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Choral Arts New England extends the mission of the Alfred Nash Patterson (ANP) Foundation, providing grants that support innovative programming, commissions, and improved management for choral organizations. Alfred Nash Patterson Grants have been awarded continuously since 1985. In 1994, Choral Arts New England initiated a Lifetime Achievement Award to honor significant contributions to choral singing and its culture within New England.

2011 Awards Ceremony held October 30 in Boston

Grant Awards presented to ten New England choruses;
John Oliver receives Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ten New England choruses were awarded grants totaling $11,800 and John Oliver, the founder and conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, received the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th annual Alfred Nash Patterson awards ceremony held on October 30, 2011, at the College Club of Boston. The pre-Halloween snowstorm caused disruptions to roads and power in some locations that prevented some recipients from attending, but the sun was shining and the celebration sas festive at the College Club for the ceremony.

This year's Alfred Nash Patterson Grant recipients (detailed below) are from five New England states: four from Massachusetts, two from Connecticut, two from Rhode Island, and one each from New Hampshire and Maine. Funded projects include an innovative performance at the Berkshire Museum linking the choral arts and visual arts; a performance in Worcester's largest synagogue of Arthur Honegger's large dramatic work, King David; a celebration in New Hampshire of Duke Ellington's legacy which includes a performance of his Sacred Concerts; a performance in Connecticut that pairs a familiar work by Mozart with a rarely-heard anthem by Handel; a Rhode Island vocal soloist competition and performance; a residency program in Maine with a Vancouver instrumental ensemble that blends Chinese and Western traditions; and a community-wide workshop in Rhode Island exploring the music of the African-American choral experience. Grants also support a collaboration between a Boston and an Australian children's choir, and support an independent choral program in Connecticut for public school children in grades 3–4.

John Oliver, 2011 recipient of the Alfred Nash Patterson Lifetime Achievement Award, recently celebrated his 40th anniversary as conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which he founded at the request of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to be their official chorus. The chorus is today considered one of the premiere symphonic choruses in the world, famed for its performances in a wide variety of repertoire, including large symphonic and operatic choruses, smaller works for chamber orchestra and chorus, and a cappella works from small- to large-scale. John Oliver has devoted a lifetime of service to choral singing, directing his first church choir at age twelve. He led the acclaimed John Oliver Chorale from 1977 until 1996. He has been Director of Vocal and Choral Activities at the Tanglewood Music Center, a faculty member and director of the choral programs at MIT, and music faculty member at Boston University. He has supported, educated and inspired the hundreds of choral musicians whom he has directed. In performances by his own groups, he has fostered new compositions and championed neglected masterworks, generally enriching the choral repertoire.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually by Choral Arts New England to individuals who have made exceptional contributions to choral singing and its culture within New England. Previous recipients are Jameson Marvin, Richard Coffey, David Hoose, Craig Smith, Robert de Cormier, Donald Teeters, Alice Parker, John Bavicchi, Roberta Humez, Mary Whitney Rowe, Blanche Moyse, George Kent, Allen Lannom, Florence Dunn, Daniel Pinkham, Lorna Cooke DeVaron, and Elliot Forbes.

The 2011 recipients of Alfred Nash Patterson Grants are:

• Boston City Singers of Boston, Mass., to host the Australian Girls Choir for 3 nights, with a joint music workshop on Sept. 20 and a joint concert on Sept. 21, 2011 with a wide international repertoire.
• Cantilena Chamber Choir of Lenox, Mass., to support a performance on Oct. 9, 2011 in the galleries of Pittsfield's Berkshire Museum of music that inspired by the art displayed in each gallery.
• Da Camera Singers of Amherst, Mass., to commission and perform a new work by Northampton composer Gregory W. Brown, part of an initiative to support local composers.
• The Main Street Singers of New Britain, Conn., for expansion of the Main Street Singers Community Choir Program, which consists of after-school community choirs for children in grades 3-4 in public schools in Plainville, Farmington and New Britain.
• Master Singers of Worcester of Worcester, Mass., for a performance on April 1, 2012 of Arthur Honegger's dramatic work King David in English in the original scoring at Temple Emanuel, Worcester's largest synagogue.
• The Monadnock Chorus of Peterborough, NH, for a performance of Duke Ellington's three Sacred Concerts and for a special program to educate local students about Ellington, perhaps the most influential African-American composer and musician of the 20th century.
• Mystic River Chorale of Mystic, Conn., for a performance on Jan. 15, 2012 that pairs a little-known, rarely heard choral-orchestral work (Handel's Chandon Anrthem #11, “Let God Arise”) with another, more familiar, work (Mozart's “Credo” Mass, K. 257), in an effort to improve outreach to underserved populations, including homebound senior citizens.
• Oratorio Chorale of Brunswick, Maine, to support a five-day residency program with the Vancouver-based instrumental trio the Orchid Ensemble. The ensemble will join the Chorale in concerts of World Music and Chinese Fusion music on April 28 and 29, 2012 and will conduct programs on East-West music at Maine schools and Temple Beth-El in Portland.
• Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra of Cranston, RI, to support the fourth annual RICCO collegiate soloist competition, the winners of which will be featured in an all-Bach concert on March 3, 2012.
• RPM Voices of Rhode Island of Providence, RI, to support a five-day choral workshop exploring the music of the African-American choral experience, including spirituals, art songs, jazz, blues and gospel songs, concluding with a performance on Dec. 2, 2011.

The Chorus Directory can now be updated by anyone using the online form. Please review the entry for your chorus! The new directory was launched on October 24, 2006, and changes are now being made continuously as new information reaches us. Thank you for sending in your additions and corrections. The new directory is more flexible, in that it can be listed several different ways; it can display more information about choruses; and it can be more rapidly updated. Updates can now be made instantly. Please keep in touch!

Choral Arts New England • 781-721-SING (781-721-7464)
P.O. BOX 608 • Newton, MA 02456-0608