Message to Members – Thursday, September 23, 2021
**** Please respond to survey re Fall outdoor Messiah singing event! ****
**** Due Saturday, September 25 ****
From the Music Director…
Dear Hartford Chorale,
The administrative “machinery” of the Hartford Chorale is well-oiled, very active, and highly productive. Evidence of all these extraordinary efforts in support of large-scale choral singing (the raison-d’etre of the Hartford Chorale) are on the horizon and will now likely flow freely and frequently. Be alert!
Under advisement is the telescoping of our upcoming season to a span of November 2021 through June 2022, beginning with a series of Welcome Back presentations in “conclave format,” a series of vocal-health masterclasses led by Jack Pott, and a three-concert season that, as originally intended, includes Messiah, a 50th-anniversary Reunion/Alumni “Sing-in” and banquet, our 50th anniversary gala concert (to include Scott Perkins’ Alive Poems), and, highly appropriately, three performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the HSO. “Freude” will never have been so powerfully delivered as with our voices next spring. In addition, we will be auditioning prospective members during October. Spread the good news about that!
How delighted I am that Lisa Nappi is now on board as our interim Operations Director. I have known Lisa for over twenty years, all marked by her remarkable artistry as a professional singer, her outstanding administrative skills, and her ebullient personality. She is a long-time friend of the Chorale and will bring to the task everything that is needed for us to continue our good work in a calm, orderly, productive, and friendly fashion.
Quotation of the day, from a chorus executive-director message in the current Chorus America journal, The Voice: “How do we maintain our culture and stay accessible with our primary responsibility of being safe with an airborne disease in a chorus of 220 people? The simple answer is: We’re requiring vaccinations.”
Meanwhile, all best,
Rick
richardcoffey10801@gmail.com
From the Board President…
Dear Hartford Chorale,
I am very much looking forward to Monday, which is the date for our first full board meeting of the season! We will be welcoming new members to the board and I cannot wait for us to get started. On the agenda, is SCAP’s recommendation for what looks like a very exciting and engaging Fall. Thank you for your patience as we revise our Fall season to suit this ever changing environment we live in!
In that respect, there are two very important items on your to-do list.
1) Please be sure to fill out the form for our outdoor Messiah here by Saturday. It will give us some time to compile results and present to the board accordingly.
2) Please RSVP your picnic attendance with how many people and what you will bring to Dawn Bauer (dbauer658@gmail.com). I cannot wait to see you all there!
Lalitha
president@hartfordchorale.org
Passing of Dan Sullivan, Joanne Huelsman’s father
Dear Hartford Chorale,
I am writing to let you know that our Joanne’s father, Dan Sullivan passed away peacefully last week. Please join me and the board in sending our most sincere condolences to Joanne and her family. You will find a wonderful obituary written here. Our social committee chair, Dawn Bauer has reached out to Joanne, and members of the board will be attending the funeral today.
Lalitha
Message from the Standing Committee for Artistic Programming (SCAP)
Message and survey regarding outdoor singing event, October 30, 2021
The postponement of Messiah has been a disappointment for all of us who long to start singing again. Our Music Directors have come up with a plan for the Fall that would allow for an outdoor, in-person event to allow members to re-engage in our favorite passion – singing! This proposal has been developed to maximize the safety of each singer that participates. The particulars include:
Saturday, October 30, 3:00 – 4:30 PM.
Location is the Darius Miller Band Shell in Walnut Hill Park, New Britain. This is a covered space (directions will be provided closer to the event).
Rehearsing four choruses from Messiah. Each singer must provide their own score (Watkins Shaw Novello edition).
An electronic keyboard for accompaniment.
Each singer will bring their own chair (such as an outdoor lawn chair).
All participants will wear a mask, even while singing.
All participants will be required to be fully vaccinated.
Singers will be placed a minimum of 2 – 3 feet apart.
The event would be canceled in the event of serious inclement weather.
In order to move forward with this proposal, it is imperative that we receive a commitment for participation from a reasonable number of members.
All members are asked to complete a quick survey about participation in the event using this link.
The Chorale Board will make a final decision about whether to go forward with this event at their meeting next Monday, September 27.
Therefore, responses are needed by Saturday, September 25.
If the Board approves for this event to go forward, additional details will be provided.
Lalitha
President, Board of Governors, Hartford Chorale
president@hartfordchorale.org
Important Date Reminders…
Events – Please add to your calendar.
Sunday, Oct-3; St. James’s Church; 4-6 p.m. RAIN DATE – Sunday, Oct, 10