Join us for Open Rehearsals on Feb 10 and Feb 17, 2010
The Twin Cities Women's Choir is holding open rehearsal on Wednesday February 10th and 17th for our spring season. We are open to new members and to members who have been on a leave of absence. These open rehearsals are a time for you to try us out to see how you like singing with a community choir.
The Twin Cities Women's Choir is a non-auditioned Choir. The requirements for joining are that you can "carry a tune", "hold your part" and are available to rehearse on Wednesday evenings (and some Saturdays). The Twin Cities Women's Choir is a non-profit organization, and we rely on our choir members to provide volunteer time to get the work done and financial contributions to help pay our bills. The suggested contribution is $40 per month or $480 per year, but many of our members pay more and others pay less. It should be noted that no member is ever turned away due to lack of funds. Our main focus is to have fun singing music under the direction of our wonderful Artistic Director, Mary Bussman.
The choir rehearses on Wednesday nights from 7-9 pm at Calvary Lutheran Church, which is located on the corner of Chicago Avenue and 39th Street in south Minneapolis. The Choir sings is organized into 4 sections (Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1 and Alto 2). We will help determine what part you should sing if you don’t already know.
The choir performs 3 concerts each year, Illuminations in December; a winter concert in February and Divas and Desserts in May, along with several community performances.
If you want to join us come to the church between 6:30 and 6:45 PM. There is a parking lot in the back of the building and the entrance to our rehearsal space is off the lot. I'm sure there will be others arriving and they will gladly show you the way. Please contact us with any questions you may have and let us know if you plan on attending at sing@twincitieswomenschoir.org.
New Illuminations CD on Sale Now
Order a copy of our new Illuminations CD via the attached order form (online sales coming soon).
A CD celebrating the return of light.
◊ Ancient Mother ◊ Keep the Fire ◊ Imani ◊ S’Vivon ◊ Ubi Caritas◊ Gaudete ◊ Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! ◊ A Welsh Noel◊ Candlelight Carol ◊ I’ll Be Home for Christmas ◊ Sleigh Bells◊ Harambee ◊ Sister, My Sister ◊ This Little Light of Mine ◊ A New Song
Composer Elizabeth Alexander Visits Rehearsal
We welcomed local composer, Elizabeth Alexander, to a recent rehearsal. We sang her piece, "Where There is Light in the Soul," at our Illuminations concerts on December 6. What a thrill to get to know her and learn how this beautiful song came to be. It was like seeing our mission in action – singing, performing and affirming the voices of women. Thank you, Elizabeth!
TCWC Thanks You for Giving to the Max
Give to the Max Day was a success for the Twin Cities Women's Choir! In just 24 hours, 91 singers, staff, friends, family, and other supporters donated $6320 to help us keep the choir accessible to women of all means. We can't thank you enough for your generosity.
"New Light-Winter Solstice" Winner of Emerging Female Composers Contest
Last summer, TCWC announced a competition for new works by female composers speaking to the theme of Illuminations: The Return of Light to Our Lives. Entries were received from across the country and as far away as Great Britain, and this beautiful piece by Dr. Ellen Gilson Voth, based on a poem by Sylvia Ross, was selected as a winner.
Voth enjoys a diverse career as a choral conductor, educator, composer and pianist. She earned her doctoral degree in music education with a choral conducting emphasis at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT.
The competition was developed as a new way to support the choir's mission: to sing, perform and affirm the voices of women.
We were very excited to add the choral composition contest to our annual Illuminations concert. Illuminations takes place in December and is our first major concert of the season. Our February show is a collaborative performance with another group. Our May show has the Divas & Desserts theme and we often debut a commissioned piece there. Adding the choral composition contest to Illuminations concert rounds out our season with another component by which we live our mission to "Sing, Perform, and Affirm the Voices of Women."
St. Louis Park woman earns Twin Cities Women's Choir top honor
As 150 female voices of the Twin Cities Women's Choir join together once a week to blend into a four-part harmony, one voice stands out. Carol Rue, a St. Louis Park resident, was recently recognized with the Jean Loh Award, an annual honor that spotlights one choir member who continuously exceeds the requirements.
The award was presented to Rue on May 18 at the group's annual Divas and Desserts concert. Each year, an individual is honored with this award for their unconditional gifts of time, talent and money to the choir.
3-Minute Egg Video on Composer Edie Hill and the TCWC
Matt Peiken's coverage of the Twin Cities arts scene through short daily videos on his website 3-Minute Egg is top notch. This week he's published a video on composer Edie Hill and the TCWC. We commissioned Edie to compose Thaw for us, which we'll debut at this year's Divas & Desserts concerts.
TCWC Member Alanna Walen Featured in Alumni Newsletter
My friends from the women's softball league had been encouraging me to check out this choir for a couple of years, and I finally went to the first rehearsal of the season. Before I even entered the Minneapolis church basement door, I knew I was going to be friends with Carol, a woman I just met, who I learned through enthusiastic conversation had gone to grad school with my roommate from Grinnell. That was 1999, and my commitment to the Twin Cities Women's Choir has grown from tentative soprano to board member, Treasurer, section leader, and occasional soloist.
Twin Cities Women’s Choir Pledges 3,500 Pounds of Food to Calvary Food Shelf
As part of Minnesota FoodShare Month, the Twin Cities Women’s Choir has pledged 3,500 pounds of food to Calvary Food Shelf. Minnesota FoodShare is a long-standing program which has successfully raised over 460 million pounds of food over the last 26 years to feed those in need in Minnesota.
The choir practices weekly in the basement of Calvary Lutheran Church at 39th and Chicago in Minneapolis and has donated food and money each March for the past 5 years. 3,500 pounds represents the largest donation from the choir to date.
"There has never been a time of greater need right here in our own backyard," said Pat Teiken, the choir’s executive director. "As a small non-profit organization ourselves, it feels good to help give back what we can."
Former Board Member Receives Friend of the Choir Award
On February 7th, at the Let the Good Times Roll concert, the Board bestowed the first Friend of the Choir Award to Punch VanGrasstek. This award was established by the Board to recognize individuals or businesses who champion the choir which is measured by donations given in time and/or money and further the mission of the choir in the community through successful and significant fundraising and promotion of the choir.
