Transforming American choral music through collaboration, innovation, sustainability, and excellence
by Wendy Moy
Choral Arts Synergy has adopted the trade name of chorosynthesis. Our new name embodies our vision of creating a world where the choral art and its communities are preeminent.
What does chorosynthesis mean?
choro = chorus
synthesis = coming together of things to create something new
Also check us out on Facebook!
by Wendy Moy
Chorosynthesis is excited to announce that we are recipients of a College Music Society (CMS) seed grant. CMS awards grants to imaginative and exemplary community engagement projects that bring together participants in higher education and members of the local community. Chorosynthesis will host the American Choral Summit in Seattle during the 2011-2012 academic year. This summit will bring together the whole choral community—teachers, researchers, community members, artistic boards, and performers—to create a national dialogue by which the past, present, and future of choral music can be discussed with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and sustainability.
by Wendy Moy
Jeremiah attended the first meeting of the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium on behalf of Choral Arts Synergy. The idea for a Seattle choral consortium comes from the Greater Boston Choral Consortium – which is an independent organization to help foster cooperation vs. competition in the city’s choral community. We are so encouraged that the Greater Seattle choral community sees possibilities for sustainability by way of collaboration and pooling resources. Of course, Choral Arts Synergy hopes to draw from this valuable resource and network in the hosting of the upcoming American Choral Summit.
by Wendy Moy
Choral Arts Synergy is excited to announce that we have received official nonprofit status in the State of Washington! Be on the watch for updates on our upcoming projects.
by Wendy Moy
Choral Arts Synergy attended the Chorus America Conference keynote address today led by consultant Alan Brown of Wolfbrown. Wendy and Jeremiah were clearly energized (see awkward picture above) by his engaging presentation on key trends in consumer behaviors related to arts attendance. His reflections on what these trends means for choruses were enlightening with strong implications for innovation. How will we and should we respond? Do we keep doing business as usual or do we transform our concepts of and organizations in choral music? What resources and support does a chorus need to be thriving in this new economy?
by Wendy Moy
Today, Choral Arts Synergy met with two very helpful buttonhole consultants about audience engagement, collaborations, and establishing nonprofit boards. We created such a buzz that one consultant asked to have a second meeting and volunteered to help us! We are so grateful to Chorus America and the many expert volunteers that make opportunities like this possible for us.
Jeremiah and I have talked to numerous artistic directors, board members, and arts management specialists in choral organization about Choral Arts Synergy (CAS). They echo the desire to see an organization like CAS develop a leading role in the re-formation of choral music and its communities. The arrival of such a service organization is timely. Inspired by the support and with a clearer idea of the needs in the choral community, we sat down and formulated a preliminary 20-year dream plan. How do you see yourself becoming a part of that dream? How are you advancing the choral art in your own community right now?
by Wendy Moy
Jeremiah and Wendy have been invited to present a session at the 2011 Biennial Northwest Music Educators Conference to be held in Bellevue, Washington. Choral programs across the nation are facing many challenges such as shrinking enrollment, rapidly changing musical tastes, and the demand for multi-sensory stimulation. We spend countless hours towards building, sustaining, and revitalizing our programs, but are we really effective? We propose that the majority of trends for revitalizing programs are reactionary and not permanent. This interest session will explore long-term investments in the choral arts by methods of collaboration among research/academia, performers, education, and communities. We will explore some of the ideas that are currently being proposed by field leaders and current research, help you to engage in further dialogue, and share resources that may be adaptable to your specific context.
By joining our efforts, we can enlarge the circle, expand the choral arts community, and change the world, one singer at a time!
by Wendy Moy
Jeremiah and Wendy are meeting leaders making a difference in the world of music in Atlanta, Georgia. We had the privilege of having dinner with Anton Armstrong and Andre Thomas, who were very excited about our vision for advancing choral music. They look forward to our upcoming projects and to the ways in which we change the chorus in America as a result . We have some crazy ideas about how we will change choral music. What do you think choral music will look like in the next 20 years?
by Wendy Moy
Ms. Moy and Mr. Selvey attended the American Orchestra Summit (AOS), a landmark conference concerning the American orchestra, with the hopes of creating a similar summit for the choral community. The AOS examined the wide-reaching cultural impact that the orchestra has had in America, and explored how orchestras and academia might partner effectively to extend this import. From this summit, Ms. Moy and Mr. Selvey learned about innovative community engagement collaborative strategies being employed in the orchestral world that have possible value in the choral community; and connected with many inspiring leaders in the world of music, psychology, and business.
by Wendy Moy
It’s hard to determine how chorosynthesis first became a thought. Mr. Selvey and Ms. Moy recognized early on in the academic year that they had similar passions for research. Mr. Selvey was interested in audience engagement, particularly by connecting with the internal motivation of attenders and Ms. Moy was interested in motivation and retention of students in choral ensembles. At the heart of both points of research was the desire to advance the choral arts in a sustainable fashion.
Ms. Moy received an email from Ken Kiesler, University of Michigan to attend the American Orchestra Summit. Inspired by the invitation, she sent it to Mr. Selvey and asked rhetorically why there wasn’t such an event for the choral community. Mr. Selvey boldy replied that they both should attend the summit in order to glean from the experience what would be necessary to put on a similar choral summit! In typical Seattle fashion, Mr. Selvey and Ms. Moy discussed over coffee their vision for advancing the choral art. And that’s where it all started.