May: Chorus America recognizes our education program

Chorus America today announced that we have won the 2010 Chorus America Education Outreach Award. As all of you who follow the blog know, we have had a big year in education, especially featuring our first ever National Youth Choral Festival attended by 416 high school choral singers in March. We estimate that we have worked with over 6,000 students this year. Our Education Director Ben Johns has worked very hard all year managing and coordinating everything we've been doing - and is, in fact, giving clinics in schools in the Bay Area all this week. Recognition from your peers is always the most rewarding; we thank Chorus America very much for this honor.

Chorus America gives a number of awards each year to member choruses. Two years ago we were honored by the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming, and the inaugural Dale Warland Singers Commission Award (with which we commissioned Shawn Crouch's wonderful piece "The Garden of Paradise.") Below is this year's list.

Congratulations to all of our colleagues who are recognized this year, and thanks to Chorus America for urging us all on to higher levels of achievement!

2010 Chorus America Award Winners Announced

We are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2010 Chorus America Awards! Please join us in congratulating these outstanding choruses and choral leaders. We invite you to celebrate with the entire Chorus America family at the Awards Banquet & Auction on June 18th at the Conference, where we'll present many of these awards in person.

2010 Chorus America Award Winners:

Chorus America Distinguished Service Award
H. Royce Saltzman (inaugural recipient), co-founder & director emeritus, Oregon Bach Festival; former president, International Federation for Choral Music; former national president, American Choral Directors Association; former faculty member and associate dean of the School of Music, University of Oregon; former board member, Chorus America.

Chorus America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming

• Cantori New York (Mark Shapiro, artistic director)
• Los Angeles Master Chorale (Grant Gershon, music director)
• Young People's Chorus of New York City (Francisco Núñez, founder/artistic director)

Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award
WomenSing (Martin Benvenuto, artistic director)

Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal
Jordan Sramek, founder & artistic director, The Rose Ensemble

Dale Warland Singers Commission Award
(presented in partnership with the American Composers Forum)
Conspirare (Craig Hella Johnson, founder & artistic director) & composer Eric Banks

Chorus America Education Outreach Award
(honoring the best program from choruses with budgets over $200,000)
Chanticleer (Ben Johns, director of education)

Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence
(honoring a volunteer chorus)
Choral Arts (Robert Bode, artistic director)

Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art
Robert L. Simpson, founder & artistic director, Houston Chamber Choir

Michael Korn Founders Award for Philanthropic Contribution to the Arts
Mrs. Jean Riddell, arts patron, Washington, DC

Chorus America Philanthropy Award
(honoring supporters of our Conference host, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus)
The Halle Foundation

More information about their award-winning activities will be shared at the Conference and in the Fall 2010 issue of The Voice magazine.