Origins

Ensemble and Chorale

Chorale and Sotto Voce

Looking Ahead

During the past five years, the VOICES Chorale has become a premiere performing group, with membership numbering from 45 to 70 singers. Also in that time VOICES founded Sotto Voce (the name means quiet or small voice) to present challenging vocal chamber music in concert. As a result of attracting some members from Germany and Switzerland, VOICES developed a relationship with a chorus in Germany—Chorkreis St. Sebald—and performed with them on a tour in Germany in 1999 and in the eastern United States in 2000. This summer, VOICES Chorale returns to Europe for a tour of Germany and Austria with St. Sebald. VOICES' first professionally-produced CD, a performance of the Duruflé Requiem with Thomas Goeman, organ, was completed in 2001. Also, voice classes for singing members were offered through VOICES by outstanding area soloists including Martha Elliott, William Walker and Rochelle Ellis.

Some of the major works performed in the last five years include:

Requiems by Mozart, Duruflé and Fauré
Thompson's The Peaceable Kingdom
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
the Rachmaninoff Vespers, and
Mozart's Coronation Mass.

Board members serving in the last five years include Stuart Pope, David Ambler, Ron Miller, Larry Plummer, Sue Shier, Linda Weaver, Charles Clum, Mary Ann Fennell-Heino, Denise Forrester, Ken Guilmartin, Nancy Brown, Tee Devine, Annette Grandke, Hellmut Walter, Archie Foor, Bob Wiedemann, John Sergey, Richard Kaye, Laurie Tema-Lyn, Sandra Duffy and Bob Kull.

Continued...