Help spread the word!
Download, print and distribute the VAN Card from our Spread the Word page.

Read some of the nice things people are saying about Vocal Area Network.

Want to see more coverage of the vocal ensemble community? You can help! See your feature article here. You'll gain valuable exposure as a writer about vocal ensemble music and your group will benefit from the PR. Submit proposals for approval to the editor.

• IMPORTANT: As we've already seen, COVID-19 has had a dramatic effect on the concert scene, with many postponements and cancellations. Please continue to send updates as you make decisions about your public events to steve.friedman@van.org. Also, we'd be curious to know what groups are doing about non-public activities like rehearsals. Please consider dropping us a brief note to share how your groups are coping in this unprecedented situation. (2020-3-13)
• Essential Voices USA has released a new CD entitled Rejoice! Honoring the Jewish Spirit on the Acis label. (2019-11-29)
• Choral Chameleon has released an album of the Goshu Ondo Suite by Eri Yamamoto, recorded live (and off-book) in November 2018 at the studios of the Paul Taylor Dance Company in Manhattan. The album is available on Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, Pandora and Spotify. CDs are available from AUM Fidelity. (2019-11-21)
• Michael A. Ciavaglia is the new artistic director of the Connecticut Chamber Choir (2019-8-25)
• Read the New York Tiimes story abou the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and its collaborations with cutting-edge composers and popular musicians. (2019-7-21)

Archive of old "News" items

Subscribe to VANupdate. Receive twice-monthly updates about new content on Vocal Area Network. Get the latest news items, upcoming vocal ensemble events, the most recent postings to the VAN Concert Calendar, new site features and updates to Choir Auditions, the Choir Directory and the Info Exchange. Sign up here.

• January 4, 2020: New Choir Directory listing for Transcend Vocal Ensemble, a gender-inclusive treble ensemble based in Manhattan.
• December 19, 2019: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for East Flatbush Community Voices.
• December 10, 2019: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Oceanaires, a barbershop chorus based in Toms River, NJ.
• October 25, 2019: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Boricua College Choir, a community choir based at Boricua College's Manhattan campus.
• October 23, 2019: We've fixed some code on the Choir Auditions page so that alphabetical sorts now work correctly. Groups with "The" in their names had been mistakenly sorted under "T" rather than by the first non-"The" word in their names. We've also adjusted the gold and silver Sustaining Membership indicators in the Choir Directory and on the Choir Auditions page to conform to our new season-based Sustaining Membership policy.
• October 15, 2019: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Rockefeller Center Sings, offering a workshop culminating in a performance under the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
• October 14, 2019: New Choir Directory entries for ensembles in New Rochelle: a listing for the Choir at St. John's Wilmot Episcopal Church and a listing for Vocal Ensemble Laboratory, a workshop and networking group.
• October 7, 2019: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Brooklyn Outlaw Chorus.
• October 5, 2019: We've made a change to the way we recognize and acknowledge Sustaining Membership contributions. Starting with the 2019-20 season (which for us began on September 1, 2019), we will differentiate contributions made in the current season from those made in the past. We appreciate the support we've received since 2001 and will continue to list past Sustaining Members on our Sustaining Membership page and (for ensembles) on the home page. And we've established a new category to recognize contributions during the current season. We hope that those of you who continue to find value in Vocal Area Network will consider a current-season Sustaining Membership contribution.
• September 10, 2019: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Lux Mea Women's Chorus, based on the Upper West Side.

Archive of old "New on VAN" items

• Need some exquisite beaded jewelry to complement your concert attire? Or perhaps a distinctive gift for that special singer in your life? Or maybe you'd like to host a jewelry show to benefit your favorite non-profit organization? Try Carnelian Knoll, where you'll find necklaces, bracelets and earrings of vintage beads and silver handcrafted by Julie Siegmund.
• Looking for rehearsal space or performance venues? Try NYC Music Spaces, part of Fractured Atlas's SpaceFinder NYC database of available rehearsal and performance spaces for instrumental and vocal musicians. You'll find places to rent, from studios to large venues, for classical, jazz, rock--whatever you need to rehearse or perform in NYC.
• Looking for an outstanding vocal ensemble coach? Mark Johnson, possessor of an amazing ear and terrific interpretive insights in a variety of styles, is available to coach your group. Contact Mark via e-mail.
• Liz Fleischer's Sight-Singing Program is offered each season at the Kaufman Center (129 West 67th Street). Classes include ear-training, rhythm and pitch reading, music theory, basic notation and terminology, with emphasis on learning to hold a part with confidence. For more info, visit www.kaufman-center.org/lucyadults_mus_sight.htm, e-mail fleischerliz@aol.com or adultdivision@kaufman-center.org or call (212) 501-3362. The sight-singing program is just one of the classes offered by the Kaufman Center's Lucy Moses School.

Your purchases from our affiliate vendors help support VAN. VAN receives a referral fee on everything you buy. Just click through from our site and you'll be supporting VAN at no additional cost to you.

For our book and CD recommendations, visit the VAN Store.