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2007

  •  Listen to "Will the circle be Unbroken" by Alabama - click here

    The Appleton Boychoir Presents
    Young Men’s Chorus Festival
    Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
    Monday, February 12, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
     
    Tickets:  $12 Adults  $10  Students (tax Included)
    Call: (920) 730-3760

    Young 

    On Monday, February 12th, the Appleton Boychoir is sponsoring it’s 11th Young Men’s Chorus Festival, which will feature the Varsity Men’s Choruses from Appleton East, North, West, the Appleton Boychoir Ambassador Choir and this year will include MacDowell Male Chorus.
    This will be the fourth year the festival will be expanded to a full day festival sponsored by Appleton (Papers).  
    The choirs will arrive in the morning at the Fox Cities Performing Arts wearing T-shirts which read “Real Men Sing”.  They will begin with a warm-up and then will break into sectionals to work on a mass piece that they will all perform together that afternoon and evening.  This will be a real opportunity to share and experience the joy that is part of the male choral tradition. 
    After lunch, the Appleton Boychoir will invite over 1800 3rd grade boys and girls from the Fox Valley area to attend a preview of the evening concert.  This will be an opportunity for many of these students to attend a performance in the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center for the very first time.  This will introduce children to the idea that singing can be an important part of their young lives.
    Since this festival began in 1997, the Young Men’s Chorus Festival has showcased 7 college and adult male choirs (Cantus, LaCrosse Men’s Choir, Jonathan Overby of Wisconsin Public Radio, The Singing Statesmen from UW-Eau Claire, a men’s choir from Lawrence University, and  MacDowell Male Chorus).  The 1997 Young Men’s chorus Festival was one of Cantus’ first professional appearances. Since then, they become a full-time touring organization singing over 80 concerts across the nation and the world.  They are represented by the Herbert Barrett Management of New York City.  
    This festival has become increasingly well received by audience members and our community. 
  • 8-18-06: Seventy-Three...
    • That's how many years the men of MacDowell have gathered to prepare themselves to entertain the Fox Valley, Greater Wisconsin and other surrounding communities.
    • This is also the approximate number of men appearing on-stage at any given performance. Though our ensemble is quite impressive at this level, we need more. We want to present at least 100 melodious voices to our supporters, some of whom have followed us for many years!
      • If you want to know more about the chorus and are interested in joining, visit us at our annual season opening picnic on Monday 28 at Waverly Beach - where South Oneida Street of Appleton meets Lake Winnebago. For more information, or to let me know you'd like to attend, contact me (Rick Marion) at macdowel@macdowellmalechorus.org.
      • Auditions:
        • Mon Sep 11, 2006 - Appleton East High Music Room - 7:00PM / Practice 7:30-9:30
        • Mon Sep 18, 2006 - Xavier  High Backstage- 7:00PM / Practice 7:30-9:30

2006

  • 02/13/2006 -

    PRESS RELEASE

    MacDowell Male Chorus

    P.O. Box 32

    Appleton, WI 54912-0032

     

    2006 Concert Program

    “SHARE THE GIFTS”

     

    With music in their hearts and minds, the men of the MacDowell Male Chorus of Appleton will perform for audiences in, this, its 72nd year.  Founded in the depths of the Great Depression, the chorus performed its first concert in 1935.  For the past seven decades, the chorus has sung annually across Wisconsin and surrounding states in over 500 performances.

     

    The mission of the chorus is to contribute to the Arts in the community and provide audiences with male voice performances of the highest quality.  The repertoire of the 2006 Concert program consists of a mixture of songs that directly image our culture through sacred, pop, folk, Broadway and patriotic tunes. Selections this year include: Ray Charles’ standard “Georgia on my Mind”; “Simple Gifts”; “Holy and Mighty”; Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Pie Jesu”; and “God Bless the USA”!

     

    The MacDowell Chorus consists of approximately 85 men from the Fox Cities area of Wisconsin:  north from Green Bay, south from Oshkosh and many towns, cities and villages in between.  They come from all walks of life and share a love of singing.  MacDowell performs memorized, four-part male choral music.

     

    Membership in MacDowell is open to all post high school men who enjoy singing.  The voices of the chorus have been polished in high school and college choral groups, various church and community choirs, and around the living room piano.  Various members are selected each year for solo and small ensemble singing.  Auditions for prospective new members are held during the first three rehearsals every September.  Rehearsals, which are held on Monday evenings, continue weekly through the first week in May.

     

    Traditionally, the chorus performs its sacred music at Fox Cities churches as a public service during the months of February and March.  Beginning in April, full concerts are performed across the state. This year our concert locations include Three Lakes, Waupaca and Hartford, Wisconsin.  The season closes in May with a series of home concerts in the Fox Valley area.

     

    Each year the MacDowell Chorus grants scholarships to graduating high school senior men who are aspiring to further their studies.  These scholarships are awarded to soloists who demonstrate proficiency in singing and musical presentation.  Auditions, using general music competition criteria, are the basis for scholarship awards. 

     

    Information about the chorus membership, tickets or the scholarship process may be obtained by writing to MacDowell Male Chorus, P.O. Box 32, Appleton, WI 54912-0032 or by contacting John Pierce - Business Manager at 920-850-4339. Additional information is available at the chorus website: www.macdowellmalechorus.org.

2005

  • 4/21/2005 - It has been a while since my last update. Sorry about the delay. Since I was last here, we have completed the "away" portion of our concert series for 2005. We have been very lucky with weather, travel conditions and performing conditions. All the away concerts were well attended and the audiences very welcoming. Thank you all for your hospitality and warmth. A special thank you to the Super-8 Hotel in Eagle River who provided us with a clean and hospitable shelter for the "overnight" portion of our trips. Kudos to your staff!
    • We are now entering the "Home Concert", and final, phase of the 2005 Concert Season. For those who have already seen us perform this year, we are adding a little sparkle to our performances at home. This begins this Saturday at Appleton West High School. Tickets for that performance are still readily available. If you attend, we are sure you'll appreciate the additions we've made!
    • The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center is not sold out, but what is left is going fast! At this rate, tickets may not be available at the door, though you can check the day of the concert. This performance will incorporate the additions from the Appleton West concert PLUS MORE! There is an added performance that will give chills of pride to those who have served our country in the Armed Forces. As stated one the home page, this is the performance with Complementary Tickets available for those who served. I still have excellent seats available for military folks - eMail me if you are one who qualifies and you wish tickets to this performance. Don't wait - a 400 piece mailer offering the tickets should be arriving at military organizations today.
    • The Fox Valley Lutheran concert is special for several reasons. First, it is our only matinee - an always popular concert time. It is always a sell-out. It will have all the special additions from the PAC concert. And, sadly, it is out last concert of the season. Though the road to this concert is long, starting in September last year, none of us in the chorus is eager to see it arrive. We sing and perform because we love music. Though we will be back next year (see Schedule 2006 page on left) none of us wants this year to end. However, end it must so that we can take a break and begin to gear up for next year!
    • During the season-end and into summer , several events take place for us:
      • All three concerts will have inserts in the programs for those who may wish to join us. Recruitment of new members is critical as we seek new voices and fresh ideas for the chorus future. If you are interested, return one of the inserts or click "Contact Us" on the left and let me know of your interest. You do not need to be able to read music, we just ask that you can carry a tune!
      • We hold our final afterglow for the season after the final concert. For some of us, this will be our last visit with each other until September as summer lives take precedence.
      • We hold our Business meeting for the year in mid-May where we let the chorus know of our successes and challenges for the year past, and set up plans for next year. This is also when we elect our new slate of officers for the next season.
      • There is a chorus golf outing where we get to exhibit our skills at (or lack thereof) at something besides singing. It's obvious at this time that the balance of talent provided us went to music and not golf!
      • In August, we will have a members' Welcome Back picnic - usually at Waverly Beach - where we meet for the first time for next season. This is a relaxed time for renewing friendships and greeting potential new members and their significant others. Come join us to get a feel for what we are all about!
  • 2/27/2005 - Today marks the end of our Community Service performances at local churches. So we put away the suits and assume the mantle of "Have Tuxedo Will Travel!" Now we have an unusual one month away from performances as we prepare our program for the remainder of our schedule in April and May. We always look forward to the away concerts as they mark the first time each year we actually perform the entire program. The audiences at our "away" concerts are always receptive and welcoming of our performances. Though many of the venues are far from our Appleton home base, the local residents are often repeat attendees from previous years' visits to their regions.
  • 2/27/2005 - St Joseph Church of Appleton welcomed the Chorus again today, as did First English Lutheran Church. Both are wonderful venues to perform in as the accoustics bring out the best in the singers. The churchgoers provided us with their usual enthusiastic responses to our nusic, as they've done in previous visits to those churches. We look forward to many more performances at both sites!
  • 2/26/2005 - MacDowell followed Janet Planet at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center performing for the Tsunami Benefit Concert. What a tough act to follow! Despite a relatively small audience in a large venue, the reception was warm and friendly for the performance. We were glad to be able to donate our time and talents to this wonderful cause.
  • 2/20/2005 - MacDowell performed at Faith Lutheran and St Bernadette Churches in Appleton despite significant snowfall. Though attendance may have been somewhat reduced by the weather, each provided an appreciative welcome to the efforts of the Chorus. Thank You for offering us the opportunity to join your services