Ed Armbruster

Art Schrofe, Jere Schroeder

Paul Carlton, UMW Representative

• Ms. Kirsten Reierson has completed her Sophomore year at Greenville College. She is pursing a Bachelor of Arts in music with an emphasis in Worship Arts, and her primary instrument is voice. She thrives on being able to perform with groups and is currently performing with the Greenville College Choir and Chamber Singers. She is also a youth group leader with the Young Teens at Greenville Free Methodist Church.
  o Her plans for the future are to pursue a Master's in Christian Counseling and to follow where the opportunities avail themselves.
  o Congratulations to Ms. Reierson for being selected to receive the Axdahl Scholarship Award for the second year. She was the runaway selection for the top award by the evaluation committee. This award provides $1,200 in scholarship funds.

• Ms. Stephanie Benson is currently a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. She is involved in the Eau Claire Concert Choir and recently appeared in the University's opera production of The Merry Widow. Stephanie has also been involved in Women's Concert Chorale, Chamber Choir and the University's Cabaret Productions. She is also an active member of American Choral Director's Association. In addition to these on-campus activities, Stephanie is an intern with the Chippewa Valley Youth Choirs, which reside in Eau Claire.
  o Stephanie's education will remain at Eau Claire, where she studies Choral Music Education as well as Vocal Performance. Her goals are to pursue music in many different realms and use her teaching and performance skills to educate many generations to come.
  o Congratulations to Ms. Benson on being awarded this AMCA Scholarship in the value of $1,000.

• Mr. Reid Larsen has completed his junior year in music education at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. He is currently a member of the Concert Choir, "The Singing Statesmen," and he serves as music director for an a cappella group from the Statesmen called "The Innocent Men." He participates in on-campus theatrical productions.
  o Mr. Larsen's goals are twofold. He will seek a position for teaching music after graduation. At the same time he plans to pursue post- graduate degrees in this field.
  o Congratulations to Mr. Larsen on being awarded this AMCA scholarship in the value of $1,000.

• Michael D. Schneider just graduated from ROCORI High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota. His involvement in musical endeavors has been ongoing since he was a very young boy. Church choir singing began before elementary school. This has progressed upward with participation in school choirs, solo and ensemble competitions. He has sung with the Varsity Choir at ROCORI for the past four years. He joined his high school Jazz Singers as a junior and performed with them at a festival in San Fransico in April of this year. Michael has consistently received excellent or superior ratings when in adjudicated performances. Michael provided many of the solo performances when singing with the Varsity, Jazz Singer, or Honors Choir.
  o Michael will be attending St. Cloud State University in Minnesota this fall. He is participating in their Honors Program. He will be joining the SCSU Choral program as a freshman.
  o Congratulations to Mr. Schneider on being awarded this AMCA Scholarship in the value of $1,000.
       We wish the recipients well on their continued educational endeavors and success in their musical careers

  Bob Torborg, Scholarship Chairman

  ATTRACTING YOUTH!
  Report of the AMCA Executive Council
       A significant highlight of the 2007 meeting of the AMCA Executive Council, held May 18, 2007 in Marquette, Michigan, was a decision by the Council to authorize music arrangements that will appeal to younger singers. The decision was a merger of two ideas, the first an attempt to incorporate some new music into the Common Repertoire that would attract younger singers, and the second a suggestion by John Robert of the WUM District to seek talented music arrangers who would take some popular songs and arrange them for TTBB. John's suggestion was that we use International dues to purchase sufficient copies of the new arrangements for all choruses in the AMCA. The Council authorized John to work with Don Crouch and the music committee to seek such arrangers. All members are encouraged to submit suggestions on which songs they would like to have arranged for male choruses. Contact Ron Stenzel, Jim Egan, Norbert Lehmann, Paul Carlton or Don Crouch with your suggestions.
       The other major topic of this meeting was related to details of the International Big Sing scheduled next spring in Eau Claire. Winnipeg, as well as choruses from the two former AMCA districts will be invited to participate in the Mass numbers. In addition, Eau Claire is considering inviting a neighboring chorus that is not currently a member in hopes of convincing them to join.
       The UWEC Statesmen, as the only Student Member Chorus of AMCA, will present a solo number for the Saturday concert, as will the host Eau Claire Male Chorus. Other solos were assigned based on total members per district and number of choruses per district as follows: 4 to the UMW, 2 to the WUM and 1 to NYP. There are currently 6 choruses in the WUM, while only 2 choruses are currently active in the NYP.
       David Fehr, Eau Claire director, attended the meeting to discuss the organization's expectations for Mass numbers. He was able to attend a meeting of the WUM directors during the weekend to learn their preferences and also obtained input informally from the two representatives of the NYP. Besides the 3 anthems, there will be 6 mass numbers, primarily drawn from the Common Repertoire. The selections will be announced soon - CHECK THE AMCA WEBSITE. Conductors for the mass numbers will be assigned to directors whose choruses do not have solo numbers on Saturday night. Directors will be contacted regarding their preferences after the mass numbers are announced. Directors should be prepared to list their preferences in rank order, and also to specify any numbers they would NOT like to direct.
       Afterglow solos will be allocated first to choruses that do not have solos on Saturday. The order will be predetermined, so watch for how to submit your preferences. All officers were present at the meeting. None of the committee chairmen were able to attend. Reports were submitted by each officer, district representative and committee chairman, including in-absentia reports from those unable to attend. The reports were reviewed and approved.
       The proposed budget for the 2007-08 Fiscal Year was discussed. The amount of regular member dues was revisited. It was noted that costs to operate continue to rise and membership in AMCA continues to decline, thus placing a greater burden on each individual. Also, given the suggestion that we fund new music arrangements for the entire organization, the council decided to raise the dues for regular membership to $10 per person. Dues for other types of membership remain the same.
       Both the Chorister Editor and Webmaster reiterated their usual pleas for more information to share, and the Chairman stated that we need to communicate regularly during the year, not just at meetings, if the organization is to remain active and vibrant.
       The Executive Council also received news during the weekend that JoAnne Normandin, long-time Minneapolis Knights of Columbus Male Chorus director and a life member of the AMCA had passed away. A memorial in the amount of $100 was donated to the AMCA Scholarship Fund in her honor.
       The 2008 Executive Council meeting will be hosted by the Upper Midwest District in conjunction with the International Big Sing in Eau Claire. The meeting is to take place on Friday, April 25th at the Plaza Hotel and Suites.

  Paul Carlton, UMW Representative

  Need Input!
       What did your chorus do this summer? Send me some news! Chorister Editor

  Ed Armbruster

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  The Chorister is the official newsletter of the Associated Male Choruses of America, Inc. You are encouraged to participate in the creation of this newsletter by submitting articles, letters, photographs and pictures.

  Entered on web site on 2 September 2007 from file received from Ed Armbruster