P.O. Box 390278 Cambridge, Massachusetts  02139-0022 www.cambridgechorus.org
	September, 2004

Welcome to the 2004-2005 Chorus Season

Welcome back, singers!  Our first Fall Rehearsal is fast approaching on Monday, September 13.  All regular Rehearsals will take place Mondays from 6:30-9:30pm at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 239 Harvard St., Cambridge.

Celebrate Fall's Arrival at "RiverSing"

FALL 2004 REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

Review of the 2003-2004 Season

Chorus Music Director William E. Thomas called last year "extraordinary."  We found ourselves stretching not only our vocal chords, but also our musical styles and abilities as we were asked to participate in three special events beyond our usual fall, winter and spring concerts. They included the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (CHAF) benefit concert in the fall, in which Chorus members backed up singer Nneenna Freelon on stage at Sanders Theatre; and the City of Cambridge celebration of the legalization of "equal opportunity" (same-sex) marriage. The Chorus again was privileged to participate in the City's annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, with the assistance of alto Dana Kletter. Cambridge Mayor Michael Sullivan sent a letter to William thanking him for our participation.  In addition, some Chorus members participated in the memorial service for the late Chorus member Anne Dow.

The spring concert featuring the Mozart Requiem was a huge success. We drew an audience of nearly 900 people, enjoyed ourselves greatly, and, thanks to William's tremendous direction, raised the bar for future concerts through many improvements in ensemble musicianship. Applause to new Producer Mary Keith, who pulled it all off with quiet efficiency, and special thanks to Harvard University for contributing the use of Sanders Theatre for the concert. As always, we are grateful to St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and St. Paul AME for providing us with wonderful rehearsal space. CDs of the Spring 2004 and Messiah 2003 concerts will be available early this fall. The Board of Directors and the and Planning Committee devoted considerable time this summer to discussing the pros and cons of having concerts on Memorial Day weekend. The consensus was that it is important for us to be flexible to make use of performance spaces generously made available by Harvard and MIT, while doing our best to accommodate the potentially conflicting schedules of many Chorus members.

The fall concert and December Messiah concert also went extremely well, thanks to the efforts of producers, Kathy Williams and Donna Killoran, and thanks to MIT and to St. Paul AME for our concert and rehearsal spaces. We also performed Messiah excerpts again at Youville Hospital (after a one-year hiatus) with Florence Grant's assistance. In addition, there were two cycles of Chorus group singing lessons during the summer and winter breaks. Lessons always provide valuable assistance to singers, and the Chorus is reviewing plans for new lessons later this year (watch for announcements).

Spring 2005 Program: The Exodus Project

For our Spring 2005 Concert, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 28, 2005 at MIT's Kresge Auditorium, Music Director William E. Thomas has chosen a project called Exodus: A Journey from Slavery to Freedom. Works in this fully staged concert (with dance) will tell the Exodus story as presented in the Old Testament, revealing it as a source of inspiration for both the Jewish and African-American communities. The greater part of the concert will consist of excerpts from Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt, but other works will be included.

A favorite of many choral groups, Israel in Egypt depicts the suffering of the Israelites under Egyptian rule, their escape through the parting of the Red Sea, and the destruction of their Egyptian pursuers. Completed in 1738, just two years before Messiah, it offers a wealth of choruses and opportunities for dramatic staging.  We'll begin learning some of the choruses from Israel in Egypt during the Fall Rehearsal period leading up to our Cambridge Sings performance on Monday, Oct. 18 at St. Bartholomew's, among other works that William will tell us about in September. As usual, we'll have rehearsal tapes and CDs to help you practice your parts at home, and singers are strongly encouraged to begin taking advantage of those tools early in the season, even if they are not planning to join us for the fall concert.

We are fortunate to have much of the same artistic support for Exodus that we had for our Dido & Aeneas production in 2003, including: Jennifer Schoonover and Midge Brecher, choreographers; Henry Shaffer, costuming; and Jim Peters, staging and props. Lighting will be provided in collaboration with E-33 (an MIT student technical group). More information on the Spring concert will be available as the year progresses. Remember to check the Chorus website: www.CambridgeChorus.org

Trial of New Concept for December Concert

Handel's Messiah has been and will always remain a beloved cornerstone of the Chorus repertoire. Yet many of our singers, as well as our Director, have indicated an interest in new musical challenges. William has suggested that this year we try something different: a shortened version of Messiah, along with additional festive works.  This plan is for this format to alternate with a full Messiah production every other year. The consensus of Board and Planning Committee members was that this first year will be an experiment that may broaden our horizons and spark new interest among singers.  Even if you are only interested in singing the Messiah portion of the concert, we hope you will join us.

Producers Named for Fall and Messiah Concerts

Tenor Kathy Williams has cheerfully offered to produce the Fall 2004 "Cambridge Sings" event. If you have production related concerns or would like to help with the concert, please call her at 617-876-1313 or email her at "kmtw@comcast.net". Soprano Donna Killoran has agreed once again to produce the December Messiah concert. Many thanks to these incredibly organized and talented ladies.

New Singers

The Chorus welcomes new singers in all voice parts. New basses, tenors, and sopranos should simply attend the first rehearsal of the fall cycle on Mon., Sept. 13, at 6:30 pm. Due to the abundance of altos presently singing in the Chorus, new altos interested in singing with us should first contact Chorus President Paul Raila at president@cambridgechorus.org or 617-625-6588.

Attendance Policy

Because the Chorus strives to be accessible to all interested community members, it does not require singer auditions. All singers are expected to sign in at each rehearsal and attend all rehearsals in each concert cycle. If you must miss a rehearsal, please mark the sign-in sheet appropriately or talk to your Section Leader (in advance of your absence if possible) . Typically, if you miss more than two rehearsals in a cycle you should speak with the Concert Producer to determine whether you will be permitted to sing in the performance. New singers who join after the second rehearsal in a cycle are welcome to sing in rehearsals, but may not be able to sing in the performance for that cycle.

Chorus Governance

The Chorus is governed by a Board of Directors that makes major decisions regarding Chorus activities, operations and policies.  Election of Board members and officers for the 2004-2005 season took place at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors on June 7. The following officers were elected: President, Paul Raila; Vice-President, Penny Peters; Clerk, Janet Rustow; and a new Treasurer, Edith Walker, replacing Rick Nelson, who has stepped down as Treasurer (after 8 years!) but will stay on the Board. We'd like to extend special appreciation to Rick for his yeoman service as Treasurer.

Newly elected to the Board were: tenor Phil Budne, soprano Lois Josimovich, and alto Edith Walker. Filling out the Board roster for this year as continuing members are: Florence Grant, Audrey Ince, Mary Keith, Rena Leib, David Pap and Katheleen Williams. Welcome all and thanks for your willingness to serve.  Two other long-time Board members, Karen Greenwood and Donna Killoran, resigned from the Board this year and we'd like to offer them our heartfelt gratitude for their Herculean efforts.

Besides the Board of Directors, the Chorus has a small Executive Committee that makes day-to-day operating decisions necessary between Board Meetings. Current members are Music Director William E. Thomas, and Chorus members Paul Raila, Penny Peters, and Rena Leib. There is also a Planning Committee that meets with the Board to help discuss issues and propose new ideas. Board and Planning Committee meetings have been scheduled for January 10 and June 13, 2005 at 7pm (locations TBA). If you'd like to attend a meeting, or if you wish to help share the work of keeping the Chorus running smoothly by becoming a member of one of these groups, please contact Chorus President Paul Raila at 617-625-6588 or at president@cambridgechorus.org.

Volunteer to Help

As the Chorus grows, so does the need for volunteer assistance. Please volunteer to help with the many tasks needed to keep your Chorus running smoothly. If you're willing to help but aren't sure how, please speak to Chorus President Paul Raila at 617-625-6588 or president@cambridgechorus.org

Send Us Your New/Changed Contact Information

Please send us any new contact information to help us communicate with you better. We need your current email & postal address(es) and phone number(s). Please tell us if you are willing to receive urgent notices by email instead of phone, and Chorus newsletters by email instead of by post. Newsletters sent by email will also include a pointer to our web site where you can read/print the newsletter fully formatted. Please send all change information via email from your preferred email address to mystats@cambridgechorus.org. If you don't have access to email, telephone your changes to Chorus Database Guru Sam Pilato at 781-643-0038 (please use email instead, if you have it).

MESSIAH 2004 SEASON - SAVE THESE DATES

Profiles in Chorus - Two Tenors - The Fabulous Nelsons

Beethoven's Mass in C Minor nearly marked the beginning and end of Rick Nelson's classical singing career. "It was a rough one to start on," says Rick, a technical writer and editor who joined the Chorus in 1993 and has just finished a marathon 8-year stint as CCC Treasurer.

Rick had sung in an a cappella group before, but had serious doubts about whether he was ready to tackle Beethoven. But he realized where his duty lay once he learned the high premium placed on his vocal chords- he remembers being joyfully greeted by Rena Leib at an early rehearsal: "Oh, a tenor! Having survived Beethoven, Rick sailed smoothly into the more familiar waters of Handel's Messiah. Over the years, he has come to enjoy the challenge of learning complex new pieces, but the high point of his experience with CCC was performing Messiah in Japan in 2002. "It was so amazing to sing with that Japanese choral group," he says. "They were so warm and friendly at rehearsals, and there were always various types of unusual snacks and goodies." Most important was the fact that he was able to travel and sing with his son, Chris, then aged 16, the youngest participant by several years.

But Chris Nelson has never been fazed by being the youngest member of the group. He remembers how his father took him to an Andover rehearsal, when he was 9 years old. He sat in back, and William invited him to join in. He did, and has been singing with us ever since. A big encouragement, says Rick, was the presence of CCC founder member Florence Grant's son, also Christopher, who sang Messiah for several years from around age 11.  By another happy musical accident, Chris Nelson's treble matured into a tenor. His friends may think it's weird that a guy who plays rock guitar and listens to Third Eye Blind chooses to spend Monday evenings singing classical music, but Chris says simply, "It's fun to go and sing - I just enjoy it."

A graduate of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Chris heads to Northeastern University this fall. Although he is a prize winning science student - he was part of a team that recently won a NASA competition to design experiments to be carried out in space - Chris plans to major in economics. And staying close to home means he can still sing with CCC and beat his dad at golf. "Chris is a pretty good golfer and I just go along for the ride," says Rick.

CCC President Paul Raila says, "I can't fully express to Rick, on behalf of the Chorus, the gratitude we feel for his long and conscientious service as Treasurer. We are fortunate that even though he has stepped down as Treasurer, the Chorus will continue to benefit from his participation in the Tenor Section, and to enjoy the humorous quips and zingers he occasionally lets fly in rehearsal. The fact that Rick also introduced Chris into the Chorus was simply icing on the cake. It's been a pleasure to see the two of them sing together."

"Slammin" Rick Nelson make the hoop "sing"
Photo: George Skovera

Ed. note: The Leib family holds the distinction of having three generations singing simultaneously in the Chorus! (Rena, Joan, and Isaac). Isaac (age 14 months) has made many vocal contributions while not yet displaying the same tenor proficiency as Chris Nelson (but we can always hope!) Perhaps in another 14 years or so. . . If you'd like to see profiles of other Chorus members in future newsletters, write one! (or suggest someone to profile). Contact Chorus President Paul Raila at president@cambridgechorus.org or 617-625-6588.

Thanks to Lois Josimovich for helping to put together this issue of the newsletter. - Paul