Boston Singers' Resource News Bulletin, February 26, 2003

We are delighted to introduce to you BSR member, conductor, organist, and singer, Mary Beekman. Ms. Beekman has been one of the area's leading choral directors for over 30 years. Ms. She is conductor of the choral group, Musica Sacra, as well as the music director of the only year-round open sing program in the area - The Belmont Open Sings. She shares her audition process with us for choral members as well as for soloists.

MUSICA SACRA, Mary Beekman, Artistic Director.

"Musica Sacra breathes freshness, fire into Requiem"(The Boston Globe, October 2002)

"Musica Sacra pays homage to Mozart's Requiem"(Cambridge Chronicle, October 2002)

"Musica Sacra's performance of my Christmas Cantata blew me away." (Daniel Pinkham, Composer)

Since 1959, Musica Sacra has earned a reputation for giving authentic performances of choral music from many eras, with the skill and dedication to bring to performances the highest standards of musical excellence. Under the direction of Mary Beekman*, Musica Sacra has earned a reputation as a superb small chorus. Recent concerts have been presented to enthusiastic, sold-out audiences.

The 30 member group performs four main concert programs per year (with many programs reprised outside of their series in different venues.) Although they are considered leaders in the New England early music scene, their repertoire ranges from early Renaissance through to today, and they perform contemporary choral music with equal excellence. Their first CD, FLEMISH CHORAL MUSIC OF THE HIGH RENAISSANCE, is scheduled for release later this spring.

In the past, Musica Sacra has performed concerts in collaboration with the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the Boston Museum of Science, and has appeared live on WGBH. In 2002, Musica Sacra had the honor of performing at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as part of the commemorative events on September 11. Also in 2001, Musica Sacra made its fourth appearance as a featured concurrent event at the Boston Early Music Festival.

Musica Sacra has also demonstrated a commitment to reaching under-served audiences, having performed frequently at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Youville Hospital and at the annual AIDS Walk in Boston. In 1998, 2000 and 2002, Musica Sacra held benefit concerts, raising several thousand dollars for three Cambridge organizations serving the homeless: Spare Change, Bread and Jams and Solutions at Work.

Musica Sacra's upcoming concert, JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH features motets: "Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied;" "Komm, Jesu, komm;" "Lobet den Herrn;" "Jesu, meine Freude;" "Jesu, meine Freude" and "Fürchte dich nicht" on Saturday March 15, 2003 at 8:00 PM at First Church Congregational, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"The motets of Johann Sebastian Bach are the consummate treat for the enthusiast of Bach's choral works. Containing no arias or recitatives, they comprise a musical feast of Bach's mastery of the choral idiom through the course of his career: from his youthful style, represented by Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, to Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, which was composed to celebrate the signing of the Dresden Peace Treaty in 1645. It is known that Bach had more singers at his disposal for special occasions, and three of the five motets presented in this program are for double chorus. If you are a fan of Bach's music, don't miss the variety of Bach's musical expressions of sacred texts represented in this concert." Mary Beekman, director.

Other upcoming concerts include: THE BIRTH OF BAROQUE: GERMAN MOTETS OF THE 17TH CENTURY on Saturday May 31, 2003 at 8:00 PM at First Church Congregational, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Which will feature choral music by Samuel Scheidt, Johann Hermann Schein, Heinrich Schütz, Andreas Hammerschmidt, and Johann Christoph Bach.

Musica Sacra is funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and by the Inavale Foundation.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Mary Beekman*, Director, has conducted Musica Sacra since 1979. A graduate of Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music, she has also conducted the Harvard-Radcliffe Graduate Chorale and Chorus pro Musica and served as interim choirmaster of the Harvard University Choir.

In addition to her work with Musica Sacra, Mary is the music director of the Belmont Open Sings. In December 2001, Mary Beekman and the Belmont Open Sings were featured on Boston's public radio WBUR, in a program entitled "Sacred Sing-Along," with Alice Furlaud. The piece is primarily about a holiday presentation of Handel's "Messiah" and the art and pleasure of choral singing.

BSR: Has your CD been released, yet? What prompted you to record this particular program on CD?

MB: We‚re trying to have it ready for sale at our concert. "Love, Lust and Laudation; Choral Music of the High Renaissance" is the title. We wanted to make a CD to sell commercially and were looking for a corner of the market in which we would excel and which would as yet be unoccupied. The music on this CD was first performed to complement an exhibit of prints of Peter Breugel the Elder which was mounted by the Harvard University Fogg Art Museum. Most of the secular works and a few of the sacred works have never been recorded; some of them may not have been heard for several centuries.

BSR: Can you give me a little history of Musica Sacra before you arrived? Who were the conductors? How did Musical Sacra start?

MB: Founded in 1958 to perform Renaissance sacred choral music at University Lutheran Church in Harvard Square, the group soon began to include music, both sacred and secular, from any era. Former conductors include Yuko Hayashi, Marion Ruhl Metson, and Lenora McCroskey.

BSR: What drew you to Musica Sacra in 1979?

MB: The opportunity to work with very talented singers in an already established group. Prior to that time I had conducted the Harvard-Radcliffe Graduate Chorale, an unauditioned group of 100 plus singers. The smaller size of Musica Sacra appealed to me as well; people singing in a smaller group usually have a high level of personal responsibility and like challenge. As I put it, "If, upon learning on concert day that every other alto is sick and you alone will be representing the line, your reaction is, 'oh, boy!‚' then we‚re the group for you!"


BSR: Did you study conducting at Harvard and NEC?

MB: My biggest influence in becoming a conductor was to sing under John Ferris, then Harvard University‚s Organist and Choirmaster, for my four years as an undergraduate. I sang 7 days a week under him with many talented people who also sang in the choir. Some of these include Phil Kelsey, who conducted Cantata Singers at that time, and Gerry Moshell, who presently is the Director of Choral Activities at Trinity College in Hartford. At that time I lived to be a choral singer and I was already becoming discouraged about having to leave the choir. I couldn't imagine another chorus being as satisfying to sing in. At that time Harvard had no courses in the performing arts; there was certainly no way to study conducting. I did audit a course that John taught at Harvard Summer School and, because of that, one day he asked me to warm up the choir for him. A singer he respected said "She can warm us up anytime," and my career was launched!

I went to NEC to study organ with Yuko Hayashi. While there I took every conducting course offered: "Conducting from the organ" with Don Teeters, "Choral Conducting" with Lorna Cooke da Varon, and "Orchestral Conducting" with Richard Pittman. I figured a graduate degree in organ was more concrete than one in choral conducting, but I tried to take advantage of the opportunities to learn conducting. It was great, because I had a
church job with a choir and the Graduate Chorale, so I was getting tons of hands-on experience, which to me is equally, if not more, valuable. For 3 summers I went to work with Robert Shaw and Robert Fountain of Oberlin
and U of Wisconsin, so I really saw a lot of conducting styles.

BSR: Have you always wanted to be a conductor?

MB: No, but once I started doing it regularly at age 22 I realized immediately it was a perfect fit for me. I'm good at articulating ideas and I've always been directive (not too useful elsewhere in life!) and I have strong musical ideas. They may not always be right, but they‚re always there!

BSR: Was it challenging to enter the world of conducting in the 70's as a female conductor?

MB: Hmm.... Yes and no. Being in a job presented no problems; it was getting the job that was tough. Being young and female was a double liability; often singers are subconsciously looking for a 'father figure,' so you don't fit on 2 counts. Often in a rehearsal to audition for a position, some one (always bass or tenor) would be particularly prickly about suggestions. Then I'd think, well, there goes that job! And it usually was the case. That's what was so great about the Graduate Chorale and Musica Sacra; all those Cambridge intellectuals were more liberally minded and they were all pretty young themselves.


BSR: I loved reading that you have your singers in mixed format! I really enjoy singing mixed (JO mixes in TFC, also) and I do this with my high school chorus' whenever I can; It really seems to help the blend and tuning. Has Musica Sacra always done this?

MB: We have sung mixed in 90 percent of the concerts I have conducted over the past 23 years. It not only helps blend and tuning but it also makes singers more personally accountable. It also aids them in realizing their role as part of a fabric rather than "alto, accompanied by those other parts."

BSR: You are a high-level volunteer chorus, right?

MB: Yes

BSR: What are your auditions like? What do you look/listen for in singers?

MB: 2 part audition process. The first is with me. I hear a singer's range, which also allows me to hear their vocal quality to see if it is appropriate for our group, and test their sight reading. I pick a piece that's covertly tricky with rhythm and enharmonic notes and tell them I want to see how they cope. That's what good sight singing is; hearing your mistakes earlier so you can jump back on track before you get derailed. If they pass this, they come back for an evening's rehearsal during which we work on the current program and announce one piece as the audition piece. We work on that piece and at the end of the evening they represent their part in a quartet where the other members are the section leaders of the group. We see what the auditionee picked up in terms of phrasing, breath marks, and, of course, notes, rhythms and diction. Also, during the course of the rehearsal the section leader and I get to hear the singer in the section to see how they‚re blending, how quickly they pick up what‚s going on, etc. If the audition is poor, but the section leader says they didn't miss a note in rehearsal, we take that into account. We try to give singers every opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities. Often I will take some one on their potential. Some singers evolve just the way you hope they will and others don't change a whit from the day they first walked in the door. We instituted reauditions after many years of soul searching because we felt that it made it easier to take a chance on singers and give them an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to grow and evolve without committing us to "until death us do part" if it didn't work out.

We're also looking to build on our sound. Singers think you're just trying to make them feel better when you say, "You have a lovely voice, but it won‚t work in our section just now," but it's actually true. And no one likes to have to constantly sing in a way that's not natural just to fit into a group they want to sing in.

BSR: I'm so glad that you continue the Belmont Open Sings throughout the year. You are one of the only groups that does this, I believe? Did you initiate this program?

MB: We are the only group that does it and the only group that conducts all readings with a full orchestra and soloists. The Belmont Open Sings was founded by Barbara Connolly Lewis, who had participated in a similar program in Princeton, NJ. She led them for 25 years or so. I've been the director for about 7. I wish more choral singers in our area would realize what a fantastic resource it is. You have to get into Cecelia to work with Don Teeters; you have to go to Harvard to work with Jim Marvin or Murray Somerville. OR you can come sing a work with them in Belmont Open Sings and see what their style is. I try to invite two to three guest conductors a year for this reason.

BSR: Great to know this, thanks. A fabulous opportunity for singers, indeed. How do you find soloists for BOS as well as MS?

MB: I was hoping to make it to the BSR auditions in March, actually, although one of them is the day of my concert. I take notes when I attend concerts and also get references from singers whose production I like of other singers whom they feel sing similarly. I've used Donna Roll at Longy to refer students from there for Belmont Open Sings.


BSR: May BSR singers send materials to you, or do you have auditions, or do you use only managed singers?

MB: I don't as yet use managed singers and I'm happy to have soloists send me materials. I DO NOT need a headshot (save those expensive copies!). I DO NEED a tape of the singer singing: preferably snatches of arias from various eras, although that's not absolutely necessary. It doesn't have to be from a concert; it doesn't even have to have an accompaniment. It does give me a sense of their voice whereby I can decide in what music I want to use them. I also love when singers have sound clips on their website and am glad that BSR has it on the list to do the same; Ray Bauwens' website had samples of his singing and it was just FABULOUS to help me shop for what I needed!

BSR: In these days of major cuts in arts funding, how do you keep Musica Sacra alive?

MB: Good question! How indeed? Our repertoire has long been dictated by budget constraints; obviously I'd program a lot more works with instruments if money were no object. We are extremely fortunate to have had some generous private funding in the past 5 years that has allowed us to develop our publicity and program one large orchestral work every year or every other year. In addition, we have been entirely self-run until 2 weeks ago, when we hired a Gal Friday to take over some of the stuff that's dropped between the cracks because we've grown so much in the past years. All of our grant writing, art work, program design, and CD production is done by members of the group who have this expertise and donate it pro bono.

BSR: What are the keys to gathering and maintaining audiences and sponsorship?

MB: Gee, you tell me!! Some that we use are attracting audiences through special group rates, targeting of special interests for particular programs, and outreach. Last year we initiated a special 8 for $8 package to enable groups of people, often younger, to attend our concerts for less money. When we give German concerts, we're likely to target institutions like the Goethe Institute. We have given three concerts as benefits for organizations served by and for the homeless: Spare Change, Solutions at Work, and Bread and Jams. All the money raised goes to those institutions, but maybe some one on their mailing list comes to hear us for the first time and comes back next season to our regular series. As far as sponsorship, you will notice a lot of similarities in names on the donor list with those in the membership. We are largely supported by friends and family.

BSR: Future plans for Musica Sacra and for you?

MB: We just found out that Dan Pinkham is writing us a setting of the "Magnificat" to premiere next year. We are incredibly honored that he has chosen to write for us. I'm also hoping to do a major orchestral work. I'd like to do some Handel. We may also do another benefit concert in the spring.

For me, personally, I may be looking to get back into church music now that my kids are older. I'm also contemplating doing more orchestral work, if that were a possibility. I'd also like to work with a larger chorus that would give me access to some of the repertory for which Musica Sacra is unsuited. In four years (crossing fingers here) my kids will be in college and I'll have more time to devote to my music.

BSR: How has the music scene in New England changed over the years?

MB: It's gotten _much_ more crowded. Many more groups are having to compete for singers, audiences and support. Also the genesis of what I call "niche choral groups" such as the Gay Men's Chorus. One of the main values of choruses is that they bring disparate people together to work on a common project of making music. I think that's incredibly important. You get to know some one in a positive light whom you might dismiss if you met at a social event. Maybe you don't share political views, but by the time you find that out, you're already committed to liking to work with that person. There's also an incredible bonding with people when you make music together. The community building is much greater than it would be if you just met for dinner once a week.

I saw it in Harvard University Choir and my singers have created it in Musica Sacra: a group of singers who enjoy each others‚ company and respect each other will make fabulous music and have a great time doing it. It's one of those upward spirals. The people who stay in our group realize that we work hard, but that we also care about and for each other. Both are equally important. Every year we try to have an all chorus party and every one has a fabulous time!


BSR: Thanks, Mary. It has been delightful hearing from you. Best wishes for a fabulous concert on March 15 concert!

FOR MORE INFORMATION on Mary Beekman, Musica Sacra, or Belmont Open Sings, please visit their website: www.musicasacra.org or contact: info@musicasacra.org (617) 349-3400

To schedule an appointment for an audition, please call (617) 349-3400 or send an e-mail to auditions@musicasacra.org.