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• From the Department of Shameless Self-Promotion: Vocal Area Network's Steve Friedman has established a YouTube channel featuring follow-the-score videos of some of his compositions and arrangements, including his settings of Magnificat and The Lord's Prayer (performed by the St. Michael's Choir), along with renditions of Leavin' On a Jet Plane (recorded by The Western Wind) and Spiderman (recorded by Equal Voices). (2021-1-31)
• Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA offers two new releases. Words Matter, dedicated to the memory of victims of violence, features works by Stephen Schwartz and Shawn Crouch. Winter Harmonies features Thanksgiving, Christmas and Chanukah selections by Judith Clurman, David Chase, Sheldon Harnick, David Shire and James Sizemore. Stream and download these at essentialvoicesusa.hearnow.com/. (2020-11-30)
• Zoom's September update now includes a high-fidelity audio mode that better supports virtual musical activity. See support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360048388632-New-Updates-for-September-1-2020 and an article about how a Yale-led group of music schools helped bring about this enhancement. (2020-9-11)
• Another New York Times article about the challenges--and joys--of resuming choir activities. (2020-9-6)
• A preprint of research funded by the UK government offers the conclusion that unless you’re singing fortissimo, the difference between singing at a given volume and speaking at the same volume is minimal, which is rather different than what was previously thought. See the preprint (meaning the research has yet to be peer reviewed) at chemrxiv.org. (Thanks to Peter Leigh for this item.) (2020-8-24)

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.

• February 23, 2021: New link for Como Cantar Bien, offering instruction in singing and vocal health (en español).
• February 15, 2021: New link for PlayScore 2, a sheet music scanning app that plays scores from photos or PDFs.
• February 12, 2021: New link for Cantar Bien, serving the Latin communities in Los Angeles, offering free vocal lessons and choir classes for youth.
• February 1, 2021: New link for Rehearsal Live Share, a platform for remote multi-user rehearsal and recording that works around the issue of internet latency. Thanks to Cathy Markoff for the tip about this software.
• January 14, 2021: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Newyorkers Chorus, the Poughkeepsie, NY chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
• December 16, 2020: Fixed a problem with the home page, Concert Calendar, Info Exchange and Article Archive, wherein the pages were not formatted at all. Thanks to Tina Heidrich for pointing out the issue. If you're still seeing unformatted pages, just hit Refresh on your browser.
• November 27, 2020: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Count Basie Center Gospel Choir.
• November 3, 2020: New link for Stay at Home Choir, which offers opportunities to sing together with musicians from around the world.
• September 17, 2020: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Montclair Early Music.
• July 21, 2020: New link for The Vocal Hub, a UK-based online coaching service hosted by Sofia Maffei.

Archive of old "New on VAN" items

• Need some exquisite beaded jewelry to complement your concert attire or enhance your look on your next Zoom call? 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.

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