CHAUTAUQUA CHORAL FESTIVAL 2018 Lakeside s Chautauqua Choral Festival provides singers an opportunity to study, sing and perform in a choral ensemble, culminating in a final concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 24 in Hoover Auditorium. The festival, titled This Land We Love includes choral repertoire comprised of great spirituals, hymns, and patriotic music focusing on the themes and stories of faith and freedom. Participating in the festival are members of the Chautauqua Choir, singers and choirs from the Lakeside community and from around the Midwest. The Chautauqua Choral Festival is the perfect musical retreat for choral singers of all ages and levels of experience. The festival also offers an extended option for singers to participate in vocal master classes focusing on singing and vocal technique development, church choir repertoire, enhancing your church choir program, effective methods for working with instrumentalists, and developing a successful praise team for your church s music program during special sessions on Friday, June 22. This event is under the artistic direction of Michael Shirtz, who also serves as Lakeside Chautauqua s Coordinator of Worship Music. A performing artist, composer and conductor, Shirtz is known for his choral festival programs, storytelling skills and engaging productions. Festival clinicians include renowned tenor Dr. C. Andrew Blosser from the Ohio State University and renown choral director and clinician Amy Johnston Blosser. FESTIVAL CONCERT: This Land We Love Featuring the Chautauqua Festival Chorus Michael J. Shirtz, artistic director Amy Johnson Blosser, conductor C. Andrew Blosser, tenor Sunday, June 24, 7:30 p.m. Hoover Auditorium, Lakeside Chautauqua, Ohio CHORAL FESTIVAL CONCERT REPERTOIRE COMING SOON (Singers have the option to borrow their music through Lakeside Chautauqua, or they may purchase it on their own through JW Pepper. Music numbers are listed next to the music.)
CHORAL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE at LAKESIDE CHAUTAUQUA (Workshops are optional and open to festival participants.) Friday, June 22 1 p.m. Vocal Master Class with Dr. C. Andrew Blosser, Aigler Room 3 p.m. Selecting Good Choral Repertoire with Amy Johnston Blosser, Aigler Room 6-8 p.m. Festival Choral Rehearsal, Chautauqua Hall 8:15 p.m. Ciaran Sheehan concert, Hoover Auditorium (optional with pass) Saturday, June 23 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Festival Chorus Rehearsal, Chautauqua Hall 12-1:30 p.m. Lunch on your own 1:30-2:20 p.m. Music & Faith Workshop, Chautauqua Hall 2:30-5:30 p.m. Festival Chorus Rehearsal, Chautauqua Hall 5:30 p.m. Dinner on your own 8:15 p.m. Little River Band concert, Hoover Auditorium (optional with pass) Sunday, June 24 9:30-10 a.m. Festival Chorus Rehearsal, Hoover Auditorium 10:30 a.m. Hoover Community Worship Service, Hoover Auditorium 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Lunch on your own 2-4:30 p.m. Festival Chorus Rehearsal, Hoover Auditorium 4:30-6:15 p.m. Dinner on your own 6:15 p.m. Warm up and Sound Check, Hoover Auditorium 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Choral Festival Concert, Hoover Auditorium FESTIVAL CLINICIANS & STAFF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / CONDUCTOR Michael J. Shirtz A jazz singer, pianist, composer, and conductor, Michael Shirtz is known for his versatility with jazz, contemporary and classical music audiences. Shirtz performs regularly with his group, the Michael Shirtz Quartet and has worked with such artists as Dave Brubeck, Elizabeth von Trapp, Melissa Manchester, Mary McClendon, among others, and currently writes and performs with Broadway and recording artist Maureen McGovern in the shows We Will Arise and In Finding Faith. His passion for introducing jazz and American Music to audiences is evident in his stage shows AMERICA, Our Way, As I ve Learned It and his show and album Blue Skies, which released in 2018. Shirtz serves as associate director and project manager with Tri-C JazzFest and Tri-C Presents Performance Series in Cleveland and is the executive/artistic producer of his JAZZ@8 Series in venues throughout the Midwest. As a conductor, Shirtz has worked and performed with numerous organizations, including the Martin Luther King Festival Chorus, Columbus Symphony, African American Composers Festival, Terra Choral Society, and festival and regional choruses in California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Tennessee. Shirtz has served on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at Capital University, American Music Academy, Terra State Community College, and national workshops, music camps and repertory theatre productions. Shirtz serves as the conductor and artistic director for the Chautauqua Choral Festival and Chautauqua Choir at Lakeside Chautauqua, artistic conductor of the LIFT Choral Festival, director of the Firelands Symphony Chorale and remains active in producing with the Jazz Education Network. Shirtz holds a Bachelors of Music in jazz & contemporary studies from Capital University and Masters of Music in conducting from California State University, Los Angeles.
GUEST ARTIST / CLINICIAN Dr. C. Andrew Blosser, tenor Dr. C. Andrew Blosser, a native of Belle Center, Ohio, has performed roles in opera and musical theatre and presented master classes and recitals throughout the U.S., Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and Switzerland. Dr. Blosser received a Bachelor of Music in vocal music education from the Conservatory of Music at Capital University, a Master of Music in voice performance and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Ohio State University. He has been a featured soloist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, South Eastern Ohio Symphony Orchestra and the Lancaster Festival Orchestra for concert and oratorio performances. Dr. Blosser performed Ralph Vaughn Williams On Wenlock Edge with the Carpe Diem String Quartet as part of the Marble Cliff Music Festival, Handel s Messiah with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and was the soloist for the world premiere performance of Te Deum, by British composer Patrick Hawes, at the Lancaster Festival. In the summer of 2013, Dr. Blosser served as cantor for services at the Berlin Cathedral, as well as the soloist for the Mozart Missa Longa at the Salzburg Cathedral. He recently performed on the recital Singing Our History, a chronological story of American history told through the works of American composers at the National Association of Teachers of Singing conference in Boston. Dr. Blosser currently serves as a senior lecturer at The Ohio State University. He previously served on the faculty of Terra State Community College, Ohio Christian University, Capital University and Muskingum University. He holds professional memberships with the National Association of Teachers of Singers (NATS), the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society and Phi Mu Alpha. Amy Johnston Blosser, conductor Amy Johnston Blosser is the National Repertoire and Standards Chair for Senior High School Choirs for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and previously served as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Senior High School Choirs for Central Division. As R&S Chair, Blosser has been active in planning interest and reading sessions at division and national conferences in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Oklahoma City. She has chaired ACDA Conference Honor Choirs at the division and national levels, and has served as a member of the ACDA Honor Choir Handbook committee and R&S Committee Structure Task Force which reported to the National Leadership Conference in 2010. Ms. Blosser is also an active member of The National Association for Music Education (MENC). In her 14th year as Choral Director at Bexley High School in Columbus, Blosser conducts five choirs and is the Fine Arts Department Chair. Under her direction, the Bexley choirs have received superior ratings from the Ohio Music Education Association. Her Bexley High School Vocal Ensemble has performed at ACDA state conferences in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and MENC in 2009, 2011 and 2013. In March 2012, they sang at the ACDA Central Division Conference in Fort Wayne. Her choirs have toured throughout the U. S. and Europe, performing in notable locations such as Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick s Cathedral in New York City, St. Mark s in Venice, St. Nicolas in Prague, St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest, St. Stephen s Cathedral in Vienna, Canterbury Cathedral in England and Notre Dame in Paris. They have shared performances with ensembles from The Ohio State University, Capital University, Ohio University and Baldwin Wallace College. Blosser has been an adjudicator and guest conductor throughout Ohio and the Midwest. She was the guest conductor for the Summer Music Camp at Ohio Northern University from 2002-2008. She is listed in the 2002 and 2004 editions of Who s Who of American Teachers. She holds a Master of Music in choral conducting and Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University where she studied with Hilary Apfelstadt, James Gallagher and Robert J. Ward. In addition to her work as a high school choral educator, Blosser is the Director of Music at Bexley United Methodist Church.
REGISTRATION & PARTICIPATION FEE ($40) Registration for the Chautauqua Choral Festival is available until June 1. There is a $40 registration fee to participate that includes a Chautauqua Pass for the singer and a pass for one guest, admission to the Friday and Saturday evening Hoover concerts, and music usage fee. Festival repertoire is posted above. Singers have the option to purchase their own music for the festival or borrow music from Lakeside Chautauqua. Please note: the Chautauqua Passes provided for the singer and guest do not grant admission into the Grindley Aquatic & Wellness Campus. NEW! CHOIR GROUP REGISTRATION RATE Church choirs with more than eight singers attending as a group should contact (419) 798-4461 ext. 347 or programming@lakesideohio.com for the group registration rate. ADDITIONAL: VOICE LESSONS Participants have the option of taking a private voice lesson with Dr. Andrew Blosser during the festival. Voice lessons are designed to listen to the voice and provide some one-on-one techniques and coaching for singers personal development. The lesson fee is $35 for a 30-minute lesson. There are limited lesson times available; please register early. Lessons are scheduled on a first come/first serve basis. CONCERT ATTIRE Attire for the concert is as follows: Choir members should dress colorfully. Short sleeves and dressing cool for the performance is encouraged. For rehearsals, please dress casually and comfortably. SPECIAL SESSION WORKSHOPS (Optional) Unique to this festival are a series of special session workshops that are made optional for the singers/festival participants to attend on Friday, June 22 afternoon. These sessions are free with festival registration and feature workshops with Dr. C. Andrew Blosser and Amy Johnston Blosser. Vocal Master Class with Dr. C. Andrew Blosser (1 p.m. Friday) Singers will have the opportunity to participate in a masterclass with Dr. C. Andrew Blosser. Depending on the number of singers interested, two sessions may be offered. A master class is a setting in which singers have the opportunity to perform and receive feedback from a master teacher. Classes of this nature prove to be a valuable place for singers to learn from one another. The master class is open to the public, and anyone interested in attending is welcome. Singers interested in participating in the masterclass will need to submit the title for one selection to be performed. This selection can be classical or musical theatre, sacred or secular, and may represent art songs from Italian, German, French, and English traditions. A copy must be supplied for the accompanist (provided for the class). Any questions regarding selections should be directed to C. Andrew Blosser at cablosser@mac.com. Singers should register for the master class by June 1. Selecting Choral Repertoire & Mentoring Workshop with Amy Johnston Blosser (3 p.m. Friday) Intended for directors and choir members who desire a deeper connection in their faith while leading music in worship, who are looking to learn new literature for their choirs and who wish to use their talents to mentor others. Directors and singers attending this session should register by June 1 for preparation of packets and session materials.
2018 CHAUTAUQUA CHORAL FESTIVAL REGISTRATION FORM Registration deadline is Friday, June 1. Return completed forms to Lakeside Chautauqua Attn: Choral Festival, 236 Walnut Avenue Lakeside, OH 43440 or programming@lakesideohio.com. Participant Name Address (Street, City, Zip) Phone Email Emergency Contact (Name, Phone, Relation) Voice Part Home Choir (Optional) I will purchase my own music to bring with me to the festival I will use Lakeside s music (I understand I will return this music following the festival) TOTAL: Choral Festival Registration ($40) Make checks payable to: Lakeside Chautauqua Credit Cardholder s Name Card Number Address (Street, City, Zip) CVC Exp. Date For information on lodging at Lakeside, please visit www.lakesideohio.com/accommodations or call (866) 952-5374, ext. 230. Guest Pass Information (required): Name Address (Street, City Zip) Phone Email Special Session Workshops Please check sessions you plan to attend for adequate material preparation. VOCAL MASTER CLASS: 1 p.m. Friday, June 22 Choral Repertoire & Mentoring Workshop: 3 p.m. Friday, June 22 *Choir Group Registration Rate: Church and Community Choirs attending as a group of eight or more should contact the programming office, programming@lakesideohio.com or 419-798-4461 ext. 347