January
2008
303-554-7692 www.boulderchorale.org Newsletter of the
President's Corner by Jack Biddle, President
Main Entry: 1pro·fes·sion·al
Function: adjective Definition:
1 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b : engaged in one of the learned professions c (1) : characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical
standards of a profession (2) :
exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the
workplace 2 a : participating for gain or livelihood
in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a professional
golfer> b : having a particular profession as a
permanent career <a professional soldier> c : engaged in by
persons receiving financial return <professional football> 3 : following a line of conduct as though it were a profession <a
professional patriot>
Four years ago I was headed to a New Year's party
and stopped off in the basement of a Methodist Church to register as a tenor in
the Boulder Chorale. I didn't make it to
the party. How was I to know that I
would be put to work setting up chairs, then rehearsing a Russian piece written
in tiny print in an obscure alphabet?
Four years and six languages (English, Latin,
Hebrew, German, Shona, and Greek) later I'm a happy baritone in a much changed
chorus. So what's changed?
The Chorale has grown in various ways which could
be summarized as enhanced professionalism. Tim discussed professionalism during
our warm-up prior to a performance of Make
We Joy. We don't get paid to sing;
we sing for the love of it. We are
amateurs. And yet................ I queried
Merriam Webster about this word to see how it might apply to us. I think meanings 1 and 3 apply directly to
us. Professionalism can mean acting
professional. It doesn't necessarily
mean we get paid.
How have we grown professionally?
1.
We added an ensemble, the Women's Chorale as a means of
maintaining balance in our large performing ensemble, the Concert Chorale,
while providing a performing group for all who wish to sing.
2.
We applied auditions to the Concert Chorale while
excluding no current members.
3.
We created the basis of a strategic plan, beginning with
a Vision Statement, Core Values and a Mission Statement. This process continues.
4.
We have undertaken challenging programs which can mark us
as the premier large chorus in our area, Boulder and Northern Colorado. Such a recent piece is Gustav Mahler's "Das klagende
Lied".
5.
We have placed an emphasis on discipline and decorum at
performances and rehearsals. That
doesn't mean we can't have fun. It means
we look and act like pros.
We are embarked on a growth path.
Enjoy the ride.
Kim on Kim
(third in a series of people important to the
Chorale)
Everyone's favorite brunette, Kim Needham--our
Assistant Conductor--is talented, smart and funny. Here she reflects on her fears, i-tunes and
2008 resolutions.
What is your greatest fear?
KN:
Wow, high pressure. I am scared of everything.
What is your most treasured possession?
KN:
My credit card. Not really, my photo
albums and my i-tunes library.
What is the quality you like most in a
man?
KN:
There are so many: kindness, sense of humor, strength of character, work ethic...
What is the quality you like most in a woman?
KN:
Same as above.
What are your thoughts on the season:
winter?
KN:
I love to look at snow, I hate driving in it! I usually have white knuckles
throughout winter. Is it me, or does it only snow on Tuesdays?
What is your favorite occupation?
KN:
I admire medical professionals immensely.
Who/What has taught you the most
musically?
KN:
I have learned a great deal through studying voice and watching excellent
conductors: Bill Carroll, Desiree Davis,
Hilary Apfelstadt, Larry Kaptein, Joan Conlon, Julie Simson, Carla LeFevre,
Patti Peterson, and Timothy Snyder have had a tremendous impact on my
development.
Stranded on a desert island, you have
three pieces of music. What are they?
KN:
Classical/choir music: Carmina Burana,
Biebl's Ave Maria, Randall Stroope's Psalm 23. These changes weekly! Rock: Summer
of '69, Son of Preacher Man, 99 Red Balloons.
Which phrases or words do you overuse?
KN:
I can't really say that here! I was a sailor in another life.
What are your opinions on New Year's
resolutions?
KN:
They usually don't stick, but you can't fault people for trying to make a
change.
Care to share one or two 2008
resolutions with us?
KN:
Bridal boot camp will soon commence. I must get to my birth weight by JuneJ
Who or what is the greatest love of your
life?
KN:
My love of pet hair supersedes all else. Really, I value family (especially my
soon-to-be family) and friends more than anything.
What is your motto?
KN:
Do people really have mottos? Treat
others as you would like to be treated. I think that is always a good one.
page one
Opinion
Section
"The villagers are coming with torches and
pitchforks. Please hide me."
-Jack Biddle
"I like pie too."
-Julie Hale
Reflections
on Community and Quality
by Linda
Jacobson, Chorale Member
The
month of January, the first month of the New Year, is named for Janus, the
two-faced god of the Romans who is looking both to the past and to the
future. It is appropriate that this
opinion piece be included in our January issue of Noteworthy. As the Chorale looks to the future in
planning how to implement the mandate we voted on last year, we need to be
mindful of the past and what we do not want to lose from it. This will not be an easy task for our
planners. I have been thinking about the
conflicting needs, goals and desires a lot in the past semester, and humbly
present my contradictory, Janus-like views here.
As
we sang carols for Frasier Meadows residents this year, I reflected on
community. There was joy in providing
this service, to be one voice among many that brought light to lives that were
dimming. I did not want to lose the opportunity
to do this.
After
the singing, we were encouraged to mingle with the residents, so I approached a
woman who sat with her hand covering her face.
I asked if she was all right. She
slowly raised her head and stared at me.
"Who ... am ... I?" she asked. I
answered with my first thought, "You are a child of God." She covered her face again and seemed to be
sobbing. I was certain that I had made
things worse and looked around hoping to catch the eye of an attendant. Then, she raised her face again, which now
bore a smile. It was not a radiant
smile, but it was a face momentarily at peace.
I
have been pondering the meaning of community in many contexts this past year.
Because I am so often at Atonement Lutheran Church, I, a Jew who worships as a
Quaker, have developed a connection with the pastor. We have been discussing my story-telling
services. This may appear as if I'm
looking to the Chorale as "just another networking opportunity," but I have
come to realize that community, true community, is the opposite of
networking. With networking, one is
always selling oneself. In a community
one is always being oneself. With
networking, each contact is a potential source of income. In a community each contact is an opportunity
to deepen the human community. As I have
explored ideas with Pastor Debra, I have learned more about what I have to
offer the community of Boulder. I have
also learned about what she has to offer and how her faith plays into that
offering. This is a far richer
connection than I could have dreamed of when I sought a place to sing.
While
still at Frasier Meadows, I spoke with Jeff Livesay about the need to maintain
community as the Chorale grows. This
has become an ongoing dialog. Jeff
represents the synthesis of the two voices in my head. He understands community, but he also
understands the other voice, the voice of my nascent musicianship.
The
rehearsals I attended with laryngitis caused me to watch the Chorale with new
eyes. I came to understand what Tim has
been asking of us for years. Every
minute he spends correcting the placement of our s's is a minute he is not
spending on dynamics, the subtleties of rhythms, or other musical issues. When have we ever sung grace notes?
Although
I felt exiled when I was placed in the far back corner of the sopranos there were
plusses that I chose to focus on. The
biggest plus for me, and a consideration of Tim's that I am grateful for, is
that I was not near anyone who might be wearing a scented product that my body
couldn't handle. There were also musical
advantages. He had a number of us widely
spaced. I could hear the first sopranos,
the altos, the men and the piano, but not the other second sopranos. I had to find, and really learn, my own part
without any crutches. This has forced me
to grow.
I
accepted this challenge, and was well-prepared at our Holiday concerts. I found myself frustrated when voices nearby
overwhelmed the group experience, either because they were too loud, or flat,
or singing the wrong note or at the wrong time.
I recognize this as an echo of the frustration another singer felt last
year as we stood next to each other rehearsing Beethoven and my voice was not
ready to produce the high notes. "You're
flat," she said, and I was.
By
our second concert day this year, I found the thread of the whole. It was a joyous and fulfilling
experience. But it gave no answers to
the larger problem. Every person in the
Chorale deserves that joyous experience unmarred by sour voices nearby. All of us, as well as the larger community of
Boulder,
need
to maintain places where excellence and competitiveness take a back seat to
community. All humans need places to
raise a joyful voice to the heavens, to feel as if they are one of a choir of
angels, as I have often felt with the Chorale.
Janus
was one of the few exclusively Roman gods, and, as such, he was not noted for
his wisdom. He saw both sides of an
issue, but could not synthesize them into a whole. They sat as separate visions in his
mind. Like the god Janus, I have no
wisdom to offer. I believe that a
synthesis is possible, but it takes patience to discover it.
page
two
Past into Present
by JoAn
Segal, Secretary / Past-President
The
Boulder Chorale was founded in 1966, when some members of the Boulder Civic
Opera Chorus decided to form a separate group which would exist independently,
but still collaborate with the Opera for its performances, mostly of
musicals. Here are some of the
highlights of the Chorale's growth:
Membership
Since
its humble beginnings, the Boulder Chorale has grown into the largest community
chorus in Boulder. Some of our members
have been with the Chorale for a very long time. At our 40th anniversary gala, we honored
Charlotte Haynes, who has since died, for having the longest continuous
membership. However, other members have
been singing in the Boulder Chorale almost as long. Judy Snook has missed a few years here and
there, but first joined the Chorale in 1967!
Leadership
A
recent tabulation of the Chorale's Board members and officers reveals that the
following current members were key players from 1975 to 2005:
Risa Booze
(Vice-President, 1992-3)
Josephine Bynder (Board member 92-3; Librarian 93-4; Vice-President 97-9; Secretary
99-00, 02-4)
Elsbeth Pryer Diehl (Vice-President 2002-3, and Member Liaison 2002-3, Vice-President
2003-6)
Christie (Swoboda) Evenson (Member at Large 1999-2000, Publicity Chair 2000-1)
Dianne Ewing
(Secretary 1993-4, Representative at Large 1994-5)
Wren Fritzlan
(Secretary 1996-7, President 1997-9)
Pauline Gee
(Treasurer 1995-6)
Peg Gorce
(Membership Co-Chair 2003-4; Chair 2005-7)
Karen Haimes
(Member at Large 2004-5)
Jeff Hale
(Treasurer 2004- )
Julie Hale (Publicity Chair, Graphics, Member at Large 2003- )
Paul Haynes
(Music Librarian 2002-7)
Greg Herring
(Concert Co-Manager 2004- )
Sue Hintz-Siegrist (Publicity Chair 2002-3, President 2003-5, Grants Committee Chair
2005- )
Diane (Weller) Hitchcock (Librarian, 1975-6)
Becky Korte
(Member at Large 2000-1, President 2002-3; Membership Co-Chair 2003-4)
Diane LaTourrette (Secretary 1994-5)
Miriam Lindahl
(Concert Manager 2003- )
Laura Meyers
(Member at Large 2003-4; Ticket Manager 2004-5)
Sarah Myers
(Concert Manager 1998-9)
Joanie Oram
(Volunteer Coordinator 1993-4, Vice-President 1994-5, Event Fundraising Liaison
02-3)
Shaun Patterson
(Social Chair 2000-1, 2002-3)
Christie Randolph (Librarian 2000-1)
Barbara Roach
(Member at Large 2002-3)
Elaine Schnabel
(Membership Liaison 1996-8)
JoAn Segal
(President 1996-7; Member at Large 2003-4, Secretary 2004-5, 2006-7, President
2005-7)
Art Simmons
(Board member 1992-3, President 1993-6; Vice-President 1998-2000; Secretary and
Community Representative 2000-1)
Judy Snook
(Social Chair 1996-9)
Sharon Soderlund (Treasurer 1999-2001; Nonprofit coordinator 2002-3, Member at Large
2003-4, Women's Chorale Liaison 2004- )
Stephanie Wanek
(Fundraising Chair 2003-6)
Mary Weisbach
(Member at Large 2003-5, Chamber Chorale Liaison 2004-5)
John Williams
(Fundraising chair 2002-3)
Ensembles
The
Chorale has given birth to separate ensembles several times in its recent
history. In 1997, Director Laura
Dreilich (later Gillette) founded the Boulder Chorale Ensemble, an auditioned
group which performed a number of concerts with the rest of the Chorale and
also independently. It ceased to exist
in 2000, when Laura left the Chorale.
In
2004, Tim Snyder established the Boulder Chamber Chorale as an auditioned
sub-group of the Chorale. It continues
to present concerts under the umbrella association, the Boulder Chorale, both
with the Chorale's other ensembles, alone, and in collaboration with other
groups, notably the Laudamus Chamber Chorale from Fort Collins.
In
2004, the Women's Chorale began its existence.
From the beginning, the conductor has been Kim Needham. Although at first members were auditioned, no
audition is required for membership at the present time. The ensemble performs
under the umbrella association, the Boulder Chorale, both with the Chorale's
other ensembles, alone, and in collaboration with other groups, notably the
Niwot High School choral groups, also conducted by Needham.
Concerts
We
don't have izoseabro programs for all the Chorale's concerts (if any of you has
old programs, we would love to have them for the archives), but we know of at least
89 different concert programs we have done (some of them given two
performances). Most frequently performed: Beethoven's 9th Symphony (6 times) and Mozart's Requiem (5 times).
Music Leadership
In
all these years, the Boulder Chorale has had relatively few conductors.
Duane
Staggers conducted in the earliest period, until 1969, when Caroline (Bowles)
Wayland assumed the leadership until 1987. During this period, there were many
concerts and the Chorale grew in numbers and strength. After a transition
period under Wally Hamilton's direction, Greg Norton became Director in
1988. During his tenure, the Chorale
began regular collaborations with the Boulder Philharmonic. The quality of performances began to be
recognized in the press and regular seasons included at least 4 concerts per
year.
When
Norton left in 1993, William Witwer came on board and led the group for three
years. In 1995, the search committee chose Laura Dreilich (later Gillette) as
Music Director. Another period of growth
in numbers and quality occurred, but disagreement between the Board and
Gillette in the fall of 2000 led to another "transition" period, in which Lei
Ray Yu worked hard to help the Chorale complete its season. Another search in
2001 led to the selection of the Chorale's current Artistic Director, Timothy
Snyder. Snyder's reputation for artistic excellence, good teaching ability, and
strong interpersonal skills influenced the committee, and all three promises
have been fulfilled as he works with us for a seventh year.
Community
While
it is true that Boulder has always been an academically-dominated town, its
growth since 1966 has been phenomenal and many other influences have entered
the community and music scene in those years.
The professionalization of the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra is one
important phenomenon. The proliferation
of choral ensembles has also characterized the music atmosphere. For instance, the Ars Nova Singers, now in
their 23d year, represent a high-quality ensemble of voices with a strong following
for their esoteric repertoire. The Chorale remains the largest and most
comprehensive community chorus. Its
ensembles, the Chamber Chorale and the Women's Chorale, have filled a need for
specialized groups.
Finances
As
the group has grown in size and ambition, financial needs have also
increased. The earliest budget in our
archives is for 1984-5. It showed a beginning balance of $753.09; income of
$787.70 (of which $725 was in dues) and expenses of $916.66, with a mid-year
balance of $624.13. There were no salaries budgeted. The single concert expenses included less
than $200 for a venue and fees for soloists.
The
budget for 2007-8 is $114,550. Of this,
revenue of $44,000 (less than 40%) is from dues and concert income. The remainder must come from fund raising of
various sorts: annual fund, fund-raising events, grants and corporate
donations. Expenses include salaries (40%), concert expenses (12%),
administrative expenses, including phone, postage, copying, licenses, rent and
insurance (8%), advertising and promotion, program and ticket production (7%),
and fund raising expenses (20%), and costs of rehearsals including retreats
(6%). Some expenses are "passed
through": costs of music are covered by members' music payments; CD production
is covered by sales.
What
a change! We are no longer a little, low-cost organization. Luckily, we were well-advised to seek
non-profit status and have 501(c)(3) credentials. One of our major needs is a
group of strong corporate donors, so we too can play with the Big Boys (and
Girls!)
page three
Calendar of Events
Tuesday Evenings Rehearsal
Schedule
6:00 - 7:15 pm: Women's
Chorale
6:00 - 7:15 pm: Chamber
Chorale
7:30 - 9:30 pm: Concert
Chorale
Monday, Dec. 17 through
Monday, Jan. 15¾Winter Break for Women's
Chorale and Chamber Chorale
Tuesday, January 8¾Concert Chorale Rehearsal
7:00 - 9:30 pm: Mahler
Rehearsal
(no rehearsal for Chamber or
Women's Chorale)
Thursday, January 10¾Dress Rehearsal
Concert Chorale with
Orchestra
*please note you do not
need to wear concert attire*
7:00-10:00 p.m. Macky Auditorium
Friday, January 11¾Dress Rehearsal
Concert Chorale with Orchestra
*please note you do not
need to wear concert attire*
7:00-10:00 p.m. Macky Auditorium
Saturday, January 12¾MahlerFest Concert-Concert Chorale
6:30 p.m. call
7:30 p.m. concert Macky Auditorium
Sunday, January 13¾MahlerFest Concert-Concert Chorale
2:30 p.m. call
3:30 p.m. concert Macky Auditorium
Monday, January 14¾Board of Directors' Meeting
7:00 p.m. Atonement Lutheran Church
Please let Jack know if you
plan to attend.
Tuesday, January 15¾Chamber and Women's Chorale
6:00-8:00 p.m. (no rehearsal for the Concert Chorale)
Saturday, January 19 and
Sunday, January 20¾
Concert Chorale Auditions for
new Tenors and Basses
Tuesday, January 22¾All Groups Rehearse
6:00 - 7:15 pm: Women's
Chorale
6:00 - 7:15 pm: Chamber
Chorale
7:30 - 9:30 pm: Concert
Chorale
Friday, January 25¾Newsletter Deadline
Please send articles to Jeff
Livesay, Newsletter Editor at jeff.livesay@gmail.com
Saturday, February 9¾Chamber/Women's Retreat
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. First Baptist Church
page
four