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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Dear Singers,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Our concert on November 23<sup>rd</sup> 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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlB3E_OmpT4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlB3E_OmpT4</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The next clip is of Matt singing one of his original songs from a recent album called “Matt Alber with Strings Attached”.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CG6iTOvP-8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CG6iTOvP-8</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Larry<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Matt Alber<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><i><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><i><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>"That was so sweet. I want to listen to him again." –Madonna<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Matt Alber is a San Francisco-based independent singer/songwriter and 2-time Grammy® 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 <i>Out Magazine</i>, <i>Sirius Out Q Radio</i> and Fox's hit television show, <i>BONES.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Matt's latest album, <i>Constant Crows</i>, 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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><br>“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. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>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. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In my five years with Chanticleer, we recorded seven albums, two of which won Grammy® 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.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>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.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>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. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>Lawrence Speakman<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>Artistic Director and Conductor</span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#984806'><img border=0 width=121 height=122 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CEDE44.3C027720" alt="CSC_final_logo"></span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>The Concert Singers of Cary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.concertsingers.org"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue'>www.concertsingers.org</span></b></a><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.speakmanvocalarts.com"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue'>www.speakmanvocalarts.com</span></b></a><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#984806'>919-249-6421<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>