By Kati Schardl
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

When the Tallahassee Community Chorus journeyed to Beijing in July to perform at the International Choral Festival, it was a family affair for featured soloist Marcia Porter - in more ways than one.

“I think of the people in the chorus as my singing family,” said Porter, an FSU voice professor. “But if you’re going to be gone for that length of time (nearly two weeks), you also want to have your biological family with you.”

Especially if one of those family members is a bright-eyed, good-natured 18-month-old toddler.

Porter brought her son, Joshua, on the China trip, along with husband Torrio Osborne and mother Edwina Porter.

Porter’s coterie of relations was one of a dozen family units that made the trip. Among the 113-person contingent from Tallahassee, several chorus members brought siblings, cousins and aunts. Sons and daughters asked moms and dads to come along, and wives wanted husbands by their side.

Chorus director André Thomas, a seasoned world traveler, brought wife Portia and son Jordan, 25, on the trip. It was the first time Thomas’ wife and son, an architectural engineer in Wichita, Kan., had traveled to Asia, and the first time Thomas himself had visited mainland China (he had previously spent a month in Taiwan conducting choral groups).

“It was great having (Jordan) around to explain the new type of buildings (the group saw being built in China) and their construction,” Thomas said in an e-mail from Cleveland, where he was helping his daughter move into a new apartment.

“It is not often that my family can accompany me when I am conducting, and it was a delight!

“This was a wonderful trip!”

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I appreciate the efforts of all involved in the Beijing International Choral Festival. John (Music Celebrations President) has great vision and a willingness to explore the unknown that was inspiring, and Bill has a gentle confidence and patience that is comforting. It was a great experience for me and for my students. I find myself missing the Chinese people and missing the planning that occurred during the months leading to the festival.

Some of the highlights included spending time with the Chinese tour escorts—Tony, Nancy, and Jeanie were delightful and helpful and informative. They gave a wonderful face to the country and it was a pleasure to spend time with them. It was also exciting to hear students broadening their view of life. The Beijing University Choir was exceptional and seeing them perform in beautiful costumes was a high point of the trip.

In addition to the Festival performance and our individual performances, holding a clinic for the All-China Chorus Association was a delightful experience. The audience (Chinese choral directors) was engaging and willing to learn.

I have recommended Music Celebrations to several of my colleagues around the country and will continue to do so.

Dr. Kevin Fenton
Florida State University Singers

We’d like to take a moment to thank all of the choirs that will be participating in the Beijing International Choral Festival next month, as part of the All-China National Choral Directors Association Conference.

CLOSING CULTURAL GAPS THROUGH MUSIC: CRANE STUDENTS TO PERFORM IN CHINA

Under the guidance of conductor Dr. Rebecca Reames, an associate professor of choral music education at Crane who will accompany the choir, the students’ preparations for the trip are twofold. During weekly practice sessions, they will study their performance pieces and to prepare themselves for the their cultural immersion, students must take turns presenting information about modern Chinese culture to the class.

“The festival is designed to unite people from different cultures and demonstrate that as educators, we are embracing music from a global perspective,” Dr. Reames said. “This experience will help prepare the students for future endeavors as music educators and members of a global world.”

The Crane students will join the Florida State University Singers, led by festival directors Andre Thomas, director of choral activities at FSU School of Music and Kevin Fenton, an FSU assistant professor of choral conducting, in representing the United States at the festival.

The choirs will perform both traditional western songs and Chinese folk songs. The concerts will be held in Beijing at the Tianjin Grand Theater and the Beijing Concert Hall at Xinhua Gate.

“The pieces we will perform present a phenomenal opportunity and challenge for us because we want to convey our aptitude of western music and traditions to another culture and that’s a daunting task-but a very cool one,” senior Jerome Socolof of Ilion said.

Authenticity is another challenge. The choir’s performance includes a set of Chinese folk songs.

“Whenever you sing in another language accuracy is the key,” sophomore Kyle Pogemiller of New Paltz said. “We definitely want to show the audience our efforts to learn the proper inflections and enunciations of their language.”

The festival is held in conjunction with the 2007 All-China Choral Directors Association National Conference and students will have access to bi-lingual choral workshops that can further their academic knowledge, professional experience and cultural awareness.

Besides the workshops and performances, the concert touring organization Music Celebrations International will provide students with a full itinerary that includes visiting Chinese landmarks like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The students are excited about the experience and see this as a life-changing opportunity.

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Congratulations to the Florida State University Singers, who recently conducted successful performances in Miami after being accepted to sing at the 2007 National ACDA Convention!

The Eastern New Mexico University Choir has been selected to represent New Mexico in a major 2007 international music festival in the People’s Republic of China. Dr. Jason Paulk, assistant professor of music, says that he was informed of this selection “based upon recommendations of state music officials, past achievements and current superior ensembles.”

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What better way to strengthen overseas ties than with song? In July, 2007, we will be part of such a kinship by hosting the Beijing International Choral Festival, which will be the highlight event of the All-China National Choral Directors Association Conference.

Joining the festival will be the Florida State University Singers, the Tallahassee Community Chorus, the Tianjin University Chorus, and others.

For information on the festival program, please click here.

Music Celebrations International is happy to have two of the finest concert halls in China lined up as festival venues, the Forbidden City Concert Hall and the Tianjin Zhong Hua Theatre. Here are some pictures of these wonderful buildings.

Forbidden City Concert Hall

Tianjin Zhong Hua Theatre

Dr. André Thomas, Director of Choral Activities at Florida State University and Festival Artistic Director of Music Celebrations International’s 2007 Beijing International Choral Festival has recently conducted a special “Unity in the Community” concert to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Tallahassee Democrat by Mark Hinson.

…The “Unity” concert, which is held in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is the brainchild of Tallahassee’s choral mastermind, Andre Thomas. The performers include the Community Chorus, the FAMU Concert Choir, the Florida State University Singers, Salsa Florida, African musician Damascus Kafumbe and performers from the Muskogee Creek Indian Tribe East of the Mississippi.

“In Atlanta, the Atlanta Symphony on the 13th of January has a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.,” Thomas explained in an e-mail to the Democrat. “In Minneapolis, Vocal Essence does a concert titled ‘Witness.’ The arts organizations in Tallahassee have not really embraced this idea.”

Until now.

The program puts its multiculturalism and ethnic diversity where its 370 mouths are. The music includes “Gospel Mass” by Robert Ray, a Jewish song, a Muslim call to prayer, Latin-American music, the “Kyrie: Call to Prayer” from “African Sanctus” and Native American music.

“The concert is really Dr. Thomas’ vision. He’s the visionary,” Napoles said. “A lot of Martin Luther King concerts and events are mostly just black and white. Dr. Thomas wanted it to be much more than that. He’s the one who wanted to open it up into something larger.”

Thomas is the director of choral activities at FSU as well as the conductor of the Community Chorus. With Thomas at the helm, the Community Chorus has worked with such famed musical figures as Polish conductor Krzystof Penderecki, singer Bobby McFerrin and the late choral-conducting legend Robert Shaw. The chorus also has performed in Carnegie Hall and will travel to Prague in 2007.

“The Community Chorus has 210 members and about 100 of those are students,” Napoles said. “So there’s a real mix. It’s a real bridge between the community and the universities. . . . It’s also fun. I’ve been in the choir since I was an undergraduate.”

Napoles is a mezzo-soprano who will be both traffic cop and performer on Tuesday.

“Oh, I can’t wait (to sing),” said Napoles, who grew up in Miami with Cuban parents. “I hope this catches on to become an annual concert.”

Music Celebrations International is happy to announce the 2007 Beijing International Choral Festival. There are two artistic directors for this festival:

André Thomas, Director of Choral Activities at Florida State University and director of the Tallahassee Community Chorus.

Kevin Fenton, Associate Professor of Choral Conducting and Director of the University Singers at Florida State University.

The rehearsals and festival performances will take place in both Beijing and Tianjin China, with finale concerts in the renowned Forbidden City Concert Hall and the Tianjin Zhong Hua Theatre.

The festival will feature auditioned SATB choirs from the U.S. combining with the best choirs from Beijing and Tianjin in two finale performances. These concerts will be performed in conjunction with the China National Choir Directors Association and will serve to further establish the classical choral tradition in China as well as providing unique cultural exchange opportunities for both the American and Chinese singers.

Music Celebrations has tremendous experience in China and is excited about using this festival as a way to strengthen the US/Chinese relations as well as further the art of choral singing in China.

For more information, please contact us at 1.800.395.2036 or use our web form to request more information.