Welcome to the

Choral Arts Foundation

of the Upper Valley!

The Choral Arts Foundation of the Upper Valley is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation committed to supporting the choral arts in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Founded in 1992 as Handel Society Foundation of New Hampshire, the Foundation recently changed its name to reflect the broader mission of supporting all choral music in the Upper Valley. In addition to fulfilling its original purpose of supporting Handel Society presentations, the Choral Arts Foundation

• provides grants to local choruses
• promotes choral performances to the Upper Valley community
• offers professional development opportunities to conductors
• extends networking opportunities to choristers

Ultimately the Foundation wants to encourage community choruses, church choirs, and school music groups with the goal of energizing both those who sing and those who listen to their performances.

News

Choral Workshop

June 26, 2010. Melinda O’Neal led 30-plus singers and choral directors in a workshop on finding music in the public domain. O’Neal, Dartmouth professor, former artistic director of the Handel Society, and current artistic director of the Handel Choir of Baltimore, demonstrated how to navigate through four Internet sites where choral scores are available for downloading at little or no cost.

Of particular interest was the website created through a collaboration of the American Choral Directors Association and the Library of Congress, which features American choral music from 1870-1923. After the demonstration, O’Neal conducted the group in singing a baker’s dozen of these compositions.

Go to the Resources page for links to the websites.

Summer Round of CAFUV Grants

April, 2010. The deadline for  proposals for the Summer Round of grants is June 15, 2010.  We welcome and encourage  applications from all Upper Valley choral organizations. To read about the program and to review the current guidelines, please go to our Grants Program tab or click here. You can download the application in either  PDF or Word format.

Recipients of Winter Round of CAFUV Grants

March 15, 2010. The Choral Arts Foundation announced the recipients of the grants awarded in the 2010 Winter round.

The Newport Middle High School (Newport, N.H.) received support for a professional vocal coach to offer a workshop for NMHS chorus classes. This project will not only improve students’ vocal techniques but also help the choral director learn to improve her own practices.

The Ray Elementary School (Hanover, N.H.) received support for a Native American flute player to perform with the fourth grade chorus during their spring concert to complement and enrich fourth graders’ study of Native American cultures.

The Valley Chords (Lebanon, N.H.) received support for a professional vocal coach from the Sweet Adeline International organization for a day of vocal coaching for area women who would like to improve their vocal skills in the context of an introduction to barbershop singing.