original works and enable new collaboration between performers and composers. It was named in honor of Rachel Moore, a long-time supporter of TCP who died of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 49. In 2023, music composition student Wes Coffin won second place in the contest, which was open to high school students (grades 9-12) and undergraduates.
YNYC has created a close-knit community in the heart for talented young people seeking an artistic life. YNYC’s 60+ voice mixed ensemble and 40+ voice treble ensemble perform repertoire by some of the world’s most exciting young composers.
Ethan Soledad is a composer, vocalist, and pianist who has performed since he was nine. He writes music that expresses emotions in their rawest form, ranging from impressionism and neoclassicism to post-minimalism and the avant-garde. His work has been featured on the International Saxophone Festival’s recording and in various venues throughout.
Adrian’s music is a fusion of various musical styles, incorporating influences from traditional Chinese and Western classical music and jazz, rock, and folk music. He has won many awards and competitions for his compositions, including first place in the WSMA’s Rachel Moore Choral Composition Contest and second place in the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s National High School Concert Band and Orchestra Composition Competition.
In addition to winning a prestigious award in the 2022 Rachel Moore Choral Composition Contest, Joe won the 2021 UCSC Student Symphony Orchestra’s Call for Scores, the 2021 FivebyFive Modern Chamber Music Call for Scores and Ideas, and an honorable mention in the Youth Symphony’s First Music Commission 2020-21. He has also had his work premiered in the Don Heiter Community Center’s 2021 Radio Dramas Natalie and the Chocolate Factory, streamed as part of their Sweeten Your Spirit podcast, and Tarrstown Tales: Kris’ Time-Traveling Lewisburg Adventure for their annual Celebration of the Arts.
Eight Strings & a Whistle invites composers of any age to submit works written for flute, viola, and cello. The winning composer will receive a working rehearsal with the Ensemble, a featured interview on their website, and a stipend to defray travel expenses for the world premiere performance in the fall of 2024.
Choruses are pouring more and more resources and creativity into education outreach programs that have a far-reaching impact on students, teachers, schools, communities, and the choral artists who deliver them. For example, Gretchen Kuhrmann, artistic director of the 100-voice auditioned adult choir in Falls Church, teaches an annual week-long summer Choralis Festival for young people. The program offers back-to-back classes in choral music history and literature, composition, orchestration, and conducting, taught by local music teachers.
Other groups, such as Singing City, have created in-school programs, bringing the music of their choruses directly to the community’s children. These full-time residencies require significant ongoing resource commitments and collaboration with school districts.
Another direction for many choruses is integrating high school singers into the adult choir. For instance, the Exsultate Chamber Chorus of Venice, Florida, welcomes a handful of high school apprentices into their group each year. The apprentices learn vocal techniques, attend rehearsals and performances, and are mentored by adult choir members.
For over a decade, the Choral Society of Santa Barbara has reached out to the community through various programs. These include a mentoring program for high school students, an annual Choral Composition Contest, and community singing. The group also provides opportunities for its members to perform with visiting choirs and conductors.
The group also hosts several fundraisers and other outreach programs to help support its youth. The most recent was a concert called Unity, which brought together the entire community to celebrate our shared humanity through the power of music. The event helped create bridges for small-town students to connect with people from different backgrounds. It inspired and challenged audience members to go out and make positive changes in their communities.
If you have an older vehicle you no longer need, consider donating it to a charity such as CARS. This organization will take care of all the details involved with the car sale, including a donation receipt and necessary tax documents.