P.O. Box 390278 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
	February 24, 2001

SPRING REHEARSAL SCHEDULE Except when noted below, all rehearsals will be on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 239 Harvard Street. April 3 First Rehearsal (Sopranos, please bring refreshments to this rehearsal. Thanks.) April 3, 10, 17, 24 May 1, 8, 15 Rehearsals   April 21 Saturday rehearsal 10 am - 3:30 pm Corcoran Chapel, Phillips Academy, Andover May 19 Saturday - Dress rehearsal 10 am - 1 pm First Congregational Church, 11 Garden St., Cambridge May 20 Sunday - Performance at 7 pm First Congregational Church There will be important work done at each rehearsal and we know and expect that you will make every effort to attend. Kathy Williams will be coordinating the concert and is looking for assistants. If you can help in any way, call Kathy at 617-876-2877 or email her at kmtw4825@aol.com.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE - Thursday, May 3, 2001

The Cambridge Community Chorus has participated in this important community commemorative ceremony for the past several years. As he did last year William will blend preparation of the songs for the ceremony into several of the rehearsals for our spring concert. In this way, everyone has the opportunity to learn more music and we're better prepared for the event.

OTHER NEWS OF NOTE

Messiah 2000 and Youville Concert

With approximately 120 singers participating and an audience of 900, the Chorus can congratulate itself on presenting a spectacular performance at Kresge last December 10. While we are now attracting an audience from the whole Boston area, we are still fortunate that so many Cambridge people come every year and that many others are able watch the performance on CCTV. Thanks to Donna Killoran, concert coordinator, and her able assistants: Karen Greenwood, Nancy Townsend, and Kathy Williams.

For the fourth year, Chorus members performed Messiah selections for patients and their families at Youville Hospital. The audience was very appreciative, and all involved were rewarded by their enthusiastic reception. Thanks to Florence Grant who organized the Youville concert.

Messiah CDs

A 2-CD set of the recent Messiah performance is available for $16. For those who will be singing this spring, you can make the purchase at rehearsals. Otherwise, call Karen Greenwood at 781-229-2574 to reserve your copies. An additional $3 will be charged if you want them mailed.

Cambridge Choral Scholars 2000-2001

This year's Choral Scholars, chosen by audition from the CRLS Vocal Ensemble in November, are: Sarah Read, soprano; Katiana LaFrance, alto; Jason Ramos, tenor; and Patrick Huguenin, bass. These talented singers receive $100 each and the opportunity to perform in master classes given for CRLS vocal students. The Scholars program reflects the Cambridge Community Chorus commitment to supporting ways for young singers to shine.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration

Members of the Cambridge Community Chorus sang in the First Annual City-Wide Concert in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday on January 6, 2001. Other Cambridge choirs shared their music at this moving celebration which will be held every year at a different venue in the city. Donnell Patterson rehearsed and directed the Chorus in the presentation of two songs, one of which he wrote for the group. Thank you Donnell, and also appreciation to Liz Sparks, who did her usual excellent job of organizing the Chorus participation.

Thanks to special volunteers

Terry Dash has maintained the Chorus database for many years, and is now handing over the job to Sam Pilato. Thank you, Terry, for all your time and expertise, and thanks to Sam for taking this on. Also, two sessions of winter voice classes are now in progress, and we'd like to express our gratitude to Toni Fitch who organized them.

CHORUS ORGANIZATION

The Cambridge Community Chorus has grown dramatically over the last 10 years, and to respond to that growth, the Board is discussing ways to re-organize the behind-the-scenes work of the group. For those of you who don't know, the current structure of the Chorus, as set up in our incorporation as a nonprofit, organization, is a 13-member Board with three officers: President, Clerk, and Treasurer. Presently the whole Board consists of members of our Chorus, including our Music Director, William Thomas. The current officers are Penny Peters (President), Jayne Cantor (Clerk), and Rick Nelson (Treasurer). In reality, our official Board is enhanced by the presence of other interested Chorus members who attend the roughly four meetings a year and contribute just as much. New Board members, usually people who have been active volunteers, are nominated and elected by the Board in June. We also make every effort to keep the Board representative of the diverse composition of Cambridge! . The Board sets policy (the amount of donations requested at concerts, for example), reviews and approves new initiatives, and discusses ways to improve what we do. The day to day decisions between meetings are made by the President and Music Director, with help from the past president, Rena Leib-creating an informal Executive Committee. Whenever an issue comes up that might be controversial, other Board members are polled.

We have been fortunate to have so many volunteers help with the work of the Chorus. But as we grow, we need to divide up that work into smaller tasks so that no one has too heavy a load, and we must find ways to coordinate all the pieces. A restructuring committee is now in the process of evaluating how we might best do this, and will be presenting their suggestions to the Board. If you would like to help with this process or if you want to put an item on the agenda call Penny at 617-491-4887 (email: peterspenny@aol.com). Our challenge is to keep the Chorus a relaxed, enjoyable group while creating enough structure to function well.

See you on Tuesday, April 3 for the first rehearsal!

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