Current News
Collaborative Concert with St. Cloud State University Concert Choir
YCCM will be hosting the St. Cloud State University Concert Choir on Sunday, February 26 at 4pm at St. Francis Xavier Church in Sartell, Minnesota.
The SCSU Concert Choir, under the direction of Dr. Matthew Ferrell, is a dynamic ensemble which performs a wide variety of repertoire spanning diverse genres. The concert, featuring many recent choral works, will feature selections by Ola Gjeilo, a renowned composer who has performed with SCSU earlier this year. The program will end with a joint performance of YCCM and SCSU.
Tickets, available at the door, are $5 for students and seniors, and $10 for adults. Audience members under the age of two are free. For more information, visit YCCM's website or find us on facebook.
New Recording "Stars" Released!
The Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota is pleased to announce the release of their second recording: "Stars." The CD will be available January 17, 2011 at Ham"s Music in St. Cloud, and through the YCCM office.
For the first time YCCM is releasing a recording straight to digital. The entire recording (as well as most individual tracks) are immediately available for download through YCCM's Recordings page, through the official YCCM facebook page, and through CDBaby.com. The recording features four world debut compositions from commissions the Youth Chorale.
This groundbreaking project includes four world premiere recordings of pieces commissioned by the Youth Chorale. These works, composed by Abbie Betinis, Eric Barnum, René Clausen, and Dale Warland, have been met by the singers with great enthusiasm and are now presented to the public with precision and artistry.
As a part of its mission to add new music to the choral repertoire, all four debuts present literature that can be peformed by high school, community, and professional choirs. Two pieces in particular have already begun a life of their own with other ensembles. "The Spell Of The Elements," by Abbie Betinis, has been selected as an honors choir piece, received a European debut in the Netherlands, and has been performed many other times. Eric Barnum's "The Stars Stand Up In The Air" has appeared on Minnesota and National High School choral reading lists, and thus has been performed numerous times by other choirs.
The title and theme of the recording grew out of the repertoire the Youth Chorale has performed over the past few years. The title comes from Dale Warland's commission "Stars!" Many other selections have stars, moon, night, or light as their theme or title, while some, such as René Clausen's "The Peace Of Wild Things," center on the theme of nature. Well-known selections on the recording include "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana, Whitacre's "A Boy And A Girl" and "Lux Aurumque," and Laruidsen's "Dirait-on" and "Sure On This Shining Night."
You can order the recording through one of the links above, or by calling the Youth Chorale office at 320-281-9226. For more information, including booking details, visit www.youthchorale.org or email info@youthchorale.org.
New Website Now Live!
Thanks to a Technical Assistance Grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board and the work of Michelle Schmidt of Icelink Design, the new website of the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota is now live! The site operates on Drupal, a free content management system that allows for flexible design, custom features, and multiple editors.
The most important new feature will be individual accounts for each singer's family. This will allow each singer to have his or her own password and allow for users to ensure that their contact information is correct, communicate efficiently with staff, along with many other features.
The old website can be viewed at youthchorale.webhost4life.com/index.html, but will be taken offline by midsummer.
YCCM Hires Executive Director
The Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota has hired Paula Heydman as the part time Executive Director. As a part of its five year vision, YCCM has restructured the administrative side of the organization, expanding the Business Manager position into an Executive Director role. Jean Louis, Human Resources Director at a local hotel and convention center, has served in the position of Business Manager for the past four years.
Paula Heydman, a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict and a St. Cloud resident, is no stranger to the arts. She has worked at MacPhail Center for the Arts, The St. John's Boys' Choir, and is a former private piano and recorder instructor.
The Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota is thankful for the service Jean Louis has provided for the past four years, and is excited to welcome Paula Heydman to the staff of the organization!
Searching for College Interns
The Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota is seeking two college interns for the 2011-12 season. Interns should be college music majors focusing on choral music. The job description and application instructions can be found here.