Special Message to Membership from the Board of Governors – February 3, 2022

Dear Hartford Chorale,

I am writing to you with a very important announcement. After seventeen wonderful years on the podium, our beloved Maestro Coffey will be retiring from the Chorale as of June 30, 2022.

The board of governors met this past Monday, and in a special executive session, voted approving his retirement. There were many tears and heavy hearts that evening, and we spent a lot of time talking about how our lives had been enriched because of the Maestro’s leadership and how much was about to change. Please join me in thanking the Maestro for always giving us his best, and somehow magically bringing the best out of us. He taught us that the music will always be bigger than a single person or an organization, and that there is no greater joy than in giving joy away. We will miss his wonderful sense of humor and all the Maestro-isms we’ve collected over the years.

Looking ahead, I am thrilled to announce that the board voted for the appointment of our very own Jack Anthony Pott as Interim Music Director for the 2022-2023 season. Jack has been our Assistant Music Director since 2013, and the Chorale has enjoyed its time with him on the podium, both at rehearsals and in performances. Jack has been instrumental in making the last two years the incredible success it has been. From launching our YouTube presence, to setting up virtual auditions and the countless details that went into keeping our music operations running seamlessly, we couldn’t have been in better hands. Although Jack is familiar to many of us, our ranks have grown and there are many who don’t yet know of him. I have enclosed his bio and a photograph.

Please flood the Maestro’s inbox with your notes on his retirement! We will be planning an appropriate in-person retirement celebration and will notify you as soon as possible. Please join the board of governors in congratulating Jack on his new appointment. As an organization, we are extremely fortunate for this continuity plan. We have much to look forward to and much more to sing. After all…. how can we keep from singing!

 

Lalitha

 

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Jack Anthony Pott is a highly respected conductor, soloist, voice teacher, and clinician throughout Connecticut. Having served as the Assistant Music Director for Hartford Chorale since 2013, he was also a co-founder of the Hartt Community Division High School Chamber Choir and has conducted the CMEA Northern Region High School Choir, as well as other high school choral festivals in Connecticut. He is currently the Director of Music & Arts at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford. Equally comfortable on the other side of the podium, he has been a featured tenor soloist with many ensembles in Connecticut, including the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, CONCORA, Voce, Inc., Hartford Chorale, GM Chorale, Con Brio, and the Mystic River Chorale. Additionally, he is on the roster of Connecticut Choral Artists (CONCORA) and is a featured soloist on albums of the music of Morten Lauridsen and Paul Mealor, by the Hartford-based professional choir, Voce, for which he serves as Principal Tenor. Having been a member of the voice faculty for both Central Connecticut State University and the Hartt School Community Division, Mr. Pott now teaches privately. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from The University of Michigan, and also did graduate studies in choral conducting and voice performance at the University of Connecticut. Mr. Pott resides in South Windsor, CT, with his wife and two children.