Philadelphia Composer Andrea Clearfield

2011-04-09T08:40:00.000-04:00

Andrea Clearfield's Secret Music Salon

Presence of Angels by 2011 SC Prize for Young Composers Winner Brian Eiffes

2011-02-27T10:50:00.002-05:00

Singing City Children's Choir Rehearsal

2011-02-22T16:56:00.001-05:00

Singing City Winter Concert Program - Saturday, February 26, 2011

2011-02-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More singing city

Announcing the 2011 Winner of the Singing City Prize for Young Composers

2011-02-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

Singing City is pleased to announce that this year's prize goes to B. Edward Eiffes (Brian) (b. 1990) for his composition Presence of Angels. Brian is a brass player/vocal baritone from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and is currently studying music education, composition, brass, and voice at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. Eiffes has been composing since before high school, and has had his compositions and arrangements performed by wind band, brass quintet, choir, a cappella groups, and other small ensembles. He has recently had his piece Final Farewell (for cello and piano) performed at the 2010 Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference in South Carolina.

Presence of Angels will be premiered at Singing City's Winter Concert on February 26, 2011 with the composer in attendance.

About the Competition
The Singing City Prize for Young Composers is a national choral music competition for talented young musicians between the ages of 15 and 30. The overall goal is to maximize the involvement of students in the creative process and to be a valuable music education resource for the entire community. This competition may be the impetus and encouragement that a young composer would need to continue on his or her creative journey. The Singing City community of singers and listeners is also enriched by a yearly infusion of fresh, diverse choral music.

Singing City invites young musicians to submit original choral compositions arranged for SATB, 3-5 minutes in length. Submitted works undergo a rigorous jury process, after which winners and runners up are chosen in each of two categories:

Ages 15-18 (High School)
Ages 19-30

Cash prizes are awarded for a winner and a runner up in each age group. The First Prize compositions will be performed by Singing City Choir at a concert event where the young composers are honored and presented with cash awards.

More information about the 2012 competition will be available in March.

Teddy Poll Interview and Rehearsal with Singing City

2010-12-09T12:14:00.001-05:00

Two-time Singing City Prize for Young Composers winner Teddy Poll, a senior at Columbia University, joined Singing City at a recent rehearsal to conduct the choir in Brahms' Nanie. Teddy is considering a career in conducting/composition. It was a joy to have him conduct and talk a little about his plans for the future.

Fall Concert Reflections

2010-11-18T13:33:00.009-05:00

We asked choir members to tell us which of the selections from the fall concert is their favorite and why.

Bogoroditse Devo

I love this piece because it reminds me of a cemetery. On my mother’s side I am Ukrainian. Three generations ago, my maternal great-grandparents immigrated to the U.S. and made a home in the Philadelphia area. They signed the deed to their new house in the Olney neighborhood while, at the same time, on the other side of the world, bombs were falling on Hawaii. In this house, three generations were raised. My great-grandparents spoke only Ukrainian to my grandmother. My grandmother spoke only some Ukrainian to my mother. My mother did not speak Ukrainian to me. It is unfortunate, but to be expected; some things are lost over time in the Great Melting Pot.    

On my father’s side I am Ukrainian. Unlike my mother, my father himself stepped onto American soil for the first time as a young adult. My paternal grandparents, who, with their children, fled war-ravaged Europe aboard the SS United States*, spoke Ukrainian to my father. Before coming to the U.S., my father spent six formative years of his life in a boarding school in France, where he learned French. My father did not speak Ukrainian to me. My ancestral culture, to me, seems at once close and far removed. The family traditions that surrounded me as a child—waxing and dyeing intricate eggs at Easter, feasting on borscht and perogies in the winter, hearing English sentences interjected with the few words of Ukrainian that I could recognize—seemed like they would continue forever. But that hasn’t been the case. As older relatives wane, these traditions are replaced by another that has become familiar: a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, in full vestments, swinging a censer and walking through rows of headstones engraved in Cyrillic. And singing in a language and style not the same, but quite similar to parts of Rachmoninoff’s piece. It may seem morose to choose this song as a favorite given the associations it holds for me, but the music itself transforms my images. The somber chant-like beginning of the piece soon soars into life, and instead of the cemetery, I think of the causes for joy that we’ve had as a family. There is harmony between the two.
-Laura Lucasewcyz

*Currently docked in front of IKEA on Delaware Avenue, rescued from scrapping and awaiting funds for renovation.

My first exposure to Lauridsen’s Les chansons des roses was as a teenager in a small public high school in central New York State. Our choir prepared Dirait-on for a performance at a late autumn high school festival in Montreal. How wonderful it was to be singing such poetic French in one of the most poetic (and most French) cities in North America! The beautiful architecture of the Vieux-Port and the space in which we sang made a permanent impression on my adolescent brain.   

I was not in Montreal again until graduate school, and it was during that time that I gained fluency in the language I had been so impressed by as a teenager. The language of Quebec, like that of Rilke’s adopted homeland, the Canton of Valais in Switzerland, is not always easily understood or respected by the Académie Française. I find the things I appreciate about his work often remind me of the pride in the difference between Quebecois and “international” French. Rilke’s poems in French always have a special place in my heart, as do Lauridsen’s unique settings of Les chansons des roses.

-Ryan Miller

Bogoroditse Devo

My reasons for loving this composition are twofold. First of all, Sergei Rachmaninov is one of my favorite composers. The second reason is much more profound. This selection enhances so many emotions and the music still sparks tears in my eyes. Whenever we sing Bogoroditse, I can still visualize the faces of the Russian families in Russia. In my opinion, Bogoroditse is a tribute to them.

During my first tour with Singing City to Russia in 1990, Bogoroditse was almost like our ‘signature’ song. Whenever we sang this in Moscow, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and Novgorod, the responses were exhilarating. There were expressions of tears, smiles, happiness, peace and even chanting claps of joy.

The title, Bogoroditse Devo Raduisya, translates into ‘Rejoice Virgin Mother of God.’ This rendition was so appropriate, because truly it was a time for rejoicing. History was being made, with the collapsing of the Soviet Union in 1991. It was such an honor to have been a part of Russia’s historic moment.

While in Russia, I was so touched by the struggles and endurance of the Russian people. It saddened me to watch families stand in long lines just for a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs. These are things that we take for granted every day in the United States. On a different note, it was also an inspiration to stand next to families who were allowed to worship in a cathedral for the first time. The memories are endless and they will never be forgotten.

Finally, this brings me to the last significant point, as to why I love Singing City. We are not just an ordinary choir that loves to sing and travel. We are a family that cares and supports each other, as well as human causes. Not only do we care, but we are able to make a difference through our music, regardless of race, creed or color. We also enjoy spreading the message through peace, harmony, love and human kindness. It is no wonder that my inspiration for Singing City has lasted for twenty-one years, and I look forward to many more.

-Theresa Carter

Alleluia

I am guilty as charged of singing Alleluia from memory. It’s an old friend from high school who was always a bit of a thorn in my side. On our first introduction, I remember wondering why on earth someone would only set a single word (Alleluia! We get it already!). I spent years banging out the tenor line as new tenors struggled to memorize it (why is there only one word?!). I was always a bit nervous in concerts that only half of them would sing the right notes. Always the over-achiever, I chose Alleluia as one of my conducting pieces and struggled to learn all the parts myself. Every time we got through the stringendo section in one piece, I breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to mess up the next page. So it has been with mixed feelings that I have reconnected with it in Singing City.

What a difference 15 years (and experienced singers) make! Subtleties of texture and tonal shifts are fascinating. Quiet meditation is something I better understand. Perhaps I have even grown a bit wiser since high school. Hello old friend, you are sounding well. Alleluia!

-Laura Gibson

Singing City Notes