P.O. Box 390278 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

March 1999

Dear Chorus Members and Friends,

You are in for another treat -- whether you are a singer or an audience member. We will be introducing the Boston area to another excellent composer from the past -- José Maurício Nunes Garcia (1767-1830).

For our spring concert we will be performing the Requiem Mass by Nunes Garcia, a composer who is probably the best known of the many Afro-Brazilian composers active in the 18th and early 19th centuries. He served as choirmaster at the cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, and in 1808 was appointed composer to the court in exile when the Portuguese monarchy fled to Brazil to escape the Napoleonic invasion. The Requiem Mass was composed for the funeral of the Queen Mother who died in 1816, the same year as Nunes Garcia's own mother.

For the May 23 concert we will be joined by the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Donnell Patterson, and hope also to feature the 1999 Cambridge Choral Scholars. Because of the success of the party that followed the Messiah performance (generously hosted by St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church), we are planning another after-concert gathering this spring -- so save the evening of May 23. For those Chorus members who plan to sing in the concert, vocal part tapes will be available for a nominal price at our rehearsals.

SPRING SCHEDULE -- Please note these dates, times, and locations on your calendar:

Tuesday rehearsals: March 30, April 6,13, 20,27, May 4,11,18
                  6:30, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 239 Harvard St.

Saturday rehearsal: April 24 (Phillips Academy, Andover)

Dress rehearsal: Saturday, May 22 morning (First Congregational Church, 11 Garden St.)

Concert: Sunday, May 23, 4pm (First Congregational Church, 11 Garden St.)

MESSIAH TAPES AND CDs

An excellent recording of our Messiah concert will be available in either a 2-tape or 2-CD set. To order a copy by mail send a check indicating your preference of tape or CD to the Cambridge Community Chorus PO Box. The prices are as follows:

• Tape set:  $13.00

• CD set:    $18.00

• $3 postage per order must also be enclosed.

If you would like to order a tape and can pick it up, or to order ahead for pickup at spring rehearsals, call Nancy Townsend at 547-4040.

JOYFUL NOISE CELEBRATION

45 Chorus members, a record number, sang in this year's Joyful Noise Celebration under the direction of Donnell Patterson. A sincere thank you goes to Donnell for leading the group, to Liz Sparks for coordinating our participation, and to Linda Schwetz who sewed every one of the colorful new stoles worn by the singers. We've finally managed to diversify our concert attire.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE -- Thursday, April 15

Cambridge's Holocaust Remembrance ceremony will take place at Temple Beth Shalom on Thursday, April 15. If you are not singing in the spring concert, but would like to be informed about participating in the Remembrance, please call Gaby Friedler at 876-9533.

CCC WEB PAGE!

The Cambridge Community Chorus now has its own web site thanks to Sam Pilato and Rick Nelson. We'll be keeping it up to date with rehearsal and concert information and other interesting tidbits. You can find the site at:

http://world.std.com/~rick/CambChorus

THIS AND THAT

Fundraising -- We have often been told by businesses we approach for donations in October that their gift budgets are all used up by the fall. So this spring we plan to start early and do much of our fundraising from businesses and corporations now. You can help by calling Rena Leib (354-4390) or Nancy Townsend (547-4040) if you have suggestions of places to contact. Or, even better, if you can make a few calls Nancy would be happy to give you a short list of businesses to contact.

10th Anniversary -- Did you know that the Cambridge Community Chorus began ten years ago next December with a performance of the Messiah? Of course the Messiah has continued to be a part of each season since that 1990 performance, and the Chorus has grown and the concert season has expanded to include a fall and spring concert, and many other activities. So there is much to celebrate. The Board is already making plans for next year's exciting anniversary season.

Photos? One idea we've been thinking about for the 10th anniversary is a special booklet or program. If you have any photos of the Chorus, especially from the early years -- formal or informal -- we would love to see them. Bring them to one of the rehearsals if you're willing to let us use or copy them.

Questions? Call Penny Peters (491-4887).