FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 21, 2010
For More Information: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (773) 281-7820
Chicago, IL —Chicago a cappella announces the launch today of the Program Development and Recording Fund, a project that will support the ensemble’s concert productions, new recordings, and commissions of new works. Chicago a cappella’s board of directors has set a goal of raising $500,000 for the Fund by the end of the ensemble’s 20th season in 2013.
As an important first step, Chicago a cappella has received a lead gift of $250,000 from the Klaff Family Foundation. This gift will support six specific projects of Jewish music and African-American spirituals and gospel music over the next three seasons. The first project supported by this fund, Days of Awe and Rejoicing, a recording of Jewish music, will be released in 2011 in conjunction with a set of concert performances of the same name.
Founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Miller states, “We are absolutely thrilled about this exciting new development. I personally have the same sort of excitement about the Fund that I had when I founded Chicago a cappella almost 20 years ago. It is wonderful to envision our organization’s musical future and to find the partners who can help us make it happen. This Fund supports that future and ensures the company’s ongoing strength and sustainability.”
Chicago a cappella is recognized as one of the area’s most accomplished and acclaimed vocal ensembles. Spanning a repertoire from Gregorian chant to the Beatles and beyond, the group is about to launch its 18th season under founding Artistic Director Jonathan Miller. Its season-opening concert program, Tastes of Paradise: Music for Pleasures of the Palate, will be performed October 2-10, 2010, in Chicago, Evanston, Naperville, and Oak Park, IL. Since its founding in 1993, the ensemble has commissioned new works by Chen Yi, Tania León, Stacy Garrop and others, and has toured to 11 U.S. states and Mexico. Its discography includes recordings on the Cedille and Centaur Records labels, including highly-acclaimed CDs of Renaissance and contemporary works. With musical preparation by Music Director Patrick Sinozich, the ensemble was lauded for its “appealing charisma and seamless blend” (Chicago Tribune) and has been hailed as “a jewel in the crown of Chicago’s musical life” (American Organist). More information about Chicago a cappella is available at www.chicagoacappella.org or (773)755-1628.
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