Newtown Choral Society Welcomes Back Its Former Director For Winter Concert

By Nancy K. Crevier

Since its first concert in 1986 under the direction of W. Ogden Booker, the Newtown Choral Society has had eight directors, including William Ashby, 1992; Diana Tuomala, 1993 to 1995; Ann McNulty Doyle, 1995 to 1996; and Jonathan Pope from 1997 to 1998. Vyki Sabo directed the spring Newtown Choral Society concert in 2002, John Mucci the winter 2008 concert, and David Jurman directed the Newtown Choral Society in the spring of 2008. This year, Newtown native Mary Andreotta returns, her tenth season with the group, after a one-year sabbatical in 2008.

Newtown Choral Society is a nonaudition choir for high school age and up voices, that boasts on average 25 members for the two major holiday and spring concerts the group performs each year. The choir rehearses once a week at Newtown Middle School, with performances held at Newtown Meeting House on Main Street.

The group is pleased to have Ms Andreotta back on the podium this fall, said Laura Lerman, president of the Newtown Choral Society.

“Our directors have been members, with excellent professional training,” she said, and Ms Andreotta is no exception. A soprano with the choral society since 1987, Ms Andreotta accepted the directorship for the first time in the spring of 1998.

At the time, Ms Andreotta, who is currently the metro regional director for BBU, makers of Arnold Bread, Entenmann’s, and Thomas’ English Muffins, was also directing the Newtown Congregational Church choir, having received her bachelor’s degree in music from Western Connecticut State University that year. Her busy family life raising two teenage boys and a young daughter, as well as a job that now entails commuting and periodic travel, has curtailed her free time, and she has since handed over the reins at the church to Bethel resident Dan Coffman.

 “Mary Andreotta has the ability to meld voices that range from highly trained to voices that have only recently returned to singing or perhaps have never sung with a group before,” Ms Lerman said. “In the ten years that Mary has been our director she has created a base of accomplished singers who are able to both sing in one voice, as well as perform dynamic solos. And she does it all in a supportive atmosphere that brings out everyone’s best voice,” Ms Lerman added.

It is because she is a singer and has been active with several church choirs, the Western Connecticut State University chamber singers and chorus, was a member of Newtown Choral Society, and has taught voice that she can relate to the problems that can undermine good singing — tension, articulation, lack or breath support, and poor posture, Ms Andreotta said. Singing with British conductor and music educator Sir David Willcocks over the course of a number of summers also set for her an “amazing example of focus while retaining good humor and patience. I understand what I want from a director, which is energy, focus, direction, and help with vocal technique,” said Ms Andreotta.

Ms Andreotta is also aware that just as singers must practice to prepare for a performance, so too does the director.

“You need to know the music, have a concrete idea of what you want it to sound like, and be able to convey that to the choir. Knowing the rhythm, meter, timing, and entrances, and being able to lead the choir successfully through all of that is equally important,” Ms Andreotta said.

Providing support and rounding out the concert pieces is the job of piano accompanist Susan Anthony-Klein, who has intermittently accompanied the chorus over the years, most recently last season. Ms Anthony-Klein has been an accompanist since her Newtown High School days (where she first met Mary Andreotta), and spent five years as the accompanist for the St Cecelia Chorus under the direction of David Randolph, performing with them seven times at Carnegie Hall. She is currently the choir director/pianist/organist for Salem Covenant Choir in Washington, Conn., a position she has held for 20 years.

“The Newtown Choral Society is a lot of laughs,” said Ms Anthony-Klein. “There is a lot camaraderie and a lot of history between [the members of the NCS]. Mary certainly adds a lot of fun and experience,” she said.

The challenge for Ms Anthony-Klein is making sure that she and the director are in tandem, no matter what. “The accompanist’s job is to make whomever or whatever he or she is playing for sound good,” explained Ms Anthony-Klein, “even if that means jumping around a bit in the music and accommodating whatever a performer may be feeling at the time.”

The programs selected by Ms Andreotta are a pleasure for both performers and listeners, and often include familiar music, great works, and obscure pieces, said Ms Lerman, usually including at least one piece to challenge the choir.

In selecting the music for the NCS concerts, Ms Andreotta said that she first selects a theme and then selects the music around the theme.

“I look for a variety of music, some with simple melodies, some with complex rhythms and harmonies, some high energy and some contemplative. A variety of music helps make a great concert,” she said, and added, “I love the whole process of preparing for a concert. I love working with all of the different voices and personalities and bringing them together into a harmonious group.”

The group began practicing in September for the holiday concert, scheduled this year for Sunday, December 6, at 4 pm. Featured will be works by Dr Z. Randall Stroope, including “Come Dwell In Solomon’s Walls, “American Christmas,” and “Inscription of Hope.” Dr Stroope is an active choral conductor and composer, with recent conducting engagements at the American School in Singapore, Canterbury Cathedral, England, Salzburger Dom in Salzburg, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Vancouver Symphony (British Columbia), and two performances at the Vatican in the past year, according to his biography. Dr Stroope is also the artistic director of a summer international choral festival in Rome, Italy. Other Stroope pieces on the program this year are his “Sicut Cervus” and “Laudate Dominum” compositions, the latter a piece showcasing the women’s voices.

“Our concert this winter has two contrasting major sections,” Ms Andreotta said. The Stroope pieces will make up the first part of the concert. “Dr Z. Randall Stroope is a contemporary but very accessible composer,” she said. “The pieces pull from the Old Testament, Psalms, and text written by a young victim of the Holocaust, and from Christmas text. All of this music expresses love and trust in God and hope for the future,” she said.

The second major part of this year’s concert will feature the Candlewood Children’s Chorus under the direction of Bethel resident and music instructor Maureen Kelly, as the Newtown Choral Society presents selections by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard from The Polar Express movie, based on the Chris Van Allsburg children’s book. Newtown High School soloist Dan O’Connor, as well as percussionists, will join the choirs for the high energy, fun set of tunes.

Several familiar holiday tunes will round out the concert designed to appeal to holiday revelers of all ages.

“All of the time I spend with the Newtown Choral Society is memorable,” said Ms Andreotta. “We rehearse on Wednesday evenings, and by the end of Wednesday, I am pretty tired from my 100-mile-plus daily commute and my work schedule. After leading the NCS thorugh the Wednesday night rehearsal, I feel energized and ready for the last two days of the work week. It is great to have the NCS as a part of my life.”

The Newtown Choral Society will present Mary Andreotta directing Dr Z. Randall Stroope’s American Christmas and excerpts from The Polar Express, on Sunday, December 6, at 4 pm, at Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street. Tickets are available from choral society members or at the door. Adult ticket price is $10, seniors and under 12, $8.