[csc_newsline] Dear Singers

[Larry Speakman]

Dear Singers,

 

Our concert on November 23rd is rapidly approaching and I am excited by the
progress that we are making. Matt Alber will be with us soon and he is
excited about working with you and returning to North Carolina. With some
additional rehearsal, we will be ready. As a preview, I thought that you
might enjoy seeing a couple of video clips of his work in two different
arenas that show his versatility. The first,  is a clip of a telecast of a
Messiah performance where Matt was singing solos as a Countertenor (Male
alto) which was the way it was generally done in the Baroque period. Matt's
work with Chanticleer was as a soprano.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlB3E_OmpT4

 

The next clip is of Matt singing one of his original songs from a recent
album called "Matt Alber with Strings Attached".

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CG6iTOvP-8

 

I have said many times that our singing membership is our most effective
publicity tool in the success of our concert attendance. I have listed
Matt's bio below and encourage you to read it and invite others to attend
this event. I find his story about his choir experience and evolution as a
singer to be inspiring. Please use any of this material to send a personal
invitation to anyone who you feel will enjoy the concert. As we all know,
with our incredibly busy lives getting people to come is the biggest
challenge. We need your help to make it happen!

 

Sincerely,

 

Larry

 

Matt Alber

 

"That was so sweet. I want to listen to him again." -Madonna

 

Matt Alber is a San Francisco-based independent singer/songwriter and 2-time
GrammyR Award-winning recording artist. He was first introduced to a
widespread audience by MTv's Logo Channel who featured his song "End Of The
World" and it's iconic music video set in a 1960's Hollywood barbershop. The
song went viral which quickly led to features in Out Magazine, Sirius Out Q
Radio and Fox's hit television show, BONES.

 

Matt's latest album, Constant Crows, debuted at #2 on the iTunes
Singer/Songwriter Chart, and explores themes of brotherhood, spirituality,
and romance through lushly orchestrated strains of acoustic guitars, piano,
organ and strings. The album features two covers- one by Madonna and one by
a lesser known 1970's songstress, Judee Sill.


"Singing in choirs has been the only constant in my life.  It's the place I
learn the most about myself and how to be with others.  My first choir tour
was to Japan with the St. Louis Children's Choirs where they didn't have
Wal-Mart, ate raw food and took baths together.  We sang with the world's
best young singers and made fast friends.  They showed us how to catch
noodles from a bamboo trough-we taught them how to break-dance.  I sang in
those choirs until I was 18.  

 

I didn't take a voice lesson until my first day of college.  I went to
Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri (www.truman.edu) and
Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen and the all-male residence hall were my first stomping
grounds.  As a music major, I spent about fifteen hours a week in choir
rehearsals, where I had the great honor of singing in Dr. Paul Crabb's
choirs.  He routinely led us away from the mundane into the sacred place
where music happens.  He taught us to regard each other as instruments.  If
only our presidents did as much.

 

I was also the newest soprano of the elite professional classical men's
ensemble, Chanticleer (www.chanticleer.org).  Singing was no longer just a
passion, but my full-time job.  The group is limited to just twelve men;
there was one spot open when I auditioned in 1998.  It took three auditions,
but I won a seat in the group.   I've never been more challenged physically
or mentally than singing with this ensemble, but it came with great rewards.
We toured the world 150 days a year performing the most difficult
repertoires ever composed for voices.  We sold-out stadiums and concert
halls and became brothers.  

 

In my five years with Chanticleer, we recorded seven albums, two of which
won GrammyR Awards.  Our director Joseph Jennings pushed us hard with
genius, vision and southern perfectionism.  In thirty minutes he can
transform a mediocre high school choir into a working ensemble with vibrant
sound and spark.  (And in three hours he can bake you a cake too heavy to
take home.)

 

Because of my choir teachers, I'd been given a great gift; the ability to
find the soul in any brand of music, be it Michael Jackson, medieval opera,
shape-note singing, or Gregorian chant.  My harmonic language had been so
far stretched through performing and mimicking soul music, styles I was
finally immune to musical prejudice."

 

Alber's newest project, "With Strings Attached," is a live DVD recorded in
San Francisco with the Cello Street Quartet. The piece will be featured in
San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival later this summer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lawrence Speakman

Artistic Director and Conductor

CSC_final_logo

The Concert Singers of Cary

 <http://www.concertsingers.org> www.concertsingers.org

 <http://www.speakmanvocalarts.com> www.speakmanvocalarts.com

919-249-6421

 

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