Schola Cantorum
of Syracuse
Schola has a YouTube channel:
2024 Workshop for Singers
July 25 - 28, 2024 (Thursday thru Sunday)
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Director Coordinator Repertoire Participants
Singing sample Young singers Tuition/Registration Schedule Eat/sleep Registration page
Director
In 2024 Schola is again privileged to have Dr. Kristina Boerger direct the singers workshop. A highly accomplished and vastly experienced singer, conductor and teacher of early music, Dr. Boerger is John N. Schwartz Professor of Choral Leadership and Conducting at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. She received her formative musical training from pianist Annie Sherter, and the doctorate in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Illinois. She has directed the choral programs at Carroll University, the University of Illinois School of Music, and the DePauw School of Music. She has toured Europe with the Rose Ensemble and is a long-time singer with Pomerium. Her extensive musical activities and credits, particularly in the area of early music, are detailed here.
Coordinator
Michael Daly, this year's Workshop Coordinator, is the addressee for registrations. He welcomes any questions you may have:
Michael Daly
mdaly@MichaelDalyManlius.com
315-682-2066
109 Military Dr
Manlius, NY 13104
Repertoire
Kristina has always focused on the basic elements of good vocal production: loose and relaxed onset of sound, well-defined, resonant vowel formation, crisp consonants, and precise, speech-oriented declamation. Another focus is the mutual attentiveness that allows singing without a conductor. The 2024 repertoire, consisting of well-known, beautiful works of which “the notes” probably are familiar to many, is intended to permit devoting yet more time in this year's workshop to exploring those elements of expressive singing:
Josquin, Ave Maria….virgo serena
Byrd, Ave verum corpus
Victoria, O magnum mysterium
Palestrina, Sicut cervus
Lasso, Salve Regina (a4).
As an ideal, here is VOCES8 singing the Palestrina (click here).
Participants
This convivial but hard-working early music workshop, primarily for amateurs, is open to singers of all ages (16 and older) who have experience singing choral music.
Participants must be able to learn music and to sing in time, and in tune, from a score. Singers from Schola Cantorum participate as informal section leaders. Although the Workshop concludes with an "open rehearsal" on Sunday afternoon, the emphasis throughout is definitely on developing singing skills.
Singing sample
We request a brief sample of your singing, from both veteran participants and new registrants. These days it is relatively easy to record decent audio on one’s cell phone (i-phone or android) and to e-mail out the resulting audio file. But let us know if another way would be better, or if you have technical questions.
Schola Cantorum’s Music Director Barry Torres reviews the samples, and in many cases talks with individual singers in advance of the Workshop. You can be sure that Barry, a teacher of long experience, will be listening with a compassionate and understanding ear. A primary goal of the Workshop to help all applicants and participants to improve their vocal skills.
The selection to record is a short passage from Palestrina’s Sicut cervus (click here for score):
Sopranos mm 26-43
Altos mm 28-43
Tenors mm 24-46 downbeat
Basses mm 23-46, middle
Send your audio file to Barry Torres, at
barrtorr@gmail.com
For orientation (and your amazement), listen to the VOCES8 recording (click here).
With any questions or concerns - either technical or musical - please don't hesitate to contact one of us:
Barry Torres
Mike Daly
315-682-2066
Young Singers Tuition-free
Young singers, ages 16 through 30, may be eligible to participate tuition-free, thanks to generous donors to the Bruce Memorial Scholarship Fund. Dr. Kenneth Bruce, who died in 2002, sang with Schola Cantorum for many years and was very supportive and helpful to young singers who joined the group. High school student singers (if in New York) should have attained at least Level 5 in NYSSMA solos.
Tuition and registration
Tuition is $250 ($225 for early birds who register by June 24). High school, college and graduate students may apply for free tuition (see above).
To register, or to ask questions, see the Registration page.
Venue and Schedule
The Workshop takes place at
Grace Episcopal Church, Madison Street & University Avenue
(819 Madison St., Syracuse 13210).
Knowledgeable singers love the acoustics of Grace's sanctuary. The church is just down the hill from Syracuse University, with plenty of places to eat and shop. The Workshop runs from Thursday afternoon to late Sunday afternoon, including - tentatively - a pot-luck supper Saturday evening, singing as guest choir for the church's Sunday morning service, and a rehearsal open to the public on Sunday afternoon. Singing at the Sunday morning service, if that is feasible this year, would be in appreciation of the church's hospitality to us.
Saturday:
9 am - noon
2 - 5pm
6 pm potluck supper
Sunday:
9:30 am service
1 - 2:45 pm rehearsal
3:00 pm open rehearsal
Thursday:
(no morning session)
2 - 5 pm
7 - 9 pm
Friday:
9 am - noon
2 - 5 pm
7 - 9 pm
Eat and sleep
Housing and meals are on your own (apart from the Saturday potluck supper). Eating out in groups is one of the pleasures of this workshop, with the natives guiding the visitors to convenient and inexpensive local eating places.
Workshop participants have stayed in past years at the Skyler Hotel, about two blocks walk from Grace Church. The price appears to be about $190 per night for a double. Call 315-701-2613.
Four other hotels, in the $150 - $190 range for a double, are within walking distance of Grace Church. The Collegian is one block away. The Park View, Sheraton SU, and Crowne Plaza are within half a mile, as is Copper Beech Commons, student apartment housing that rents 2, 3 and 4-bedroom units short-term in the summer, at $125 to $200.
You can (and should) Google these hotels' websites, locate them on Google Maps, and check them out on TripAdvisor.
Rooms for $100 or less are available at brand-name motels near the Carrier Circle Thruway exit. These include the Ramada, Days Inn, Red Roof, and Motel 6. From Carrier Circle to Grace Church is about a 20-minute drive (seven miles).
Free housing in the homes of Schola members may be available to young singers.