Another Video Post!

Last week I shared this blog, along with thanks for your support in a video. Today I am putting a new video right into this blog. (Does that make this a VLOG?) Enjoy!

For more information and TICKETS to The Big Show: Joy and Inspiration visit:
http://www.lincolnchoralartists.org/

Our 100th Blog: thanks and what would you like to read about?

Well, I can hardly believe it! This is my 100th Blog post since 2015. I have found the process of writing in an open format to LCA supporters and concert goers exciting. I do hope the ideas and random thoughts have brought insight to you. My most heartfelt thanks for reading and engaging with this blog.

If this is your first time reading, scroll back to some previous posts. You will see my thoughts and information on our next concert on March 3rd. You will also see some music and non-music related topics I'm passionate about.

Two things I'd like to do more is share some of the thoughts and topics from members of the choir, and I would like your thoughts and ideas on topics you would like me to write about.

So, SINGERS, reach our with your blog thoughts!

PATRONS, SUPPORTERS, CONCERT-GOERS, regular BLOG READERS, give me your ideas on new topics for this blog. I look forward to hearing from you. I can be reached at several places on the interwebs!

This Blog: https://lcadirectorsconnector.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guitarjuice
                 https://www.facebook.com/LincolnChoralArtists/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LNKNChoir

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lnknchoir/

email: lca.artistic.choral.director@gmail.com 

Musicals in the modern era a.k.a. stuff on our next concert

There is a relatively clear distinction between the music of the Golden Age of Musical Theater (1920-1959), the era of the 1960s as musicals took on more social and political issues, and then the take over of overt "pop" music styles in Musical Theater with shows like "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Tommy." 

The Lincoln Choral Artists next concert on March 3 at the Royal Grove in Lincoln, NE will feature music from musical in the last 40 years. 

Here is a list of some the hows and basic plots of each:

The Greatest Showman

Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business & tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation. The film opens with Barnum (Hugh Jackman) joining his circus troupe in song, playing to an enthusiastic crowd as he and his performers put on a dazzling show. After a number of ups and downs as Barnum has been building his show, Barnum goes to drink at a bar. The entire troupe finds him and confronts him. Lettie tells Barnum that while he may not have always done the right thing, he saw them all as more than freaks and gave them a real family and home. Barnum is encouraged to pick himself up and help get the troupe back to performing. WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two young women who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba. Following an encounter with

The Wonderful Wizard, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
 Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in New York City's East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The names and identities of Rent's characters also heavily reflect Puccini's original characters, though they are not all direct adaptations. For example, Joanne in Rent represents the character of Alcindoro in Bohème but is also partially based on Marcello. Also, Joanne is the only Rent character whose predecessor in La Bohème is the opposite sex. Rent is also a somewhat autobiographical work, as Larson incorporated many elements of his life into his show. Larson lived in New York for many years as a starving artist with an uncertain future.

He sacrificed a life of stability for his art and shared many of the same hopes and fears as his characters. Like his characters he endured poor living conditions, and some of these conditions (e.g. illegal wood-burning stove, bathtub in the middle of his kitchen, broken buzzer [his guests had to call from the pay phone across the street and he would throw down the keys, as in "Rent"]) made their way into the play. Les Misérables, colloquially known in English-speaking countries as “Ley Miz”, is a sung-through musical based on the 1862 novel of the same name by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. Set in early 19th-century France, Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his desire for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Valjean decides to break

his parole and start his life anew after a bishop inspires him by a tremendous act of mercy, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists attempt to overthrow the government at a street barricade. Ragtime is a musical by Stephen Flaherty. The music includes marches, cakewalks, gospel and ragtime.

Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in the United States in the early 20th century: African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. Historical figures including Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Stanford White, Harry Kendall Thaw, Admiral Peary, Matthew Henson, and Emma Goldman are represented in the stories. Justice cannot be achieved through violent actions on either side.

New Year, Midseason, Big Show

Wow, I just realized it's been over a month since I have taken some time to share my thoughts and joys working with the Lincoln Choral Artists.

We had an incredibly successful and beautiful holiday concert on December 13. I heard about and read on social media so many singers excellent experiences and joy-filled holiday celebrations. We had a tragic loss of a long-term choir member on New Years. But as is the case with this group, we came together in our grief and celebrated the life of our dear colleague, Jerome Urwiller.

We began the Mid season rehearsal schedule with incredible music for our BIG SHOW, which I will be spending the next few blogs discussing. And we are in big discussions about next year's 40th Anniversary Season plans.

I'm not really a new year's resolution person. But I do think about what will be important in the next 12 months. Of course for me personally it is that fact I am getting married to an incredible and supportive person. We are in the midst of plans for our December 2019 wedding. As the year goes on I will probably share a few things about our plans.

When it comes to the choir, this time of the year is always fun as we prepare for our Fundraiser concert. It is usually focused on pop styles and includes unique venues. This is year is no different. And, as has become a great part of the new year reboot, we have new singers. I am always delighted to invite new members to ensemble.

If you are not following us on the social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) I encourage you to check them out. A lot of new information about upcoming concerts and guest musicians get posted there.

LCA Facebook Page

LCA Twitter Page

Instagram




Thanks so much for your support. I look forward to sharing more about LCA, music, personal thoughts, basically whatever comes to mind.

We Are Not Streambait Pop: Live Choral Music as an antidote to the monotony of streaming

I listen to a plethora of podcasts including "If Then" from Slate. If/Then This is a technology show, but often is more about culture and politics. It always relates things from the tech world to other events in the news and culture. There is segment called "don't close my tab" where they discuss a particularly interesting item or article from the web.

 

Today's episode featured a discussion on a post called "Streambait Pop." Basically, what it says is that the homogenization of streamed music on Spotify is a real thing. streambait-pop-pelly

From my perspective this is NOT news. Pop music from any source, weather it be radio, MTV (in the 90s), actual record stores like Virgin (gone!), or even that time when we were all sharing illegal downloads in zip files, always has a stench of homogenization.

That's kinda the point. It's the most popular to the most people. It is going to be the lowest common denominator in music . It's not going to challenge or necessarily inspire you. It is not the same as seeing the band live! I've got an antidote.
Support Choral Music in your community!!

Guess what? You still might hear your favorite pop song. You will definitely hear something you don't know or at least a performance of a song by someone you have never heard do it quite that way.

Tonight, LCA has a concert where we are doing just this. We are challenging the holiday concert goer. We are stretching the boundary of what a holiday concert can be. Not with flashy lights and pyro. (Even thought that's pretty cool, thanks Chip!) Not with simply singing the most popular Christmas and holiday songs. But by offering beautiful live music in a gorgeous space with two great choirs and a great organist. You won't find this concert on Spotify or Apple Music. You might find the songs. But you won't experience sharing the music with friends or family.
Come tonight! See and Hear! 

The Lincoln Choral Artists present
A Renaissance Christmas of Hope and Expectation
with Dulces Voces

Thursday, December 13, 2018
7:30 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church
2110 Sheridan Blvd

Celebrate the hope of the season with a Renaissance Christmas concert featuring a program to uplift throughout the ages. Featuring special guest a cappella choir Dulces Voces and organist John Ross.

Tickets!

E'en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come - A Legacy Out of Pain

In 1953, Paul Manz and his wife Ruth, were sitting bedside with their son. He was critically ill. The couple was convinced the child's life was ending and they prayed "Lord,  Jesus Quickly Come." Thankfully their son survived. But during the process Paul began composing what would be come to be his most famous composition. Basing the text on Revelation 22:5, Ruth created the lyrics. Paul set the text for acappella choir and history was made. It has become a enduring classic for many choirs from the St. Olaf Choir, The Concordia Choir, and many great educational institutions to Chanticleer, the Washington Master Chorale, and the Kansas City Chorale. Its has enjoyed international success in concerts throughout the world. And it is they way I start every Advent Season (Black Friday I start listening to Christmas Music).

Paul "was Cantor Emeritus at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, Illinois; as well as Cantor Emeritus of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and was Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago." - wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Manz  

Aside from "E'en So," Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals. Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a "festival" of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question. The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment. Sometimes he would play an improvisation between each sung stanza, as with his well-known variations on the tune, St. Anne, sung to the Isaac Watts text "Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past" with which he would traditionally end each festival. Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world."  

- wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Manz 

I am very excited to present this choral classic at our concert next Thursday. 

A Renaissance Christmas of Hope and Expectation
with Dulces Voces

Thursday, December 13, 2018
7:30 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church
2110 Sheridan Blvd

Celebrate the hope of the season with a Renaissance Christmas concert featuring a program to uplift throughout the ages. Featuring special guest a cappella choir Dulces Voces and organist John Ross.

http://www.lincolnchoralartists.org/

Getting Ready for 40!

With one concert under our belt, and a great concert it was, the LCA Board of Directors and myself are earnestly looking towards the future.

I am constantly balancing in my head the short term goals and tasks, season long ideas and concerts, and the longer term goals and aspirations for the Choir.

Next year LCA celebrates 40 seasons! (and we don't look a day over 29 😛)

It is very exciting! And though I am not a liberty to reveal much information I am excited to share a little of my own thoughts on what this means for the organization.

40 years is longer than the lifespan of about 1/3 of our singers. 40 years is just a little longer than the tenure of some of our longest serving singers. 40 years in the Lincoln Community has seen three conductors, a name change, and countless positive events and excellent concerts. (Actually our Historian, Kent Remmenga, would know how many concerts!)  We recently updated our website and there is some wonderful information about our history.
http://www.lincolnchoralartists.org/history.html

This is my fourth season with the ensemble. Each year I have seen and heard the choir grow and change. Each year I have grown and changed. I know that is something that will continue as we move ahead.

There are some fun and exciting things happening next season. I can't wait to tell you about them.

But also we are currently engaged in an incredible 39th season! Please make it a priority to see us in concert, support us as a member of the music and arts community in Lincoln and Nebraska, and reach out to us via social media. Your engagement and connection keeps us going. We can only offer great music and concert experiences through your support.
https://www.facebook.com/LincolnChoralArtists/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2270776553146706/
https://twitter.com/LNKNChoir
http://www.lincolnchoralartists.org/support.html