SPONSORED STORY FROM A CHORUS AMERICA PARTNER

The first thing that most people might know about Berkshire Choral International is the immersive week-long experiences that BCI offers for adult singers and lifelong choral enthusiasts. Perhaps not as widely known is this choral institution's longstanding commitment to developing future generations of choral professionals. For more than 30 years, the BCI Apprentice Program has provided opportunities for young aspiring choral conductors, singers, and accompanists to gain valuable experience early in their careers. Chorus America spoke with staff members and recent apprentices from BCI to learn about what the Apprentice Program looks like in today's choral field.

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.

SPONSORED STORY FROM A CHORUS AMERICA PARTNER

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Steve Smith was five months into his new job as president of Berkshire Choral International (BCI) with a mandate to reset and re-energize the summer program for a new generation of choral singers. COVID-19 then forced cancellation of all BCI live events for both 2020 and 2021. After a two-year gap of in-person programs, the summer of 2022 has seen a much-anticipated reopening. Chorus America checked in with Steve to see how the return is going and what lessons he and the organization have learned.

SPONSORED STORY FROM A CHORUS AMERICA PARTNER

The Hartford Chorale has a lot to celebrate this spring. Part of the fabric of the Hartford community for 50 years, the chorale has established a reputation for excellence throughout southern New England and beyond. The organization takes great pride in its rich history and tradition of performing symphonic-scale, choral-orchestral repertoire at a high standard of artistry. A bedrock of dedicated volunteer singers and savvy board members, together with dynamic artistic leaders and a small fellowship of resourceful paid administrators, have keyed the organization’s longevity, achievements, and evolution.

Sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski are the authors of Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, a book that explores how we experience stress physically, mentally, and emotionally, and what strategies we can use to process it, both inside and out. In exploring this topic, the sisters bring to bear their own perspectives, Emily as a researcher with a PhD in health behavior and Amelia as a choral conductor.

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.

SPONSORED CONTENT FROM A CHORUS AMERICA PARTNER

There can be serendipity in the most challenging change of plans. The Master Chorale of South Florida was scheduled for a prime performance at the 2020 Chorus America Conference in Miami -- an ideal setting to premiere a commission from composer Jake Runestad. With a global coronavirus pandemic putting a halt to choral events and most of everyday life as we know it, this performance obviously did not come to fruition.

Instead, the Master Chorale and artistic director Brett Karlin discovered they possesed a brand new work that spoke with uncanny eloquence to our new reality -- and the opportunity to premiere it with the involvement of a wider community of audience members, renowned conductors, and singers than they ever imagined. Karlin and Runestad shared their stories with Chorus America on the journey of this new commission, As Long As We Are Here, which enters a new chapter this fall.