The Mad River Chorale

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The Mad River Chorale

The Mad River Chorale is a non-auditioned community choir that provides an opportunity for its members to sing in a rewarding and challenging environment.

The Mad River Chorale (MRC) has been inspiring singers and audiences for over 30 years. We are a welcoming non-auditioned community chorus that performs concerts twice a year, in December and in the Spring. The MRC's goal is to provide members an opportunity to sing a rewarding and challenging repertoire and to give our audience the experience of, and knowledge about, wonderful choral music.

01/31/2025

11/07/2024

The Mad River Chorale proudly announces its upcoming holiday concerts: Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 in the Waitsfield United Church of Christ/Village Meeting Hall, and on Sunday, December 15th at 4:00 PM in the Waterbury Congregational Church.

This festive program (50 singers accompanied by string quintet, trumpets, oboes, flutes, timpani and piano) includes: J.S. Bach's celebrated "Christmas Oratorio" (Part I); Gustav Holst's "Christmas Day"; Edward Elgar's "The Snow; Anton Bruckner's "Ave Maria"; traditional carols "Masters in This Hall" and "My Dancing Day" arranged by Robert Shaw and Alice Parker; plus audience sing-alongs. The program will close with Handel's beloved "Hallelujah" chorus from The Messiah.

Tickets can be purchased at madriverchorale.org or at the door.

05/12/2024

Today’s your last chance to celebrate spring with the music of Mozart, Fauré, and Bernstein! Tickets for today’s 4pm concert at the Green Mountain Valley School in Fayston are available online at madriverchorale.org, or at the door.

05/11/2024

What an incredible evening last night was, with over 100 performers and an appreciative audience! (Here we are getting some pre-concert notes from Mary Jane.)

There’s still one more chance to join us for a program of Mozart, Fauré, and Bernstein. Don’t miss the Mad River Chorale and the South Burlington Community Chorus in our final combined concert of the season, tomorrow at 4pm at the Green Mountain Valley School in Fayston. Tickets are available at madriverchorale.org, or at the door.

05/06/2024

Cole Marino returns as the baritone soloist for our concerts on May 10th and 12th! Ticket info is available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1494767741137309/1494767751137308/

Hailing from Williston, Vermont, Cole Marino is a classically trained conductor, baritone, and keyboardist. As a vocalist, Cole has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the New York Oratorio Society, and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, among others. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 as a soloist in Vaughan William’s Serenade to Music under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. Cole has had the pleasure to work with such esteemed conductors as Vladimir Jurowski, Jane Glover, Roderick Cox, Robert Spano, Hugh Wolf, James Conlon, Ken-David Masur, Kent Tritle, Eric Milnes, Simon Halsey, Steven Reineke, and George Manahan. In 2023, Cole founded the Vermont Contemporary Chamber Collective, an ensemble dedicated to promoting the diversity and breadth of the chamber repertoire, and currently serves as the organization’s Artistic Director. Music direction highlights include Bach’s Cantata BWV 211, “Kafee Kantata” (VCCC, 2023); the original 1944 version of Copland’s chamber ballet Appalachian Spring (VCCC 2022); and Into the Woods (Lyric Theatre, 2022). In 2019, Cole served as Assistant Conductor for the Chelsea Music Festival. Cole’s musical passions span from the likes of J.S. Bach to John Cage, Stephen Sondheim, and beyond, and he ardently believes that one’s musical life should transcend the conventional boundaries of genre, form, and tradition. Cole graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 2020, where he studied voice with Mignon Dunn.

(Photo Credit: Daria Bishop)

04/30/2024

We’re delighted to welcome Cristina Escobedo as the soprano soloist for our May 10th and May 12th concerts! Ticket info is available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1494767741137309/1494767751137308/

Cristina Escobedo is a soprano from Lima, Peru. She has been part of different recitals, operas, and concerts throughout Peru, as well as in Italy and Switzerland. She won 4th prize in one of the most important singing competitions in Peru, held by Radio Filarmonia in 2021. In 2022, Cristina made her opera debut at the Pirandello Theater in “Suor Angelica” as the Prima Cercatrice. She is currently part of the Vincero Academy, where she is learning the role of Susanna and receiving lessons and coaching with some of the most renowned artists from the opera world. Since moving to the United States, Cristina has been the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Vermont Philharmonic and a resident artist at The Castleton Festival in Virginia, and she made her debut at Carnegie Hall this past January. Upcoming engagements include Young Artist in the Opera Company of Middlebury's productions of "La Scala di Seta" (Giulia) and "La fille du régiment", "La Traviata" (Annina) with the Vienna Opera Academy, and an appearance as an alumna of the Classic Lyric Arts summer program in Novafeltria, Italy.

01/09/2024

On Saturday, Feb 10th at the Warren United Church, the MRC will once again provide a luscious musical presentation, along with chocolate and roses, for a (near to) Valentine’s Day treat!

Our director, Mary Jane Austin, is planning with several of the MRC’s talented soloists to present an eclectic and highly entertaining program exploring all aspects of love, narrated by Erik Kroncke.

At the reception following the concert, we will provide a variety of delectable chocolate treats. And each person attending will receive a rose!

We are requesting a donation of any amount from those attending. These funds allow us to add additional instrumentalists to our concerts.

Details

Time: 7 pm with a reception following

When: Saturday, February 10th

Where: Warren United Church 339 Main St, Warren, VT 05674

Why: For fun near Valentine’s Day! And to support the MRC with free will donations.

01/01/2024

We hope you enjoy this video presentation from our Waitsfield holiday concert last month. Thanks to our wonderful audiences! Happy New Year 2024 from all of us at the Chorale -- may this renewal bring the uplift we so hopefully seek.

This is "Mad River Chorale Holiday Concert 2023" by zazvideo on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

12/12/2023

The Mad River Chorale returns on Friday, December 15th and Sunday, December 17th to present our holiday concert "Peace on Earth". Our first performance will begin at 7:30 PM on Friday, December 15th in the beautiful Waterbury Congregational Church. That performance will be followed on Sunday, December 17 at 7:30 PM in the Congregational Church in Waitsfield.

Our 40-person group (accompanied by string quintet, harp, and piano) will perform works by Poulenc, Britten, Buxtehude, Finzi and Chilcott. Back by popular demand, audience members will be invited to join in singing several familiar Christmas carols, plus the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.

We are lucky to be led by an absolute dream team of professionals: Mary Jane Austin is our brilliant director, Alison Cerutti is our wonderful pianist, and internationally known vocal coach and operatic bass Erik Kroncke prepares us to present the highest possible quality performance.

Advanced tickets can be purchased on-line at madriverchorale.org or at the door. Adults: $20; Seniors/Students: $15; under 11 free.

Please join us in celebrating our 31st year of serving our community through song for what we guarantee will be a joyous and memorable evening!

Address

Waitsfield, VT
05673

Telephone

+18024964781

Website

http://www.madriverchorale.org/

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Our Story

“Serving Our Community Through Song”

In late 1992, just shy of forty years after Fayston resident Tony Egan sang in his high school chorus, he learned that Danica Buckley, an English teacher at Green Mountain Valley School, was conducting the Northeast Kingdom Community Chorus. (For Danica’s full biography, go to Danica’s Bio). Danica and Tony were both interested in creating a community choir in the Mad River Valley. And so they did.

..In January, 1993, a small story in the Valley Reporter and a bunch of phone calls turned up 24 local singers. Five months later, with the generous support of the Green Mountain Cultural Center, 200 community members enjoyed Vivaldi’s Gloria at The Round Barn. Danica continued to lead and expand the Chorale until spring of 1995 when she departed Vermont.

..In two and half decades years we have done it all. We have created, overseen and supported the Mad River Kids Chorale, Robert DeCormier’s professional ensemble Counterpoint, and the Young Singers Chorus of Vermont. The Mad River A Ca****la Chorus functioned for several years. There was the Café Noir cabaret troupe, who treated us to four Forbidden Christmas send-ups as well as several performances of Broadway and other popular music. We own an amazing Kawai Shigeru concert grand piano which is located currently at the Warren United Church. We leased the Bundy Art Gallery for five years, presenting everything from internationally known classical musicians’ recitals to Circus Smirkus.

..Now the Mad River Chorale has returned to its roots. We have had a long and varied history of growth and expansion under the creative aegis of Vermont native Piero Bonamico, the Chorale’s conductor and Artistic Director from fall 1995 through Spring 2014.

..At our June 16, 2014 concert we sang an all-Gloria program which including Puccini, Vivaldi, Schoenherr, and an arrangement/translation by Piero of Laura Branigan’s 1982 pop hit “Gloria”. Piero announced his resignation, warned two years prior, as he moved on with his graduate studies in vocal pedagogy at Shenandoah University.

..As of August 2014, we were once again standing alone as the Mad River Valley’s Community Chorus with our talented new conductor, Mary Bonhag. After two exciting years, Mary resigned as conductor in July 2016.

.. We were joined under the direction of Conductor Arthur Zorn of Montpelier VT. Arthur is the music director of Bethany Church and the retired head of choral music at Spaulding High School, Barre VT. He has served Mad River Chorale in the past as accompanist, bass soloist and substitute conductor, so he knew us and our mission well, and directed us through the holiday concerts in December 2017.

..As of January 1, 2018, Arthur has retired from conducting the Chorale and Mary Jane Austin has been named Conductor. She is joined by Accompanist Alison Cerutti, also a longtime friend of MRC.

..Our core mission has always been singing– to support, entertain, educate and edify our Mad River Valley friends, neighbors and visitors through song. That is still the case and it will be as we go forward.

Among major pieces performed by the Mad River Chorale are John Rutter’s Requiem, his Magnificat and his Gloria, Schoenherr’s Magnificat, the Groovy Version of OX, Corigliano’s Fern Hill and Liebeslied, Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes and PDQ Bach’s Liebeslieder Polkas, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite MesseSolonnelle, Schindler’s Missa in Jazz, and McClure’s St. Francis in the Americas, a Caribbean Mass. We have done Broadway from Anything Goes to Candide to Urinetown, and jazz and gospel and folk standards. We have paired up with the Barre Choraleers, the Randolph Singers, the South Burlington Chorus, the South County Chorus, and the Green Mountain Opera Festival. We have provided movie soundtrack music (Stone River) and silly Christmas parodies (Forbidden Christmas). What’s next? Stay tuned.

Over 25 Years of singing !