The Choral Arts Foundation of the Upper Valley (CAFUV) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to supporting the choral arts in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Our ultimate goal is to energize those who sing and those who listen to both formal and casual performances of community choruses, church choirs, and school music groups.

Founded in 1992 as the Handel Society Foundation of New Hampshire, the Choral Arts Foundation has expanded the organization’s original mission to support the Handel Society and is now focused on helping the Upper Valley’s entire choral ecosystem flourish by:

• providing grants to local choruses
• promoting choral performances to the Upper Valley community
• offering professional development opportunities to choral musicians
• extending networking opportunities to choral musicians
• spearheading special projects to bring choruses together and increase appreciation for the art form in the community

The Choral Arts Foundation of the Upper Valley (CAFUV) is the successor to the Handel Society Foundation (HSF) created during Melinda O’Neal’s tenure as conductor. The board established it as a fund-raising entity independent of Dartmouth. Donations to the Friends of the Handel Society did not increase the amount of money available to the Society; they only reduced the amount that the college contributed to the group, thus necessitating the Foundation to raise additional capital. 

By-Laws were initially written for the benefit of the Handel Society, but also ensured support of other choral groups. When Daniel Meerson was President of the Board and Robert Duff was the Handel Society conductor, Dan initiated a push to live up to the By-Laws and start making contributions to other local groups. At that point, the HSF name became too limiting, so it was changed to CAFUV. Bob Duff came up with the new name, and David Robinson suggested the logo – the F major chord. Karen Endicott made it look professional, and it remains in use to this day.

Board of Trustees

The Choral Arts Foundation of the Upper Valley is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees representing different choral groups and different towns in and around the Upper Valley. All are passionate about choral music.