Chorus America Recognizes Outstanding Choruses and Individuals

Washington, DC (May 12, 2011) – Chorus America has announced the recipients of its 2011 awards program, recognizing a broad range of achievements in choral music, including artistic excellence, adventurous programming, innovative education programs, generous philanthropy, and lifetime service to the choral art.

“The exemplary leadership demonstrated by these deserving individuals and organizations serves as a model for all choruses as they strive for success in their communities,” said Ann Meier Baker, president and CEO of Chorus America.
Independent panels selected the following individuals and choruses to receive awards, which will be presented at Chorus America’s 34th Annual Conference in San Francisco, California, June 8- 11, 2011:

Chorus America Distinguished Service Award

The Chorus America Distinguished Service Award recognizes a member whose long-term service to the choral field significantly furthers Chorus America’s mission “to build a dynamic and inclusive choral community so that more people are transformed by the beauty and power of choral singing.”

The 2011 Distinguished Service Award is given to Dr. André J. Thomas. Thomas is a composer, conductor, author, and educator who has devoted his career to the development and promotion of choral music and choral participation all over the world. For the past 25 years, Thomas has served as a professor of choral music education and director of choral activities at The Florida State University in Tallahassee. He is also the longtime artistic director of the Tallahassee Community Chorus.

Chorus America/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming and Alice Parker Award

These awards recognize choruses that demonstrate a sustained commitment to adventurous programming through performances of choral music written in the last 25 years. The 2011 winners are:

• The Crossing, directed by Donald Nally, a professional chamber choir in Philadelphia
• International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, an all-volunteer chamber choir directed by Zane Fiala and founded by Jeremy Samuel Faust
• San Francisco Girls Chorus, directed by Susan McMane, a children’s chorus program with 400 singers ages 5-18

The Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award honors composer Alice Parker, whose career has spanned six decades and has been devoted to the creation of works for the human voice. The award was established in 2003 to recognize a chorus for programming recently-composed music that expands the mission of the chorus and challenges the chorus’s audience in new ways. The 2011 award goes to The Washington Chorus, a symphonic chorus directed by Julian Wachner, for its New Music for a New Age series that showcases works by living composers.

Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence

The Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence honors the memory of Margaret Hillis, founder of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, for her more than 40 years of professional achievement and outstanding contributions to the choral arts. The $5,000 award is presented annually to a member chorus that demonstrates artistic excellence, a strong organizational structure, and a commitment to outreach, education, and/or culturally diverse activities.

The 2011 Hillis Award goes to the Boston Children’s Chorus, directed by Anthony Trecek-King. Boston Children’s Chorus was founded in 2003 by social justice innovator Hubie Jones as a multi-racial, multi-ethnic arts education organization. The Chorus has grown to become an integral part of Boston’s cultural and social fabric, creating new communities and weaving partnerships by providing participation opportunities for all children in all neighborhoods in the city and beyond. The Chorus now serves 350 children from 70 Greater Boston urban and suburban communities every year.

Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art

Chorus America established this honorary citation in 1978 to honor an individual with a lifetime of significant contributions to the professional choral art.

The 2011 award is given to Robert Porco, director of choruses for the Cincinnati May Festival and director of choruses for the Cleveland Orchestra. He is also an adjunct professor and senior advisor of doctoral-level choral conducting at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he was the chair of the choral department from 1980 to 1998. During the course of his nearly 40- year career to date, he has also traveled the United States and the world to conduct leading orchestras and choruses.

Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal

The Botto Award was established in memory of Louis Botto for his artistry, selfless service to the choral art, and entrepreneurial spirit in founding the men’s vocal ensemble Chanticleer. The award is given periodically to a mid-career choral leader who, through his or her work with a member ensemble of Chorus America, has demonstrated innovative action and entrepreneurial zeal in developing a professional or professional-core choral ensemble.

The 2011 Botto Award is given to Patrick Dupré Quigley, founder and artistic director of Seraphic Fire, for his energy, passion, and dedication to furthering the professional choral art form. Quigley founded Seraphic Fire in 2002 at the age of 23, in spite of economic turmoil in the Miami arts community. Under his leadership Seraphic Fire has flourished—presenting over 50 concerts per year and releasing numerous recordings. In addition, Quigley formed the Firebird Chamber Orchestra in 2008, and more recently, founded the Miami Choral Academy, establishing tuition-free after-school children’s choirs in disadvantaged Miami neighborhoods.

Dale Warland Singers Commission Award

Chorus America and the American Composers Forum have partnered to present this award to honor Dale Warland’s lifelong commitment to new music. The $5,000 award is made possible by the Dale Warland Singers Fund for New Choral Music, a permanently restricted endowment fund established in 2004.

The 2011 recipient of the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award is Utah Chamber Artists, directed by Barlow Bradford, who will partner with composer Tarik O’Regan to premiere a new 10-minute piece for choir and strings in April 2012.

Utah Chamber Artists is based in Salt Lake City and is comprised of 40 singers and 35 instrumentalists. O’Regan is a British composer whose work has garnered two GRAMMY nominations, two British Composer Awards, and a National Endowment for the Arts Artistic Excellence grant.

Chorus America Education Outreach Award

The $2,500 award is presented to a Chorus America member ensemble whose education outreach program demonstrates mission-based program development, viable music education, effective management and fiscal integrity, a commitment to artistic excellence, and a collaboration that is sustainable, beneficial, and meaningful for all partners.

The 2011 Education Outreach Award is given to Cantus, an artist-led professional male vocal ensemble based in Minnesota. Cantus has worked continually to broaden its educational outreach with young audiences and singers in high schools, universities, and churches through masterclasses, workshops, clinics, and school concerts. Specifically, the Cantus High School Residency program was created to strengthen high school level choral music curricula, to encourage young singers (especially young men) to pursue careers in music, and to build relationships among the participating students from urban, suburban, and exurban communities.

Michael Korn Founders Award for Philanthropic Contribution to the Arts

This award is given to an individual, corporation, or foundation whose financial support of Chorus America and the choral art has been especially significant and generous.

In 2011, this award is given to Popplestone Foundation. For more than 10 years, the Foundation has supported many of Chorus America’s key programs and services including Conference scholarships for students, Singer Network, and the Education Outreach Award.

Chorus America Philanthropic Award

The Chorus America Philanthropic Award recognizes an individual, corporation, or foundation whose financial support has been especially significant and generous to the host(s) of Chorus America’s Annual Conference.

The 2011 award is given to Kary Schulman and Grants for the Arts San Francisco for their support of 2011 Chorus America Conference hosts Chanticleer and San Francisco Girls Chorus.

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