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May 22nd & 23rd
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The OCWC was recently awarded a new grant from the James Irvine Foundation Arts Initiative, a collaborative program of the Orange County Community Foundation and Arts Orange County, which will enable us to take new steps to further develop our audience. |
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May Concerts Celebrate The
Richness of Women's Lives
and Experience
Join Us on May 22nd & 23rd!
We wrap up our 12th season with a concert of music celebrating women's lives, women's stories, and women's dreams. Sound sappy? Not remotely-wait until you hear the heart-stopping, barn-storming songs we've got in store, including our newest commissioned work by Dale Trumbore (see below)! You'll hear the words of Emily Dickinson, Sojourner Truth, and Phillis Wheatley set to the music of Francis Poulenc, Brian Holmes, and many more. This is one performance that's sure to leave a mark.
Saturday, May 22, 2010 ● 7:00 p.m.
Newport Harbor Lutheran Church 798 Dover Drive, Newport Beach
Sunday, May 23, 2010 ● 3:00 p.m.
St. Wilfrid of York Episcopal Church 18631 Chapel Lane, Huntington Beach Buy your tickets now!
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Interview with Composer Dale Trumbore
A newly commissioned piece, written specifically for the OCWC by composer Dale Trumbore, will receive its premiere performances at the May concerts. For the text of Tribute, she selected contemporary poet Annie Finch's beautiful tribute to Emily Dickenson. "I was drawn to use this poem because I love Annie's work, and because it fit the theme of this concert well," Trumbore commented in a recent interview. The poet plays with words and sounds, which inspired the composer to play with words similarly in the composition. "The music, too, is essentially divided into three distinct sections, corresponding with the three sentences that make up the poem. I also tried to echo the sparse language of the poem in often-bare textures of the music."
Trumbore has composed pieces for women's choruses before, but this is a first-time collaboration between the composer and the OCWC. When asked about the opportunities or challenges that are presented by composing for women's voices, she said: "When writing for women's chorus, the overall range of notes is more limited than the range of a mixed chorus, of course, but the sound of a women's chorus is also much different in character. Writing for a women's chorus is like writing for a completely different--and gorgeous--instrument."
 An active composer on both coasts, Dale Trumbore recently heard the Kronos Quartet premiere her string quartet How it will go as part of their residency at the University of Maryland. Trumbore has won numerous awards for her compositions. Ensembles that have performed Trumbore's choral compositions include the University of Maryland Chamber Singers, the Femmes de Chanson, the Harmonium Choral Society, and the Ward Melville High School Chorus. Her instrumental compositions have been performed by ensembles including the Kronos Quartet, the Neave Quartet, the Left Bank Concert Society, the Nova Ensemble, and the Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
A native of Chatham, New Jersey, Trumbore recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue her master's degree in Music Composition at the University of Southern California, where she currently studies with Morten Lauridsen. Trumbore graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.M. in Music Composition and a B.A. in English Language and Literature. Her dual interest in text and music often leads her to write music for voice, collaborating frequently with contemporary poets.
The composer plans to be present for both May concerts and will be talking about her work 30 minutes prior to each performance. Plan to come early!
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Building an Audience with Some Help from Our Friends
Thank you to all of you who are currently a part of the OCWC audience family. We think the OCWC offers something unique in the OC cultural landscape and we're glad you do too! With the help of a recent grant from the James Irvine Foundation Arts Initiative, in the coming months we will be inviting more Orange County music lovers to become members of the OCWC audience.
Because "A Voice of One's Own" celebrates women's experience and features a new work by an exciting young woman composer, a special outreach to OC women's organizations is underway for the May concerts. In the fall of 2010, we will launch our first subscription, offering a substantial discount to those who are willing to purchase tickets for the full season.
If you know someone you think would enjoy our work, the May concert would be a great opportunity to introduce them. Forward this newsletter to a friend or invite them to join us on Facebook! |
Introducing Accompanist Janelle Tag
 In March, Janelle Tag joined the OCWC family as our new accompanist. She is very accomplished and we are delighted to have her. Janelle was born in Seoul, South Korea and began her piano studies at age 7. She won her first piano competition at 15 and was given the honor to perform with the Saddleback Symphony Orchestra. Janelle has received a Bachelor's and Master's degree from CSU Fullerton in piano performance. She received a talent-based scholarship and became a student of Eduardo Delgado, one of Argentina's most renowned pianists.
Currently, Janelle is an active teacher and performer in the Orange County area, and serves as a board member to the Music Teachers Association of California in Irvine. She is staff accompanist at Orange Coast College and Our Lady of Peace Korean Catholic Center. Last April, she gave her concert debut performing the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto with the Corona Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Marco A. Mejia. She is pursuing a career as concert pianist and educator, with an emphasis in vocal coaching. We look forward to making some beautiful music together! |
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Many Thanks to a Valued Founding Board Member
 On June 30, Barbara van Gaasbeek will be retiring from the OCWC Board after 13 years of tremendous service. She is a founding Board member, serving before the OCWC was even incorporated! So she has seen the organization through every phase of its growth to date. As either chair or co-chair of the Operations Committee, she has literally written the manual for how a volunteer-managed chorus like OCWC conducts its day-to-day business. Frequently assisted by her husband, Jim, Barbara has done or coordinated everything behind the scenes, from rearranging the furniture to preparing our post-concert receptions. We know she'll be relieved to not have to attend as many meetings, but we hope she will stay close by and continue to provide us with sage counsel as needed!
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Introducing OCWC Board Members
Throughout the 2009-2010 Season, we have been introducing you to some of the newest Board members who are lending their professional expertise and working behind the scenes to help the OCWC grow and prosper. In this final newsletter of the season, we'd like to introduce you to the remaining four members of the OCWC Board. All of the board members can be reached by email at firstname@ocwomenschorus.org.
Kathryn Baldasari, Chief Financial Officer
 Kathy Baldasari was elected to the Board in 2000 and has been the CFO for most of that time. She has been singing with the OCWC since 1998. Kathy is an Engineering manager at Raytheon Network Centric Systems, where she is currently responsible for metrics development and analysis for the California Region's Software Center. Kathy holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University and a M.S. in Operations Research from the UC Berkeley.
Janet A. Bratton, Co-Chair, Operations
 Janet Bratton was elected to the Board in 2001 and has been a singer in the OCWC since 1999. She is a senior manager in software engineering for Raytheon Network Centric Systems (NCS). Janet holds a B.A. in Mathematics from CSU Fullerton. Prior to her math degree, she completed a B.A. in Music at CSU Los Angeles as the first woman to graduate from the classical guitar program.
Mary C. Langsdorf, President
 Mary Langsdorf is the founding Board president, and hosted the original planning meeting for the group that would become the OCWC in the summer of 1997. She retired from her position as Senior Vice President of Finance at PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. in 2001 to spend more time with her family after nearly thirteen years in the corporate finance department. Prior to PacifiCare, Mary was an audit manager for Ernst & Young, LLP. She holds a B.S. in international management and accounting.
Kristen Soderberg, Co-Chair, Marketing and Development
 Kristen Soderberg was elected to the Board in 2008 and has been a singer in the OCWC since 2003. She previously served on the board in 2005-06 as the chair of development. Kristen will join Casden Properties, LLC in Beverly Hills as their Associate of Marketing next week. She has extensive experience in the field of Real Estate Finance/Underwriting. Kristen holds a B.A. in Art History from Whitman College and a Master's Degree in Real Estate Development from USC.
We thank each one of them for contributing their time and professional expertise for the benefit of the Orange County Women's Chorus! |
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The Orange County Women's Chorus
Eliza Rubenstein, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
1 Mansfield Drive, Irvine, California 92620
(949) 451-8590
www.ocwomenschorus.org
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