Graduating Seniors all to Become Music Educators!
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Stephanie Mueller, Liz Mook, Monica Bertrand, Laura Saunders
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Four choristers reached a significant milestone this spring, graduating from High School and from the Chorus at the same time. When asked at the Spring Concert what was next, they all announced they are going to study music education! How fortunate we are to have such wonderful music teachers on the horizon. The best of luck to all of them as they move on to the next chapter in their lives.
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A Fond Farewell to Four Board Members
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Dave Fox
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Four board members completed their terms this year and have left the board. Dave Fox has been on the board for 8 years and has been president for the last two. His leadership will be sorely missed. Also leaving is Ann Graham who has served for six years and has been treasurer for the last two. Greg Reifel completed 3 years on the board and served a large role in our new marketing campaign. Molly Lindberg has been on the board for 2 years and was a part of the historic naming committee. Although leaving the board, all of them have agreed to continue their support for the Chorus, (and we will take them up on that!). Thanks to Dave, Ann, Greg and Molly for your unselfish gifts of your time and talents.
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Alumni News-William Pollock
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I sang in the chorus from 1980-1983. For me, as for many others I’m sure, being in the chorus was about much more than just the music. It was a formative social experience, and an opportunity to be a part of something truly excellent. I continued in singing groups through high school and at the University of Illinois. For a few summers I sang in the Grant Park Symphony Chorus. Meanwhile I picked up the bass guitar, and played in a few bands around Chicago in the early 90s. That was a lot of fun. I actually met my wife Maria at a show in 1996. We live on the northwest side of Chicago with our two amazing kids, Ella (6) and Martin (1). I have worked in information technology since college, which I enjoy most days very much. While I haven’t played or sang in a group in over ten years, music still permeates our lives. Maria is a piano technician and player, Ella is learning guitar, and I am learning to play upright bass. Maria and I enjoy going to jazz shows, especially the Jazz Salon series at PianoForte. We both enjoy reading, languages and traveling, and we especially enjoy being Ella and Martin's parents.
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Celebration Picnic!
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Our annual picnic took place on a beautiful day and about 200 people came for the fun. Everyone ate, everyone talked, the choristers sang and some of them fished! It was a terrific end to a terrific year.
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Emily Notes
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Winning the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America is truly a thrill, and an honor for our entire chorus community. This is a very prestigious award which can only be won once, named after the Founding Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Ms. Hillis led our renowned CSO chorus for 40 years, and was revered as a perfectionist who created one of the most skillful adult choruses in the world. She was instrumental in the growth of the GECC as well. Perhaps a bit of history would be of interest to you all: In 1964, Barbara Born established the Glen Ellyn Children’s Theatre Chorus, to give opportunities in the arts to the children of Glen Ellyn. Mrs. Born was a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus at the time, and remembers rehearsing Carmina Burana with Margaret Hillis in the early years of the children’s chorus. A young choir that had been engaged to sing the performance was not well prepared, and Miss Hillis asked to hear a tape of the GECTC, along with several other children’s groups throughout the Chicagoland area. Weeks went by without a word. Finally, a mere two weeks before a Ravinia concert that needed children, Barbara’s phone rang and she was notified that the GECTC had been chosen to sing the upcoming concert. The program was Berlioz’ Damnation of Faust, conducted by a very young Seiji Ozawa. The music was in four parts and the chorus had just two weeks to prepare. What a frantic two weeks it must have been, with daily rehearsals and incredibly hard work! By performance day, they felt ready, and the performance went beautifully. In Mrs. Born’s words, “that evening was quite a success for all of us, one that I shall never forget. The children felt a real musical high and a sense of accomplishment even if they had had to give up their other activities for the duration of the two week rehearsal period.” It was the start of a long and very rich association with Margaret Hillis and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The above history did not help us win the Hillis award, which is based on current artistic excellence, but it certainly makes it more poignant. Congratulations to all as we work through a very busy summer season, and anticipate the new season ahead, our 44th!
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For more information about Anima call 630-858-2471 or visit our website at www.animasingers.org.
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