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Cantemus
Hosts 5th Annual “Best of the Best” Chorus Festival
Beverly, St. John’s Prep, Marblehead and Rockport High
Schools Will Sing
For
the fifth consecutive year, the Cantemus Chamber Chorus will
host some of the North Shore’s elite high school choral
groups in a festival of song. This year’s “Best
of the Best” concert takes place November 3 at Beverly
High School, beginning at 7:30. Each school and Cantemus will
sing, then all 115 voices will join for a grand finale.
This
year’s festival participants are Beverly High School,
St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers, Marblehead
High School and Rockport High School.
Cantemus
singer Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, the event’s organizer,
said: “This unique outreach program demonstrates a real
commitment to mentoring young singers and creating a special
opportunity for them to perform for each other and to share
the stage with the adult singers of Cantemus.”
The
32-voice Cantemus group will kick off the evening with several
songs, under their interim director Gary Wood. Then they’ll
turn the stage over to the young singers.
Hosting
the evening will be the seven-year-old Beverly High School
Chorus. Its 47 singers perform a cappella music “from
serious to pop,” according to Director of Choral Music
Carolyn Pilanen. Besides local performances, the group will
compete in the Festivals of Music Competition in Toronto next
spring. This is their second Best of the Best appearance,
and, Pilanen said, “I love the fact that my students
will get a chance to hear the voices of other kids their age
in the area in a non-competitive situation. It gives them
a chance to really appreciate the music.”
The
12-singer, all-male Travel Choir from St. John’s Preparatory
School in Danvers specializes in classical, folk and barbershop
music. Part of the 110-voice Men’s Chorus that performed
at Best of the Best three years ago, this smaller group lives
up to its name: Conductor Michael Hamill will take the group
to England in February to participate in a choral festival
at Gloucester Cathedral. In November, they’ll perform
at a fundraiser in Everett, toraise money for a mission project
in Haiti; next spring, they’ll help to raise funds for
Pettingill House in Salisbury.
Choral
Director Amanda Roeder leads the two-year-old, 11-voice Marblehead
Jewel Tones, who specialize in a cappella pop from the last
four decades by composers such as Paul Simon and Billy Joel.
The Jewel Tones are familiar to Marblehead residents for their
performances at town meetings and local fundraisers. This
is their first appearance at the Best of the Best festival:
“We are very excited for the opportunity to hear other
a cappella groups. We have performed with students from Salem,
Swampscott, and Lynn, and we look forward to building connections
with other schools,” Roeder said.
 The
Rockport Public High School Madrigal Chorus, under Choral
Director Patricia Pike, consists of 11 women and two men.
The four-year-old group specializes in 17th- and 18th-century
madrigals, jazz and folk music. This is their first Best of
the Best appearance: “We come delighted to share our
music as well as learn about different styles and repertories
from other choruses,” Pike said. The Madrigal Chorus
will appear publicly again in December — when they sing
at a wedding!
Susan
Nash, who has been singing with Cantemus for 18 years, added:
“At the Best of the Best concert, we want to show young
singers that singing is an artistic activity they can pursue
all the years they are in school – and many, many years
after. Every year, the Cantemus singers are amazed at the
quality of musicianship of these high school groups, and at
the terrific job their conductors are doing to encourage them
to pursue choral singing.”
The
“Best of the Best” concert on Wednesday, November
3, begins at 7:30 p.m., at the Beverly High School auditorium.
Tickets at the door are $5 for adults; students 21 and under
are admitted for free.
Cantemus
gratefully acknowledges support from the Massachusetts Cultural
Council and the Cultural Councils of Beverly, Gloucester,
Hamilton-Wenham, Ipswich and Newburyport.
Cantemus is a member of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium,
a cooperative association of diverse choral groups in Boston
and the surrounding areas.
John
Hoffacker Resigns as Music Director
Ipswich
Chronicle, September 9, 2004
After
10 years as music director for Cantemus Chamber Chorus, John
Hoffacker is stepping down. In a letter to the 37 members
who make up the North Shore group, the young director expressed
his regret at leaving what he described as "the most
wonderful people on earth." Read
more.
Gary
Wood Appointed Interim Music Director 
 As
the holiday music season gets underway, Cantemus enthusiastically
welcomes Gary Wood to the podium as interim Music Director.
Gary currently is currently chair of the Salem State College
Music Department, and, as assistant professor, teaches primarily
in the choral/vocal curriculum. In addition to his work at
Salem State, he has conducted the Senior and Junior Choirs
at First Church in Wenham since 1996. Previously, he taught
for six years at Davis & Elkins College in West Virginia.
He also plays jazz piano and studies jazz guitar.
A native of Missouri,
Gary received his Master of Sacred Music degree from Southern
Methodist University and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral
Conducting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“The arts
and music, in general, and choral music, in particular, make
a vital contribution to the quality of people’s lives,”
says Gary. “In a society that seems to value power,
riches, and fun, it is imperative that artists and arts educators
emphasize the empowerment, enrichment, and true joy that accompany
our involvement in the arts. It is the redemptive powers of
musical activity which underline my work as a conductor and
educator.”
About
his being named interim Music Director of Cantemus, Gary says,
“I am very pleased to have this opportunity with Cantemus,
with its distinguished history of over 20 years. As a contributing
member to the cultural life of the North Shore, Cantemus celebrates
the choral art and the humanity of making music with one another.
The enthusiasm and dedication of these singers is outstanding,
and I look forward to our musical growth together in the coming
months.”
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Order
a CD
Ranging
from traditional carols to international music of the season
to a complete performance of Benjamin Britten’s masterful
"Ceremony of Carols" for treble voices and harp,
our debut CD presents the listener with a sampling of our
most spirited seasonal pieces.
"Joy
Shall Be Yours" is available for
purchase at all of our concerts as well as at the River Gallery
in Ipswich and The Bookshop of Beverly Farms.
To
purchase "Joy Shall Be Yours" by mail,
please send a check or money order for $10 per CD, or 2 for
$15, plus $2.50 shipping and handling, payable to Cantemus,
P.O. Box 784, Ipswich, MA 01938.
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