[New_csc_newsline] Concert Singers season plans

[Nathan Leaf]

Dear Concert Singers – I hope you are safe and well. As we prepare for the
start of our 30th anniversary season, it’s important to acknowledge how
strange it feels. Nothing is normal in our music making world. And yet, for
many of us, the systematic nature of our musical process – Monday
rehearsals especially – are one of the ways that we measure “normal.” Our
endeavor, then, for this season, is to find a way to bring some sense of
normality back to our lives, and yet do it in a new way.



That is what we intend to do, as best we can.



With all this in mind, we will be starting our rehearsals for the fall on
our normal date, the Monday after Labor Day (September 14 this year), at
our normal time of 7:30 pm. However, it is clear that for the foreseeable
future, it will not be possible for us to meet in person. It is not safe to
do so. Thus, we have determined that through at least December, our Monday
rehearsals will be online, as will all of our performance activities. As we
get further into the fall, we will see how conditions are progressing and
make a determination about the spring.



What that means is that our manner of rehearsing will be a bit different
than is usual. Most of the time, we have two hours of fairly intense
rehearsal with a specific amount of repertoire that needs to be
accomplished by a specific date. That will not be the case in the fall. Our
rehearsals will be more experiential. We will sing…together. We will
practice technique. We will explore some new repertoire and learn some
music history. We will have some choir trivia (I’m looking for some
fun-loving helpers to assist with this) and other group building
activities. Most importantly, we will take some time to share in choral
music together.



We do have two projects for the fall, which you can read about below. I am
excited about both of them. When, in the past, have you been able to design
your own avatar for a performance, like we will for Brickyard Broadcast?
And our Virtual Holiday Pops will be a new format, but the same spirit of
the season. And in fact, the Holiday Pops will be an opportunity to reach
out to the community in a different way. I am excited about both of these
projects. We are not trying to replicate what we would normally do in
person. That isn’t possible. Rather, we are taking stock of where we find
ourselves at this moment in time, and choosing to explore what IS possible
in our present circumstances. They say necessity is the mother of
invention…this is what that looks like.



I should also say that earlier this summer, we had considered holding an
outdoor Big Sing this fall. While we had hoped that might provide an
opportunity for the community to gather in a safe way, we have decided that
even an outdoor singing event is probably not prudent at this time. We will
hope to have the Big Sing in the spring…probably outdoors, and depending on
the condition of the pandemic at that time. Similarly, our spring concert
events are all contingent on the conditions. We will not have in person
events until it is safe to do so.



So, please mark your calendars for September 14. We’ll start down the road,
on a journey we’ve never been on before. Who knows where we will end up.



*EVENT 1 – Brickyard Broadcast -  Virtual Premiere November 12-13, 2020*

In collaboration with NC State University, Concert Singers is partnering in
a new commission designed specifically for our time. Designed for eventual
performance outdoors on NC State’s iconic Brickyard, the fall performance
will be a virtual reality simulation, accessible to all who want to
visit. *Brickyard
Broadcast *is part of New York composer Lisa Bielawa’s ground breaking
Broadcast series, including the acclaimed *Broadcast from Home*, in which
Concert Singers was a guest ensemble in June 2020.



*EVENT 2 – Virtual Holiday Pops: On the Town with Concert Singers of Cary
-December, 12, 2020*

CSC will present, as always,  our annual Holiday Pops. This year, our theme
will be On the Town in Cary, and will feature a live stream broadcast,
scenes from favorite places all over Cary, and a sing-along-at-home of
holiday favorites. The format will be different, but the cheer will be the
same!



*EVENT 3 – The 4th Annual Cary Big Sing - Outdoors, March 2021 (specific
date TBD)*

Join CSC for an opportunity to welcome the spring with an outdoor singing
event. While the parameters of the event will be determined by conditions
at the time, we expect we will utilize social distancing and other
protective measures. Those measures may very well include wearing your
specially designed Concert Singers of Cary singers mask.



*EVENT 4* – *Where We Find Ourselves -* *March 13, 2021*, 7:30 pm, CAC
Theater OR Virtual

CSC will present *Where We Find Ourselves, *a new pandemic-proof work by
Micheal Bussewitz Quarm. *Where We Find Ourselves* is a song cycle based on
a series of old photograph negatives housed in a collection at Duke’s
Nasher Museum.  Bussewitz-Quarm has become one of America’s most recent
emerging composers, specializing in choral works commissioned around social
and environmental issues. If conditions allow, we will perform in person.
If not, the work is also designed to be performed in an online format.



*EVENT 5* – Mozart’s *Solemn Vespers* -  *May 22  2021, 7:30 pm, St.
Francis UMC*

A concert planned in hope. We have the music. We’ve reserved a location.
CSC hopes to complete the 20-21 season with the Third Annual DISCOVERY
CONCERT, presenting Mozart Solemn Vespers. Originally scheduled for May
2020, CSC will determine in late 2020 whether a live performance May 2021
is feasible. Alternative, a live-streamed Discovery event will be scheduled.





All the best,

Nathan

-- 



*Dr. Nathan Leaf, D.M.A.Director of Choral ActivitiesTeaching Professor
 North Carolina State University*
*Artistic Director*
*   Concert Singers of Cary*




*214 Price Music CenterCampus Box 7311Raleigh, NC 27695*

*Phone:  919.515.8280**music.arts.ncsu.edu <http://music.arts.ncsu.edu>*