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Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus Newsletter
Volume 3, Spring 2015
A Child’s
Requiem
A New work Dedicated to
Victims of the Sandy Hook Tragedy
Steven Sametz, Composer
Jamie Spillane, Conductor
Our junior and senior choirs had the great honor,
this year, of being selected to sing in A Child’s
Requiem. Composer Steven Sametz won the 2013
Sackler Prize through the University of Connecticut
Anna Ryan in A Child’s Requiem
School of Fine Arts for his composition. It featured
the UConn Symphony Orchestra, UConn Concert
Choir, Chorus Angelicus and two soloists. The performance was done under the direction of Dr. Jamie
Spillane, director of choral studies and associate professor of music in the School of Fine Arts.
Two years after the horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, this requiem looks, not only to
honor the memories of those affected, but also open a dialogue for children touched by gun violence.
Portions within the Requiem libretto were written by children from the Philadelphia area. They shared their
stories with Mr. Sametz, who was able to incorporate their words, creating a purity of direction. These
brave young writers were in attendance at the performance in Stamford.
Chorus Angelicus provided the children’s choir for the piece. Sametz wanted to have a children’s choir that
provides the innocence juxtaposed to the adult world represented by an adult choir.
Though the process was emotional and difficult, our children worked hard and produced beautiful and
touching results.
Paul Butcher
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
The Paul Butcher Memorial Scholarship has, so far, raised $2570! We are very proud of this scholarship, what it stands for and what it provides and has the potential to provide going forward.
Due to the love of his family and friends, Paul’s Facebook page is still active. It is inspiring to see the
love he continues to generate, even though he is gone.
If you would like to donate to this fund, please send your contribution to Joyful Noise, Inc., PO Box
1051, Torrington, CT 06790 with Butcher Memorial noted in the memo line.
GAUDIE
The Gutierrez brothers, Chase and Zach, are the
focus of our Gaudie Spotlight this issue.
The brothers attend the University of Hartford’s
Hartt School. Chase and Evan major in vocal
performance and Zach is studying choral
conducting.
Born of musical parents, the boys have been
harmonizing together since they were three
years old. In their teen years, they performed
together as a group called “Three”. They have
recorded CDs of world music, Christmas music
and inspirational Christian music.
Two of the three brothers, Chase and Zach are
new to Gaudeamus this past year and performed
with us for Journey for the Soul and our
Christmas Angelicus 2014 series. They also
participated in the recording of Requiem in
November. They have been a beautiful addition to
our baritone section.
It is a positive and inspiring reflection on our
organization, and on the choral community, that
young people seem drawn to find their place with
us. The mix of ages within Gaudeamus, and that
not all Gaudies are alumni of Chorus Angelicus,
demonstrates the wide reach of choral music.
Though originally from Virginia, the Gutierez
brothers consider Connecticut their second
home.
You can listen to them on
www.youtube.com/ThreeTheMusic
We look forward to hearing more from Zach and
Chase in upcoming concerts with Gaudeamus.
COLLABORATIVE
by Laurie Ellington and Sarah Eyre
In the arts we speak often about collaboration,
especially as a vital ingredient for artistic
success. During the last 3 years, Gabriel Löfvall,
with his artistic staff of Karen Sovak and Laurie
Ellington, has built alliances that are propelling
Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus to new artistic
heights; presenting unique concerts, as well as
creating recordings and presenting videos
online. Our choristers have been offered
inspiring performance opportunities that
provided a wide spectrum of choral experiences,
all of which were enhanced by exciting
collaboration
with other arts organizations. This season, the Junior and Senior choirs collaborated with the Waterbury Symphony and
Shakesperience Productions to perform
Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
They next teamed with the Fireworks Ensemble
to record Brian Coughlin’s challenging Requiem.
The highlight of the winter, and perhaps of the
year, was the chance to work with the choirs and
orchestra of UCONN to present the world
premiere of Steven Sametz’s “A Child’s Requiem”
at Storrs and Stamford, CT. The spring brought
the opportunity to work alongside the choirs of
St. Patrick-St. Anthony church and the University
of St. Joseph to perform the masterwork,
Rutter’s Requiem. A surprise visit from Escolanía del Escorial allowed our singers to meet
other choristers from Europe and to share
experiences and make music together. The
Junior Choir will collaborate with the Children’s
Choir of Springfield in the first annual Festival of
Song, where they will get to meet and work with
the best singers from all over New England. The choirs of Joyful Noise continue to earn rave
reviews. Even as key members of the Senior
Choir graduate and move on, there’s a
consistency in the voice of the ensemble and the
development of the audience that is made
possible
through the collaborations provided.
As our choirs prepare for their final concerts of
the season, I have no doubt that they are
reminiscing about the adventures they have
already shared this busy season, particularly the
impressive array of artistic successes.
Proccess
Spotlight
The
Reunion
Winter CAMP
ALUMNI
This year’s winter camp was the
largest ever! The kids spent an excellent
weekend submerged in singing and
great downtime activities.
Board member and chorister parent Susie Heiland headed up this
year’s citrus sale. This was a very successful fundraiser and was a lot
of hard work. Susie was quite an inspiration to the kids and
everyone did a wonderful job.
SALE
Citrus
PARENT
Committees
A great big thank you goes out to those parents who took charge of
this year’s newly created committees! Michelle Begley headed up
the hospitality committee, which helped keep the kids fed during
long practices and provided some holiday parties. Laura McClellan
took charge of the voluteer committee, helping to organize concert
staffing.
Thank you to all the parents who volunteer! We absolutely could not
do it with out you.
CHRISTMAS Angelicus
The 2014 Christmas Angelicus was an amazing success!
Alan Murchie joined Christmas Angelicus as the organist for
the first time. Many compliments were given for his
exuberence and talent.
The performance at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church in
Hartford brought out the Alumni and everyone enjoyed great
company, good food and lots of dancing afterward.
Alan Murchie, Organist
The performance at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in
Litchfield became a Standing Room Only event. This was,
in part, due to the wonderful group of Freemasons who
planned an evening with us. We really enjoyed the enthusiasm that they brought with them and are extremely grateful
to all of our audience for their patience and support. The
positive energy definitely made its way around the room and
leant to a beautiful evening for all.
ON
Youtube
www.youtube/ChorusAngelicus1
Facebook
Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus
Twitter
@ChorusAngelicus
Mark your
CALENDAR
LINE Places to find us:
email
joyful.noise@snet.net
May 17th-4pm
Spring Concert
Trinity Episcopal Church , Torrington
Our littlest singers invite you to enjoy the
culmination of a year of hard work! Please come and
share in our Spring performance and witness the
future of Chorus Angelicus
May 23rd
Springfield Choral Festival
Passion for
Music
NEED APPLY!
There is always room for new ideas on the
Joyful Noise, Inc. board of directors. Apply
to the board and help with the decision
making and direction of our organization.
Some expectations of a board member are:
attendance at monthy meetings
contributions to the organization
concert attendance and support
voluteer time
Send your inquiries to joyful.noise@snet.net or
call us at 860-496-8841
Alumni NEWS
Springfield, Mass
The Junior Choir joins The Children’s Chorus of
Springfield for the Springfield Choral
Festival in downtown Springfield. Public concert
from 3:00pm to 4:30pm on the City Hall steps at
Springfield Court Square. Conducted by four-time
Grammy winner Charles Bruffy.
June 4th thru June 6th
All Choirs Festival
Trinity Episcopal Church , Torrington
The 2nd Annual All Choirs Festival is on its way! We
look forward to hosting special guests
The Connecticut Children’s Chorus Concert Choir.
A feature of this year’s festival is an Open House
during rehearsal on Friday the 5th from 7-9 pm.
Join us for the spectacular finale to the 2014-15
Season.
The Festival culminates in a concert on Saturday
the 6th at 4pm. Tickets are $40 priority/$25 general/$10 students, online, by phone or at the door.
Congratulations to Julie Bickford on the birth of her first child, Quinn! He’s a beauty!
Matthew Cramer has been accepted to Yale for Choral Conducting!
Andres Moreno has been accepted to Yale for Opera Performance! We are proud of our future Elis!
Sarah Mitnik has been busy! Recently, she was accepted into the Connecticut All-State Choir, performed
at the New England Music Festival in New Hampshire with fellow New England choristers and was ranked
second in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional competition. She also received one of
the highest scores in the Northern Regional Music festival and competition. Keep up the great work!
Joyful Noise, Inc.
CONTACT us
Home of Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus
220 Prospect Street, or PO Box 1051, Torrington, CT 06790
www.chorusangelicus.org
860-496-8841