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• James Blachly's Experiential Orchestra has won a Grammy award for its recording of Ethel Smyth's The Prison. The recording featured soprano Sarah Brailey and bass-baritone Dashon Burton. Read more about this recording at www.overgrownpath.com/2021/03/grammy-takes-dame-ethel-trip.html. (2021-3-17)
• 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)

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.

• July 12, 2021: We've done our periodic (but perhaps not frequent enough) cleanup of links and sites in our Links Collection. Please let us know if you find links that are dead or in need of updating.
• July 8, 2021: New link under "Tools" in the Links Collection for ScanScore, a utility to scan, play and edit sheet music.
• June 10, 2021: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for The St. Luke and St. Matthew Church Choir in Brooklyn.
• May 26, 2021: The Jewish People’s Philharmonic Chorus / JPPC is now The Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus.
• April 8, 2021: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad (detailing their upcoming Summer Intensive) for the Westchester Children's Chorus, based in Larchmont.
• April 1, 2021: New link for Fides Cantat, a choral festival for chamber and youth choirs up to 40 singers in Wittenberg, Germany scheduled for June 2022.
• March 8, 2021: New Choir Directory listing and Choir Auditions ad for the Putnam Chorale Youth Chorus.
• 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.

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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