Master Chorale Wins Competition For A Third Straight Year

For the third year in a row, the Connecticut Master Chorale has taken first place in the annual McDonald’s Gospelfest. The competition was held  on  May 25 at Stamford’s Palace Theater.

“We never expected to win two years ago when we first entered the contest, and now to win three consecutive years is simply incredible,” said the chorale’s founder and director, Tina Johns Heidrich.

The group competed with a rousing piece called “Goin’ to Bethlehem” by Jay Althouse, which CMC had performed last November in its “Holiday Prelude” concert. It was also part of the repertoire when the chorale accepted an invitation to sing at the White House last Christmas.

The number was done in a driving a cappella spiritual style Tina Heidrich described as having “energizing rhythmic figures.” First establishing a catchy theme, the chorale added “exciting syncopations, variations and harmonies with intensity rising and falling until the climactic final chord,” Ms Heidrich added.

A sound clip of the performance can be heard on the chorale’s website, www.CMChorale.org.

Gospelfest, sponsored and operated by the McDonald’s Corporation and McDonald’s Tri-State Owners’ Association, has grown in popularity since it was first held in 1984.

“Back then only 114 groups auditioned for the competition,” explained A. Curtis Farrow, the producer and director of Gospelfest 2003. “This year about 50,000 groups and individuals auditioned in the categories of adult choirs, youth choirs, soloists, praise dancers, poets and rappers.” The chorale competed in the Adult Choir category.

“Each year I know that the Connecticut Master Chorale will come to the table with something new, fresh and exciting,” continued Mr Farrow. “But this year was beyond my wildest expectations. They were fantabulous.”

The event also included a number of performances by gospel stars such as  Cissy Houston and Natalie Wilson.

The Connecticut Master Chorale, just completing its fourth season, has achieved several accomplishments in its short history. In addition to singing at The White House, the chorale has also performed by invitation at Carnegie Hall twice and at West Point Military Academy.

Members are residents of many of the region’s towns. Newtown residents are Clare Archer, Judy Bolduc, Lisa Cedergren, Ginnie Carey, Gil Fong, Wendy Fong, David Jurman, Joel Romanelli, and Dan Yee.