A well-known and respected Vermont women's
chorus will entertain here Friday evening. Its host for the night is a
local church that Is happy to play a role in boosting the arts locally.
Dr. Dawn Willis leads the 40 women chorus of
Bella Voce, which will perform a spring concert tomorrow night at 8 at
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in St. Albans.
Father Dennis Hayward, pastor of St. Luke’s, is
proud to be an advocate for the arts locally.
“We in Franklin County do have resources and
welcome the arts.” He said.
So, when Bella Voce approached Hayward he was
delighted to welcome the group. “I believe that it is one of our
missions,” he said of his church.
Willis, a professional musician for more than
25 years founded the women chorus in March 2004, which debuted its first
full concert the same year.
The chorus, consisting of 40 to 45 auditioned
singers, performs existing and newly commissioned sacred and secular
works for women’s throughout Vermont and the Northeast.
The name, Bella Voce, is an Italian phrase
meaning “beautiful voice.”
The singers cover a broad spectrum of ages and
backgrounds. With the youngest member being 19 and the oldest 70, the
choir is home to students, mothers and grandmothers.
It is the love of music that has brought these
talented women of different generations together.
Ellen Gurwitz, an original member, says singing
with the group has been “a gift in my life.”
Ellen is not the only member who feels that
way. Sylvia Robison, also with the choir since its inception said, “I
have met a lot of women that I would never have met before.”
The women of Bella Voce dedicate every Monday
from 7 to 9:30 p.m., to a rigorous practice.
“I love this group of women. They are the most
dedicated group of women ever.” Dawn Willis said of her chorus.
Gurwitz added, “Working hard on a project is
exhilarating, a wonderful intense feeling. We certainly get results
from our work.”
As education is central to its mission, Bella
Voce created a mentoring program in 2005 to provide support to college
students and a conducting intern in their growth as conductors, music
educators, and performers.
Currently there are four University of Vermont
student members, who have had the opportunity to sing and compose for
the choir.
One of these students, Chelsie Henderson, sees
the value in belonging to the group. “Not only has being a member of
Bella Voce allowed me insight into the educational value but I also feel
like I’m surrounded by a group of mentors and mothers, which is
comforting since I live away from home,” she said.
“Community choirs are a great opportunity for
women to sing inspiring music of many styles,” said Willis.
Bella Voce performs music of world-renowned
Vermont composers and arrangers such as Robert DeCormier, Michael
Isaacson and Gwyneth Walker. All of its members feel that working with
composers is rewarding.
“It is a thrill to sing a composer’s music and
look into the audience to see them smiling – to have them say to you ‘I
love it,’ is simply amazing”, said Gurwitz.
Gwyneth Walker is just as excited. “Bella Voce
is Vermont’s premiere women’s chorus. I am proud to have my music in
their repertoire,” she said.
The Spring Concert will feature Walker’s music,
including two of her sets of songs composed for women’s voices.
The first set, titled “The Spirit of Women”
includes three songs based on different traditional American spirituals.
The second set, “Six Songs for Women’s Voices –
are musical settings of poems by American poet May Swenson. These songs
address a variety of subjects that relate to women’s interests and
issues.
Also included in the concert will be three
Hebrew songs sung by women in the Terezin concentration camp during
World War II.
Kaleidoscope, the Essex Junction High School
Women’s Chorus, will join Bella Voce for a portion of the Burlington
concert.
The rousing Finale from Gilbert and Sullivan’s
operetta “The Gondoliers” will close the concert. Tickets are $15 for
adults and $12 for students and seniors.
St. Albans Messenger,
May 17, 2007
