SPONSORED STORY FROM A CHORUS AMERICA PARTNER

Music education - and inspiring a new generation of singers - is central to the mission of Albany Pro Musica, which has been elevating choral music in New York's Capital Region since 1981. Now, the chorus is embarking on its largest educational project yet, launching the inaugural Pro Musica International Choral Festival to be held in the summer of 2023. In partnership with the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts at Queen’s University in Ontario and the University at Albany, this new festival will bring students across the U.S. and Canada together to study and perform with distinguished faculty and world-class musicians. Thanks to a generous grant from Bader Philanthropies, Inc., the costs of tuition, room, and board are fully covered for every participating student.

With its longstanding commitment to working with young singers, Albany Pro Musica understands the value of bringing in a top-notch faculty to engage with the students, including one person with whom the Chorus America community is certainly familiar. We asked Rollo Dilworth, our current board member and past chair, a few questions about the inaugural festival, where he will serve as festival guest conductor and composer, and direct the closing performance including a new work commissioned from him for the festival.

An artist, arts educator, teaching artist, policymaker, and philanthropist, Alysia Lee has a broad perspective on the arts ecosystem. As the founder and artistic director of Sister Cities Girlchoir and as the inaugural president for the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (a position she began in early 2022), she works to advance access, equity, and decolonization—always with a focus on youth, anti-racism, creativity, and justice.

SPONSORED CONTENT FROM A CHORUS AMERICA PARTNER

Choristers and directors know all too well the challenges of learning music while apart, as the majority of choruses are not meeting in person right now. But as Andrew Goren shares, the concept of taking the rehearsal room with you has been in the works from before the COVID-19 pandemic upended our lives in 2020. Goren, the founder of the digital rehearsal app Harmony Helper, talks with Chorus America about his singing background and the experiences that led him to develop new technology to help singers make the most of their practice time.