By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow Encouraging. Inspiring. Liberating. Thought-provoking. My heart is full…You had to be there. If The Presser Foundation allowed it, this review of the Elevate Vocal Arts’ (EVA) Bent, But Not Broken (BBNB) Conference would be as short as the preceding statement. Alas, this transformative conference deserves a more robust description.…
Image: Music for Everyone after school participants creating music and community together. By Dr. John R. Gerdy, Founder and Executive Director, Music For Everyone An ongoing debate within the educational community relates to how to classify music programs within the academic curriculum. Specifically, whether music and the arts should be considered an extracurricular or core…
By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow On October 6th, the esteemed vocal ensemble Elevation, part of the Elevate Vocal Arts organization, graced the stage at Abington Presbyterian Church (PA) as part of the Music At Abington Concert Series. This free concert showcased Elevation, Delaware’s sole professional vocal ensemble, leveraging its extraordinary vocal prowess to deliver…
By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow On Sunday, October 27th, the Greater South Jersey Chorus and Chamber Singers, under the baton of Artistic Director Dr. Christopher Thomas and conductor Art McKenzie, captivated their audience with a beautifully curated program titled Untraveled Worlds: Landscapes From Within. Set against the evocative backdrop of the historic Scottish Rite…
By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow Karim Sulayman, tenor; Sean Shibe, guitar On this clear and comfortable Sunday afternoon, I enjoyed the serenity of my back porch while watching tenor Karim Sulayman and guitarist Sean Shibe perform at the historic Benjamin Franklin Hall, hosted by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. This concert series showcases high-quality…
By Daniel Jackson, Graduate Music Fellow An unseasonably warm and humid evening air permeated through the windows and doors of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on this Friday evening. Condensation from the rain glistened from the open windows. But no one seemed to mind the warmth or inclement weather, for in this sanctuary the…
Wilmington Children’s Chorus Ariel Alvarado during her Fellowship year. By Ariel Alvarado One would imagine a children’s chorus would solely serve children, but this year the Wilmington Children’s Chorus (WCC) expanded its services to include a twenty-four-year-old. Some background: WCC is an organization dedicated to empowering young people to change their world through music. This…
Image: A GEGISOM student playing piano. Pulled from reports written by Dr. Joyce Drayton, organized by Abby Rolland* As part of The Presser Foundation’s drive to be more transparent and to amplify the work of its partners, it uses information from grant reports to highlight its grantees. Each post will spotlight one partner, who has…
Image: The Montgomery County Chorale & Orchestra on stage at their Spring 2023 performance. Pulled from reports written by Diane Duda, organized by Abby Rolland* As part of The Presser Foundation’s drive to be more transparent and to amplify the work of its partners, it uses information from grant reports to highlight its grantees. Each…
Guest Blog Post: The Susquehanna Chorale—Its Legacy and Its FutureGuest Blog Post by Anne Moul Anne Moul is a singer for the Susquehanna Chorale, a Presser Foundation grantee. On a September evening in 1981, inside historic St. Peter’s Kierch in Middletown, Pennsylvania, a small group of singers called the Susquehanna Chorale performed for the…