The BIG SING 2017: New York Choral Consortium's Annual Free Sing 6/12
By: A.A. Cristi May. 22, 2017
Massed singing at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine - photo by Helena Kubicka de Braganca
The BIG SING, the New York Choral Consortium's annual season-ending sing-in, is an opportunity for New York choral singers to perform together - whether they are members of the consortium's 65-plus member choruses or not! All are welcome to the free event - music can be downloaded at the NYCC site (see below) - which this year takes place on Monday, June 12, at 7:30 pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan's Morningside Heights, the largest cathedral in the world. The singers will perform in the cathedral's great choir and stalls, accompanied by organ and piano. At last year's BIG SING, more than 400 singers (and listeners) attended.
The BIG SING is "meant to be a musical and social gathering," said Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and a founding member of the consortium and the music director of both the Oratorio Society of New York and Musica Sacra. "It's made to order for people who are new to town, who work so hard at their job, aren't currently singing anywhere and want to connect - this is your chance. And the artistic police won't be there to do their job. It's much more about being interested in people, people connecting with each other."
At this year's BIG SING, participants will perform a "Mosaic Mass" made up of movements from beloved masses plus a few choral favorites: movements from masses by Schubert, Puccini, Gounod, Mozart, and Bach, as well as Burleigh's "My Lord, What a Mornin'"; "Adinu," an arrangement of a Sufi chant; and Smith's "Now I Walk in Beauty." (The full program is below.)
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Singers can download the sheet music in the coming weeks from the NYCC site: http://www.newyorkchoralconsortium.com/the-big-sing
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The event will be hosted by Kent Tritle, and will feature 11 conductors who are music directors of NYCC member groups: Jason Asbury, David Close, Judith Clurman, Dusty Francis, Alec Galambos, James John, John Lettieri, Matthew Lewis, Clara Longstreth, Kent Tritle, and Nelly Vusik.
NYCC's The BIG SING is the first such annual event in the country. Since its inauguration in 2011, several other choral consortia around the country have launched similar annual events. For a Facebook page serving other consortia nationwide, click here: Choral Consortia - Promoting the Choral Art Together.
New York Choral Consortium
The New York Choral Consortium, one of the first organizations of its kind in the country, is a membership organization composed of choruses that call New York City home, representing a diverse community of singers and choral organizations.
What would ultimately become the NYCC emerged in the early 1970s as informal gatherings of five or six conductors seeking to compare calendars and repertoire plans, seeking to avoid conflicts. Around 2003, at the time that a Carnegie Hall-New York Philharmonic merger was being discussed, the groups that performed at Carnegie got together out of concern for their main venue's date availability being drastically reduced - and found that they had a lot to talk about beyond that.
The NYCC ultimately incorporated in 2010, as interest in choral advocacy and collegial collaborations grew. In the past five years, largely prompted by the visibility offered by The BIG SING, the organization's membership has quadrupled.
Today, NYCC membership includes around 65 choruses, representing roughly 2500 singers from throughout the five boroughs, and serves as both a resource and a marketing arm for its members. Member organizations have access to strategy seminars, networking events, and social events that promote healthier choruses and a more vibrant choral community. The NYCC also supports a cooperative approach to promoting programming diversity in the city by publishing an internal programming calendar for future seasons. The NYCC publishes a choral calendar and distributes information on upcoming concerts of member organizations. www.newyorkchoralconsortium.com
Monday, June 12, 2017, at 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
New York Choral Consortium presents
"The BIG SING"
Conductors:
Jason Asbury
David Close
Dusty Francis
Alec Galambos
James John
John Lettieri
Clara Longstreth
Kent Tritle
Nelly Vusik
SCHUBERT Kyrie (from Mass in G)
BURLEIGH "My Lord, What a Mornin'"
PUCCINI Gloria (from Messa di Gloria)
TRADITIONAL "Adinu" (Sufi chant arr. Quadros & Abu-Khader)
GOUNOD Sanctus/Benedictus (from St. Cecilia Mass)
SMITH "Now I Walk in Beauty"
MOZART Agnus Dei (from Coronation Mass)
BACH Dona Nobis Pacem (from Mass in B Minor)
Admission: Free
For information and music to download: http://www.newyorkchoralconsortium.com/the-big-sing
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