Choral Arts New England has announced the funding of 11 grants, for a total $13,000, in the 2017 season. The funded projects were selected from 44 proposals that were received. The large number of proposals shows the continued vitality of choral music in New England and the great creativity with which choruses are advancing their art. Awards will be presented at the annual awards ceremony in the autumn of 2017.

Summer is a perfect time for getting out of old routines and devoting time to music. New England holds some special retreats that offer programs where choral singers can get away for a week or more to focus and learn; elsewhere, singers take advantage of summer freedom to rehearse and perform a special choral work. Many choruses open their doors to the public to host “summer sings,” where participants sing a masterwork in a single session under expert direction, and often with professional soloists— a perfect way to participate in great music with a minimum commitment.

Over 600 performances are listed on the Choral Arts New England events calendar between September 2016 and June 2017. Here are just a few season highlights. See the the online calendar for the complete and up-to-date set of events.

Choral Arts New England has announced the 2016 recipients of Alfred Nash Patterson grants. The ten recipients were chosen from 42 proposals that were received by the February 29, 2016 deadline. Funded projects are listed below. The awards were presented at the annual Awards Ceremony in the fall of 2016.

More than 450 people packed the seats and lined the walls of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro, Vermont, on December 8, 2001, to hear the Brattleboro Community Chorus’s premiere of Paul Dedell’s Come Life, Shaker Life, a commission funded by a Choral Arts New England Alfred Nash Patterson Grant for the 2001-2002 season. Then the word spread: not only did the Brattleboro Community Chorus (BCC) have another full house for their repeat performance on December 9, they also had to turn away 100 people.