On our inaugural tour - to China in 1998 – the Yale Alumni Chorus participated in an extraordinary musical exchange with students at the Xi'an Normal School for Teacher Training, in Xi'an: Our chorus' selections were interspersed with performances by their students in song, dance and on traditional Chinese instruments.
Also in Xi'an, the Yale Alumni Chorus hosted students from the Xi'an Opera School to an afternoon of singing at our hotel. Members of both groups sang classic opera arias, interspersed with songs from each country's musical repertoire. In many cases, conversation between performers took place in Italian or German, since most of the participants did not speak each other's language – a truly international experience.
Normal School for Teacher Training in Xi'an, China
In 2001, the Chorus journeyed to England, Russia and Wales to participate in Yale's European celebration of its Tercentennial. At the University of Leningrad in St. Petersburg, members of the Yale Alumni Chorus joined members of the Leningrad Chorus for an evening of song, fellowship and good cheer. Each chorus sang from its repertoires and joined together in several classical opera choruses.
While in Russia in 2001, The Yale Alumni Chorus invited members of the Chamber Choir of the Smolny Cathedral to a celebrative evening of singing and dining in the picturesque Baroque-style Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The Yale Alumni Chorus of 300 singers alternated classical and spiritual songs with the outstanding 30-member Smolny Chamber Choir. The evening offered a memorable opportunity for Americans and Russians to meet, sing, and toast each other through an evening of artistic exchange and camaraderie.
Dinner with the Chamber Choir of the Smolny Cathedral, St. Petersburg
The Tercentennial celebration continued in the United Kingdom, where the Yale Alumni Chorus was invited to perform the opening concert of the world-renowned International Musical Eisteddfod Choral Festival, in Llangollen, Wales - an event that attracts competing choruses from all parts of the world. An enthusiastic audience enjoyed musical selections from Beethoven, Verdi, Hindemith, Parry, Handel, Porter, Thompson, Bernstein, Heath and Bartholomew. And the Chorus got to meet and hear singers from all over the world.
Continuing the Tercentennial celebration in the United States, the Chorus participated in a concert in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center that commemorated the 300th anniversaries of both the City of St. Petersburg and Yale University. Singers from both countries joined the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Constantine Orbelian, in a rousing "Salute to St. Petersburg and Yale University". The concert, featuring music by Glière, Mozart, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Borodin, gave Chorus members an opportunity to perform with famed Russian soloists, including Lubov Petrova, Miroslav Kultishev (the 16 year old rising star pianist), and Marina Domashenko. Afterwards, the Chorus hosted our Russian friends at an afterglow in New York's famed Russian Tea Room.
Opening concert at the International Musical Eisteddfod Choral Festival, Wales
Stemming from our prior associations with Maestro Constantine Orbelian, the Yale Alumni Chorus was invited to become the first American chorus to perform at the Kremlin State Palace in Moscow in April of 2003. Accompanying the Philharmonic of Russia with conductor Constantine Orbelian, the Spiritual Revival Chorus of Russia, and international opera star Dimitri Hvorostovsky, the Chorus sang a program entitled "Russian Patriotic Songs of the Great War" commemorating Russia's VE Day. This performance was eventually broadcast to an audience of 98 million on RTR, the Russian television network.
Following the Kremlin concert, the Chorus hosted a gala reception at the Marriott Royale with Hvorostovsky, US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow (Yale '74), Maestro Orbelian, and friends and family in attendance. And the following evening, the Chorus invited the Spiritual Revival Chorus of Russia, our onstage Kremlin choral partners, to an emotional singing dinner that united our two countries in song. At one table, 8 languages were spoken.
Dinner with the Spiritual Revival Chorus of Russia
In October of 2003, the Yale Alumni Chorus invited Maestro Orbelian to conduct a concert in Woolsey Hall in New Haven in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Aram Khachaturian. At that international celebration, the Chorus welcomed Maestro Orbelian and the Philharmonia of Russia, pianist Dora Serviarian Kuhn, mezzo Marina Domashenko, and soprano Christianne Tisdale (Yale '85) in the "100th Anniversary Salute to Aram Khachaturian." We were designated an official celebrant of the Khachaturian anniversary by the Khachaturian family. The composer's son, Karen Khachaturian, and his family came from Moscow to attend the concert, and we were honored to host his Excellency Arman Kirakossian, the Armenian Ambassador to the United States.
During our Latin American tour in 2004, the Foundation ventured into one of Rio's famed favelas, Cidade de Deus, to meet members of Casa de Santa Ana, a remarkable social services undertaking, serving the elderly and children at risk. We joined together at a local Samba School, where we, in turn, sang a number of songs, heard their seniors sing, and participated in an inspiring program by the Samba School's drumming group.
Since 2004, The Foundation has provided funds to create a choral and percussion music program for the children at Casa de Santa Ana. The program provides music teachers, musical equipment, snacks, transport, and staff for the children of the favela who participate in the program. (See O Globo article in the Newsroom.)
Singing with the adults from the Casa de Santa Ana
During the Gift of Song Tour to South America, the Yale Alumni Chorus joined over 250 Argentine singers and 1000 audience members in our Foundation-sponsored choral festival in La Plata in August 2004. The festival was held to commemorate the founding of the Argentine choruses, which had been substantially motivated and inspired by the visit of the Yale Glee Club in 1941 – the first such American university glee club to travel to South America.
In Santiago, Chile, 16 children's choruses from Crecer Cantando joined the Yale Alumni Chorus in a morning of singing and shared fun. Each chorus entertained us with beautiful songs – from the 6 year old beginners through their senior chorus of high school singers. We presented the senior chorus with individual copies of the new edition of the Yale Glee Club Song Book, Songs of Yale.
The Yale Alumni Chorus also distributed Spanish educational materials to the Crecer Cantando program in the form of "Let's Go Mozart" teachers' kits, material developed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada.
The Cidade de Deus Chorus performs in Rio
The choral festival in La Plata, Argentina
One of the 16 children's choruses from Crecer Cantando in Santiago, Chile
Crecer Cantando director receiving "Let's Go Mozart" gift for Santiago music teachers
In February 2006, the Chorus traveled to Cambridge, England to share music with our counterparts from the Cambridge University Music Society and with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Constantine Orbelian. These three organizations gave a benefit concert at Ely Cathedral, where the combined choruses were conducted in turn by such luminaries as Sir David Willcocks, Constantine Orbelian and Cambridge's Stephen Cleobury, as well as by our own Jeffrey Douma. Funds raised at this concert are helping alumni singers from Cambridge University to form their own alumni chorus. Following the tour, our Foundation donated $5000 to the Orbelian Fund to support young and extraordinarily talented young Russian and Armenian musicians to study and perform in Russia, Armenia and the United States
September 2006 found the Yale Alumni Chorus in the Netherlands for a week of music and concerts. In Leiden, from which the Pilgrims set out for the New World almost 400 years ago, we sang a three-university concert with the University of Leiden's Collegium Musicum and our new friends from the Cambridge University Music Society in the Pieterskerk, an historic 15th century church. Proceeds from that concert were donated to the foundation that maintains this historic church.
Exchange concert with Collegium Musicum of Leyden University in the Pieterskirk
In the summer of 2007, the Yale Alumni Chorus traveled to South Africa to "Share the Power of Song" with many new friends in formal and informal musical settings. Given our commitment to a broad program of outreach in the communities we visit, South Africa proved to be a particularly exciting destination. Choral music, in great variety, is an integral part of South African society. Singing played an essential role in the struggle that led to the end of apartheid and the birth of the modern South African democracy. And the country offers an abundance of important community outreach opportunities.
In the course of this tour, the Chorus shared the power of song onstage with well over 750 South African musicians. And beyond the stage, Chorus members were able to spend substantial time informally with these and many other South Africans - talking, singing, dancing, eating, and learning about shared hopes and ambitions for our children, our families and our countries.
Yale Alumni Chorus sings the Creation with the Johannesburg Festival Chorus
At a church service at St. Hubert's Catholic Church in Alexandra township, we were graciously welcomed by the priest and the congregation. We heard their talented choir sing and "move" beautifully. Our Members donated about $1500 to the church. Following the tour, one of our Members donated a new sound system to the church, which one of our PST tour guides arranged to have installed at no charge.
The first of our three benefit concerts during the Power of Song Tour was held in the historic City Hall in Pretoria. Our performance partners were four local choruses: the Wesley Harmony Choir, the Pretoria Serenaders, the Marimba Group and the All Saints Blind Choir, with the concert proceeds benefiting the Blind Choir. Listening to these groups, we got a good introduction into a variety of South African choral music. The performance of the South African national anthem by all of us as a massed choir on stage at the end of the afternoon was unforgettable.
Yale Alumni Chorus sings with All Saints Blind Choir on stage, Pretoria, South Africa
One of the highlights of the Power of Song Tour was the musical evening we spent in Diepkloof Hall in Soweto where the talented Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society under the direction of Maestro Thangana Krila Gobingca George kaMxadana. George, as he is known to us, introduced us to the history of music and dance in South Africa by explaining how music from other parts of the world influenced the evolution of music in South Africa. His choristers, in elaborate costumes, sang and danced as they illustrated each type of music. We then shared an elaborate dinner together, prepared by the Choral Society, with more singing by each chorus - both separately and together.
We invited the irrepressible ladies from the Kopanang Women's Cooperative, based in Geluksdal township near Johannesburg, to join us for breakfast, to exchange songs and for them to display and sell beautifully embroidered wall hangings, pillow covers, ornaments, scarves and wonderfully creative jewelry. We were their largest sales day ever! They presented us with a beautiful embroidered wall hanging for the Power of Song Tour, which we had commissioned, and it was proudly displayed at each of our concerts during the tour.
Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society members perform for Yale Alumni Chorus in Soweto
Another of our principal outreach partners on the Power of Song Tour was the Ubuntu Education Fund, a very well managed social service agency based in Zwide Township outside Port Elizabeth. Founded by a South African and an American, Ubuntu serves the people of Zwide and other Port Elizabeth townships, including providing educational and health-related programs for some 40,000 orphans and vulnerable children. Acting as a catalyst, we secured significant additional support from General Motors, whose headquarters and primary African manufacturing facility is in Port Elizabeth. GM has contributed significant funding, a much-needed work vehicle, and the promise of annual employment opportunities for Ubuntu-nominated candidates.
Another important example of our Foundation working as a catalyst was our introduction of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals to Ubuntu. Pfizer representatives joined us for our visit to Ubuntu and saw for themselves how effective Ubuntu is in delivering programs to improve the condition of the people in the townships, including counseling and treatment for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. As a major supplier of anti-retroviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, Pfizer provided an immediate gift of 300,000 rand ($42,000). They have subsequently developed a close relationship with Ubuntu leading to additional funding and other support, particularly for Ubuntu's planned health clinic - a key part of their new $4.5 million Community Centre.
Chorus members and the instruments they donated to the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra's Outreach Program for Children
Following the gala Ubuntu benefit concert in Port Elizabeth, the Chorus left behind some very tangible benefits in support of the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra's educational outreach program to teach children in the townships of Port Elizabeth to play classical orchestral instruments (www.ecpo.org.za). Their program was foundering; they needed more instruments for instruction and more funding for instructors and repairs. Drawing upon our own Members, their families and friends, and church and school groups in the United States, our gift of some 40 instruments, including 2 French horns and a bassoon, together with some 70 recorders, reeds and strings, and some cash for maintenance and repairs was nothing short of magnificent. The ECPO's gratitude was palpable. They would now have enough instruments for every child who wanted to join their program.
And finally, in terms of our major PST outreach endeavors on the Power of Song Tour, there is the Simon Estes Music High School (SEMHS) and its extraordinarily gifted choir.
The Irrepresible Simon Estes Music High School Choir
Founded by the renowned African American bass baritone, Simon Estes about 10 years ago, SEMHS is in great need for just about everything that a normal American school takes for granted, including a working facility, computers, a library, books, paper, pencils, musical instruments, and so on. To help with these needs, the Yale Alumni Chorus gave a benefit concert in the Opera Hall in Artscape in Cape Town on the 4th of July. At that concert, we heard this remarkable choir perform - by themselves, with Simon and with us. At the end of the concert, the two choirs joined forces and together sang our two national anthems - the Stars Spangled Banner and Nikosi Sikelel'l Afrika. It was another unforgettable moment. And our support for the School and its amazing choir continues.
The Yale Alumni Chorus Combines with the SEMHS Choir in a Benefit Concert for the School
In 2009 YAC travelers visited Casa Sito (www.casasito.org), a thriving NGO whose goal is to increase the educational opportunities for underprivileged people in Guatemala. We helped to support its first Annual Voces Unidas Music Festival in the small village of Santiago Zamora. Because Casa Sito and YACF share the vision that music is a great unifier that brings people together across different cultures, economic levels, religions, political parties and countries, YACF was proud to be able also to support Casa Sito’s Second Annual Festival as well.
Our 2010 trip to Cuba was different in many ways. While singers interacted with local performers our non-singers visited local charitable organizations and distributed a wide variety of items to children and seniors at two Seminaries, a Baptist Church, a Synagogue pharmacy and a children’s theater group. Donations, carried from the States by all YAC travelers, ranged from toiletries, school and office supplies, to wheelchairs and walkers.
YACF continued its Outreach tradition on the 2011 Celebration of Song Tour. Through connections with the Turkish Philanthropy Fund, one group visited Pembe Ev (The Pink House), a community center serving underprivileged youth in the Asian section of Istanbul. We contributed to their new music program, gave over 200 English books to their library, interacted with the students, enjoyed musical presentations by them, and continued the relationships when the students attended the major YAC concert a few days later. In Tbilisi, Georgia, the chorus performed at an outdoor amphitheater for Ossetian refugees. We shared the stage with the superb Basani and Rustavi male choruses and the Gori Women’s choir, all of whom joined us afterwards for a rousing “singing dinner.” In Yerevan, Armenia, YAC travelers were treated to a mini concert and singing workshop with the Little Singers of Armenia and had the pleasure of performing with the Paros Chamber Choir, a group consisting mostly of disabled singers. Thanks to the cooperation of the Roho Corporation of Belleville Il and YACF member, Biggie Moore, we were thrilled to be able to hand deliver 15 Special Contour Select seat cushions and 15 back cushions to prevent bedsores and skin problems for their wheelchair-bound members.
YAC’s 2012 “tour” was to New Haven for the First Annual Yale International Choral Festival and our outreach activities took an unusual turn. We provided stipends to 26 music teachers from areas around Boston, New York City, and New Haven, all of whom expressed pure delight in having the opportunity to visit the Yale campus and take part in seminars on various aspects of choral singing. They are looking forward to the Second YICF. Feedback included the following comments: Very inspiring and motivating, Thank you; I loved the opportunity to network with fellow music educators; I especially loved the reminder of how choral singing can change lives; I was reminded how incredible it is to be a music educator! We also hosted members of the All City Honors Chorus for a singing session in Hendrie Hall with about 25 YAC singers. According to the Director, “It was an amazing experience for the children…to share music between the generations, to sing for each other, to sing together and to talk in such a candid way (about the impact of choral singing on our lives). The Yalies enjoyed the experience as well!
While at the YICF members of the Outreach Committee met with Micah Hendler, Yale ’11 who majored in Music and International Studies. He has put his knowledge together with his experiences conducting the Duke’s Men, organizing the Whiff’s 2011 tour to the Middle East, and participation in the internationally acclaimed Seeds of Peace to create the Jerusalem Youth Chorus. YAC made a donation to help Micah get the project up and running.
YAC travelers to the Baltics in 2013 had a number of opportunities to support worthwhile organizations in each of the countries visited.
Tallinn, Estonia. The non-singers visited Collegium Educationis Revaliae to learn about their services to 1500 students in programs of Music, Folklore, Creative Arts and Drama and the SOS Village where they learned about services to the many abused youngsters in the area. YACF donations were made to both of these groups. A few singers performed at the historic Church of the Holy Spirit and YAC gave a donation to the E Studio Singers who shared a concert with the entire Chorus.
Riga, Latvia. The Saule Puse Color Orchestra of the Sun Care Rehabilitation Center came to our hotel to demonstrate how severely disabled young people learned to perform music by reading colors rather than notes. They gave an extremely moving performance and their leader attempted to teach YAC singers how it is done. The group was thrilled by the rhythm instruments we purchased for them to augment their other instruments. On that same day, a number of children from the Zvannieki Alternative Family Home (for abused children) also visited our hotel where they sang alone, then under Jeff Douma’s direction, and finally with YAC in an extremely emotional hour long visit. We presented them with an electronic keyboard which they have since used to prepare the youngsters for concerts that they give in town to raise funds for and awareness about the home.
Vilnius, Lithuania. A rousing concert was given by YAC in the heart of town to raise scholarship funds for the European Humanities University, a unique Belarusian university that has succeeded in maintaining its independence and commitment to academic freedom. Its students are able to expand their horizons while staying in close touch with their homeland and preserving their cultural identity.
The primary focus of Outreach on our 2014 YAC trip to Washington DC was the Welcome Table project of the Church of the Epiphany, an historic Episcopal church, built in 1844 and listed on The National Landmark Registry. This multi ethnic congregation, located on G street in the downtown area, serves a hearty breakfast to approximately 200 of Washington’s homeless population every Sunday, and features a small group of homeless choristers called the Welcome Table Choir. With donations and the proceeds of our Saturday evening Serenade! Concert. We provided funding for almost nine weeks of Welcome Table Sunday Breakfasts. In addition, twenty YAC singers joined the Welcome Table Chorus at the Sunday service and seven YAC members helped to set up and serve breakfast after the service. One YAC member also volunteered to work at the Church’s Annual Independence day Picnic on Sunday afternoon.
The main focus of Outreach activity for the second Yale International Choral Festival in 2015 was our substantial support of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC) for their trip to the Festival. Their story, singing and spirit were mind-opening to all. Micah Hendler’s talk was truly inspiring.
Three groups of YAC singers went out to a prison, nursing home and mental institution collaborating with three of the conductors from the Conducting 21C workshop to work with the “residents” in each. Though only a few YAC members were able to participate, this sort of activity provides a template for future work. The concluding comments of one YAC member sum this up: “ We will most likely never see these men again, but I think we were all touched by their perspectives, by their own depths of feelings, by their own life/death experiences, by their own sense of humanness and by their needs to find expression. For them to realize how much WE were invested in hearing them, gave them a reason (I hope) to seek light through their darkness, trust in hope and a” beyond”. How (the leader) drew out from their individual pieces the most important phrases and tied them all together was mesmerizing – it tied them to each other as well as to us.”
Wherever our travels take us, Chorus Members strive to change lives through the power of song, particularly with children at risk. We provide resources, both in the United States and abroad, that enrich children's lives through singing.
In the United States, a Foundation grant allowed The Ricardo O'Gorman Library and Center in Harlem to hire a music teacher to provide singing lessons to students at this Harlem-based school in New York City, which is free to needy children in Kindergarten to Grade 3.
And in Yale's backyard in the City of New Haven, we have supported Amistad Academy, a 5th-8th grade charter school created in part to prove that inner city children, if given the right environment, can learn and succeed. The Yale Alumni Chorus Foundation, together with the Spizzwinks Alumni Association and the Whiffenpoof Alumni Association, donated funding to support a 2-year program to found and fund a children's chorus as part of the school's enrichment program.
Grupo Voces, the children’s chorus founded with our support under the auspices of the Casa de Santa Ana NGO in 2004 at the City of God Favela in Rio De Janiero, continues to be a major source of pride and satisfaction for YACF members. In addition to financial contributions in succeeding years, the relationship has spawned many additional opportunities for the young singers, thanks to Classical Movement’s ability to connect them with a variety of American and Canadian children’s choirs. YAC Board members continue to donate and raise funds from their churches for this most worthy outreach project. The Yale Whiffenpoofs and other singing groups have plans to collaborate with them.
YACF has continued to support efforts in South Africa. “The exceptional gift from the Yale Alumni Choir during their visit to Port Elizabeth in June 2007 still forms the backbone of the Eastern Cape Philharmonic’s Music Investment Project. I do not hesitate to say: You have made a sound investment! ….. because of your great gift we could afford the luxury of selecting and buying some higher quality instruments for some of our most talented players.” We were also able to continue our support of the exceptional singers of the Simon Estes Music School
Choral Bridges, our domestic Outreach program grew slowly. YACF volunteers made regular visits to three schools (2 in the New York 1 in Boston) where they enjoyed fascinating interactions with Metropolitan Opera Guild Choral Artists and their elementary school students.
YAC has continued to make substantial donations to help Micah Hendler, Yale ’11, further the activities of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus. The group has been quite successful. An ensemble of high school students from east and west Jerusalem they work towards attaining high levels of both collaborative musicianship and empathy for one another. In Micah’s own words:
This year, our second year, we have had about a dozen performances, and they're still coming! Our recording with David Broza, "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?" is near the top of the charts on Israel's most popular radio station! The choir is taking things to the next level, both musically and interpersonally, deepening the experience of dialogue and continually raising the level of musical performance. At a four-day retreat to the South, to Kibbutz Ketura, we gave our first full-length concert! We performed for an hour and 15 minutes. It was such a milestone for the kids, and a huge step for us as a musical ensemble. Now we are getting ready for the Whiffenpoofs to return in June, and we are developing a relationship with King's Academy in Jordan whose choir director, Ben Watsky, was a Whiffenpoof '12.
As noted at the beginning, we are committed to our music. And, through our creative community outreach programs, we are also committed to changing lives through the power of song.