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• The Young New Yorkers’ Chorus (YNYC), a nonprofit organization that fosters the art of choral singing and brings new music to life by creating opportunities for young composers, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alex Canovas as its next Artistic Director, effective for the upcoming 2018-2019 season. Canovas is currently the Associate Conductor of the critically-acclaimed vocal ensemble, Choral Chameleon. He will succeed Michael Kerschner, who has led YNYC since 2006. For more details, visit ynyc.org/the-young-new-yorkers-chorus-appoints-alex-canovas-as-its-next-artistic-director. (2018-5-31)
• Choral Chameleon's founder and director Vince Peterson is the 2018 recipient of Chorus America's Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal. Read more at Chorus America. (2018-4-25)
• The Pro Arte Chorale of Ridgewood, NJ welcomes Bryan Zaros as its new music director, effective July 1. Bryan succeeds Steven Fox, who will become the music director of The Cathedral Choral Society in Washington, DC. (2018-4-24)
• The New York Times has an article about Encore Creativity for Older Adults and its choral programs for people over 55. Encore's New York groups are starting up in March. (2018-2-26)
• Choral Chameleon is proud to announce, in its 10th anniversary season, that it has been selected by National Sawdust, the ground-breaking artist incubator and performance space founded in 2015, to be the first choir to participate in their coveted residency program for the 2017-2018 season. Choral Chameleon’s residency will be anchored in National Sawdust’s new curated series, Classical Sundays. Devoted to bringing classical artistry to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Classical Sundays will showcase the artists and ensembles who are moving the classical and contemporary classical music field forward in ways that align with National Sawdust’s experimental and artist-led DNA. The new series will present world premieres, with participants pushing the boundaries of what their instruments (or voices) can do, and/or engaging in unexpected collaborations across disciplines. Instrumental ensembles in residence alongside Choral Chameleon include International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Contemporaneous and The Refugee Orchestra Project. (2018-1-23)

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.

• April 26, 2018: New checkboxes for the Choir Directory allow you to filter the list by locale and rehearsal night and, for the first time, to find choirs that don't require auditions.
• April 9, 2018: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Sing Choruses in Public, a midtown-based chorus specializing in the works of Gilbert & Sullivan.
• March 29, 2018: New link for The Vocal Company, offering services to make your a cappella better.
• March 17, 2018: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for the Trinity Baptist Church Choir on the Upper East Side.
• February 7, 2018: Made a small change to the code on the Concert Calendar so that anchored links from other pages (for example, the calendar listings on the home page) now take you to the correct spot in the calendar. Apologies for past misdirections.
• January 25, 2018: New link for Run by Singers, a UK-based outfit arranging singing holiday weeks and weekends since 2003.
• January 19, 2018: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for the East End Singers, a self-directed group of eight based in Port Jefferson, NY.
• January 15, 2018: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Encore Chorale. New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for Encore Rocks. Both groups, based in Manhattan, are offerings of Encore Creativity for Older Adults and are intended for singers 55 and older.
• November 29, 2017: New link for OPUS Tours, performance tour specialists to more than 40 countries.
• October 30, 2017: New Choir Directory listing for The Mark Howell Singers, a Gospel-focused group based in Manhattan.

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.

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Vocal Area Network gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Sustaining Member ensembles:

GOLD
The Dessoff Choirs, Grace Church Choral Society, The West Village Chorale

SILVER
Big Apple Chorus, The Brooklyn Community Chorus, The Brooklyn Contemporary Chorus, The Canby Singers, The Cecilia Chorus of New York, Cerddorion, Chelsea Song, Dalton Chorale, Florilegium Chamber Choir, Greenwich Village Chamber Singers, Riverside Choral Society, St. George's Choral Society, Schola Cantorum on Hudson, The Stonewall Chorale

Americas Vocal Ensemble, AmorArtis, The Babylon Chorale, C4: The World's First Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, Cantabile Chamber Chorale, Choral Chameleon, Chorus 802, Christ Church Choir, Douglas Frank Chorale, Down Town Glee Club, Greater Nassau Chorus, Lehman College and Community Chorus, New Amsterdam Singers, The New Choral Society, New York Choral Society, Nikolai Kachanov Singers, North River Sing, The Peace of Heart Choir, Renaissance Street Singers, Renaissance Vocal Ensemble, Riverdale Choral Society, Russian Chamber Chorus of New York, Sacrum Convivium, St. James' Compostela Choir, St. Paul's Englewood, Sing We Enchanted, Uncommon Chord, Voices of New York, Women Singing

For more about how you or your ensemble can help defray the costs of providing VAN's services,
visit the Sustaining Membership page.