President's Welcome 2011

The upcoming season of E (Elijah, Evensong, Entertainment, and Echoes) will be the 42nd season for the Brazos Valley Chorale, and I know you will enjoy reading Jess Wade’s descrip-tion of the season below. This season brings both excitement and challenges; excitement from again having the opportunity to sing, to learn new music, and to create a high quality choral ensemble befitting the Brazos Valley. Excitement also comes from hearing the won-derful voices that reside right here in our community. There is no need to go to Houston, Dallas, or even New York to hear the kind of quality singing you will experience from mem-bers of the Chorale; and this from people who simply sing as an avocation and who have a sense of offering their gifts to the community. It may be needless to say, but for those of you who do not know, none of the singers in the Brazos Valley Chorale is compensated in any way. Most of the singers, in fact, not only share their talents and their time, but also contribute financially to support the Chorale’s expenses. More on that a little later.We also face a few challenges, starting with the need to identify and recruit new singers. As a university-based com¬munity, we continually experience high turnover, as people complete their education or find new jobs at other uni¬versities or cities. Fortunately, as rapidly as people leave the community, they arrive just as rapidly, with many seeking opportunities to engage in a group just like the Chorale. If we can just identify these people and get information to them about our audition process, our membership can sustain and grow. So, if you have heard any good singers lately, or know of new people having just moved to the community, be sure you share this newsletter with them. Auditions are August 27 and can be scheduled by calling 979-776-1776.Another challenge we face this year is that of identifying alternative funding sources. While none of the singers is compensated, the Chorale does have significant expenses. In addition to staff costs for our artistic director, ac¬companist, and administrative director, the Chorale must pay for purchasing or renting music, renting the Brazos Center for rehearsals, renting performance venues, printing concert programs, and hiring guest musicians. Formerly the Chorale received significant funding support through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley with hotel occupancy tax funds provided by the City of College Station. Recently, however, those funds have dwindled. It has become increas¬ingly difficult for an organization like the Brazos Valley Chorale, whose purpose is to improve the quality of life for members of our own local community, to qualify for those funds. Therefore, the Chorale plans to implement some new fundraising initiatives in hopes of offsetting these other grants. You will hear more about those as the season progresses.Finally, for those of you already in the Chorale, I look forward to working with you again over the next year. Our first rehearsal is on August 29. Be sure to be there about 7:00 to get registered and pick up your music. And by all means, please help recruit new members. Help them schedule an audition for August 27, and even bring them to the audition if your time permits. And convey to them the idea in this quote from one of our members: “Nobody cares whether you have tenure at a university or repair cars or sell boots; you are a singer for the magic few hours we are together.” That is what is so neat about a community chorale like we have and that makes this all so much fun. Young or not so young, professionally trained as a singer or church choir trained, corporate executive or construction worker, singing is our bond. Others deserve the privilege of joining in this bond.