Greetings from the President, JoAn Segal

This is the last newsletter of this season and therefore the last of this presidential year. Writing to you each month has been one of the more pleasant chores of this office. I'd like to use this piece to take the traditional backward and forward look at the Chorale's years just past and upcoming.

Well, we surely have done a lot of singing! We have performed in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Estes Park. In addition to our more customary church venues (and Macky) we sang at Temple Emanuel, the Whole Foods store, and at the Stanley and St. Julien Hotels. We've done a lot to celebrate our 40th anniversary with a big benefit, an anniversary concert, and a birthday card.

We've learned some beautiful music -- all those wonderful Bernstein pieces, songs of many lands, the Messiah and Magnificat and the Mozart Vespers. Our image and visibility in the community has been enhanced via well-designed graphics and strategically placed press releases and ads, as well as a willingness to cooperate with other musical and non-musical entities (Boulder Ballet's Nutcracker, St. Julien caroling, BCAA birthday serenade.)

Thanks to all the Board members and other volunteers, we now have a uniform look for our performing singers and the Riser Court helped us get our own risers to stand on. Our Tour Task Force has chosen a tour company and destination, which will be revealed on May 8th. Our grant writers, gala committee and fund raisers have been highly successful and we have a more balanced membership. The Women's Chorale and Chamber Chorale have had success in their concerts, although admittedly we may have overdone it a bit on the number of performances!

For all our successes, we owe thanks to every member who has given help, donations, and time. The members of the Board of Directors have devoted countless hours of work, which no amount of thanks can repay. And we have been extremely fortunate in our top-notch staff, musical and administrative, whose expertise and hard work have contributed mightily to those successes.

What lies ahead? Our wonderful Artistic Director Tim Snyder has planned only four concerts in the 2006-2007 season. The fall concert Lux Aeterna (all Duruflé) will include a group of motets sung by the Chamber Chorale and the Requiem performed by the entire Boulder Chorale. In December we will Make Joy again with our holiday friends the Cathedral Brass and the Kutandara Ensemble. March's American Tapestry Concert will feature sets by the Women's Chorale, the Chamber Chorale, and the entire Boulder Chorale. And on April 28, we will all be back at Macky for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the Phil's new conductor, Michael Butterman. Only four concerts! Yet, there will be opportunities for all three groups to shine and a far less hectic schedule.

The enlarging of the Board should allow us to see some reduction in the load carried by individual Board members. Possible organizational changes within the Board should make our marketing,

publicity and development endeavors even more successful and allow for a smoother transition for the Board from one year to the next.

I was, admittedly, almost overwhelmed as I learned how to be President, but I have gotten to know many of you and feel much more at ease in the job. I thank you all for electing me to a two-year term on the Board and the Board for electing me President. I love the Chorale and the opportunity to work for it.

Now I would like to put into practice some ideas that have grown from my experience, so I am a candidate for another term. Who knows, maybe I'll be writing columns again next year??!!

Calendar of Events

Thursday, May 4—Dress Rehearsal for Women’s Chorale and Chamber Chorale (concert dress not required)

6:30-8:00 p.m. Macky Auditorium

(Pleasant and University near 17th Ave)

Friday, May 5—Dress Rehearsal for all groups

(concert dress not required) 6:30-9:00 p.m.

Macky Auditorium (Pleasant and University near 17th Ave)

Saturday, May 6— 40th Anniversary Concert

Concert Call: 6:00 / Concert: 7:30 p.m.

Macky Auditorium (Pleasant and University near 17th Ave)

Monday, May 8—Annual Meeting/Elections/Potluck

6:00 p.m. Jubilee Hall (lower level)

Sacred Heart of Jesus (1318 Mapleton)

No rehearsals.

Tuesday, May 9—Board of Directors Meeting

6:30 p.m. JoAn’s house. Please let JoAn know if you plan to attend: 303-541-1065.

Friday, June 30—Summer Newsletter Deadline

Please submit articles to boulderchorale@yahoo.com or leave a copy at the Boulder Chorale office.

July—Look for your copy of the Summer Newsletter in the mail.

Tuesday, August 1—Mail-In Registration Begins

Registration forms will be available on-line at our website: (www.boulderchorale.org) and at the Boulder Chorale office. Mail-In Registration will end on Tuesday, August 29.

Tuesday, August 29—Rehearsals begin

Women’s Chorale 6:00-6:50 p.m.

Large group 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 29 and Tuesday, September 5—

Walk-In Registration. Boulder Chorale: male tenors and basses

Boulder Women’s Chorale: sopranos and altos

Atonement Lutheran Church, 685 Inca Parkway, Boulder

Fundraising Corner

A Summary of Fundraising Events and Information About Future Activities for the Boulder Chorale

from Stephanie Wanek, Fundraising & Development Chair Questions? Comments? Please email me! smwanek@yahoo.com

Thank You! Thank You!

Thanks to those of you who worked hard to distribute information packs for the

Community Birthday Card, for the terrific crew who organized the Anniversary Gala and to both of the queens of graphic design who created beautiful Gala documents and the masterpiece card.

The Gala and Birthday Card were an Overwhelming Success!!

The 40th Anniversary Chorale Gala was attended by about 200 guests, members, alumni, former directors and friends. We ate good food, had too much cake, drank wonderful wine, celebrated and heard heart-warming speeches toasting the Chorale long history. The cabaret and jazz music ended our evening on a wonderful note(!). Thanks to all the members for preparing terrific songs and having the courage to push the boundaries

of your comfort zone!! The Birthday Card (on display in the lobby tonight) ended up with many many great messages, artwork, decorations and photos to complete the montage. We had a grand old time and a

big ol’ party was just what we needed to celebrate our longevity in this community.

Of course, this article falls under this column for an important reason, these activities while celebratory are also an important fundraising activity. The long-term financial health of our organization depends on these fundraising activities, the contributions of our sponsors (big and small!) to supplement the revenue we generate from concert tickets and dues. It takes a lot of money to fund a growing organization, pay salaries of musical and administrative staff and handle all those concert-related costs. So, though they’re a lot of work, these public

benefits raise community awareness and provide a way for us to communicate our mission. Your help is essential in this!! Like any household, we need to make ends meet! We provide choral

education and training to our membership in order to deliver excellent choral performances.

We’re growing into bigger venues and are trying to keep our reasonably priced tickets.

Doing all this depends on our ability to balance our budget to meet these growing

financial needs. We appreciate all your help getting the word out

about our organization to build a solid base of financial supporters.

The Dukes of Dress Code say ….

Good Job!!

Fundraising Ideas for 2006-07 ??

We’re continuing our efforts to gear our major fundraising events not only to our membership but to involve the community as well. If you have an idea for an event or activity, please pass it on! If there’s something you’ve heard about that sounded interesting or if other groups have had success with a fundraising project like a raffle or craft fair, just send an email or pass a note to the Chorale office and mark it fundraising. We’d like to hear your opinions about what’s working and what isn’t. And, of course, I thank you in advance for your help in the execution of these ideas!! Stephanie