Dear Friends,
Welcome to a new season with Ensemble Companio! I hope you had a relaxing summer and are now enjoying crunchy leaves, warm drinks, and reading by the fire.
As the weather changes, EC begins a new chapter—this year with Interim Conductor Michael Weinberg at the helm. We kicked off our sixth season on Long Island in my hometown of Bayport, NY, where the lovely staff at Our Lady of the Snow welcomed us back with open arms. During the Sunday afternoon service we had the privilege of sharing with the parish a performance of Abendlied, a piece very dear to many in the EC family. This was the second time we have been invited to perform at Our Lady of the Snow, and it was a wonderful way to greet seasoned members and welcome new members to our ranks.
Speaking of new members, we have 10 new voices with us this season!
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On the steps of Our Lady of the Snow parish in Bayport-Blue Point, New York, at our first rehearsal of the season (left to right, from rear): Katri Stanley (alto), Kara Li (soprano), Allison Bailey (soprano), Sarah Glaser (soprano), Vicky Watson (alto), Paul Hwang (bass), Scott Hare (tenor), Colin Harris (bass), Mark Sayre (bass), and Evan Yetter (bass).
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With the addition of new voices, we add new timbres and new perspectives. One thing I am very grateful for (especially in our current political climate) is being surrounded by thoughtful people with different views on a given situation—particularly when those views are profoundly different from mine. As you may know, the EC Artistic Director Search Committee is hard at work narrowing our pool of candidates for Artistic Director. We have Board members, non-Board members, a section leader and two alumni on the committee, and I cannot tell you how valuable I find it to trade opinions and ideas with these passionate, dedicated men and women before coming to a group decision. I always find that I learn something new, or am catalyzed to revisit my own thoughts about a given process, and see in the end our decision is that much stronger. It’s one of the reasons I love seeing (and hearing!) new singers join EC each year—we have an opportunity to look at ourselves through fresh eyes, and get better at doing what we do.
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From the singers’ perspectives at rehearsal at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Annandale, VA.
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With that in mind, I’d like to invite you to share your perspectives and join us for rehearsals (9am-5pm Saturdays and 9am-12pm Sundays) this season, which are always open for listening.
November 19-20, 2016: Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, NY
December 17-18, 2016: Mabee Farm in Rotterdam Junction, NY (SAVE THE DATE! We’ll present a Christmas concert on Saturday, December 17 at 6:00pm)
January 21, 2017: Swarthmore Friends’ Meetinghouse in Swarthmore, PA
January 22, 2017: Swope Music Building at West Chester University, in West Chester, PA
February 25-26, 2017: Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, NY
With an eye on expanding our bridge building to new cities this season, we’ve already added some exciting changes: a rehearsal in northern Virginia last month with a potential spring concert in Washington, D.C. to follow, and I’m incredibly excited to announce our first-ever Christmas concert in upstate New York this December! We hope you can join us at Mabee Farm on Saturday, December 17 at 6:00pm to preview our season repertoire and share some holiday cheer.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you at president@ensemblecompanio.org. Your thoughts, encouragement, and ideas enrich and strengthen Ensemble Companio more than you know.
In gratitude,
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