Tom's blog

Now that it's summer and the choirs are slowing down a bit, I made several updates to the ChoralExpress website!

No longer just for the Midwest!  I've expanded the site to welcome choirs from all 50 states!

Find concerts with the new Zip Code Finder! 

Concert venues and locations are now mapped with Yahoo Maps!  It's all integrated right into the site. 

Choirs can register for FREE.  That's right, you can register your choir and have it listed on the Choirs page for no fee.  To post concerts, choirs will need to purchase an annual registration (still just $20.00 to post all of your concerts!).

New Mobile Site!  www.m.choralexpress.com.  Check it out!

So if you're visiting ChoralExpress for the first time, please share the news with your choral community and get registered today!

The Summer Singers will present three concerts on the Minnesota Choral Calendar for their 2010 Concert Season "Prisms":

Sunday, July 18, 2010 - 7:00pm

Thursday, July 22, 2010 - 7:00pm

Sunday, July 25, 2010 - 4:00pm

Be sure to check out this excellent choir that was recently featured at the North Central ACDA Division Conference in March 2010!

Here's their website for more information about the choir and details about the concerts: www.summersingers.org.

John Hoffacker will lead two 'Open Sings' to benefit two great causes!  What a great way to spend a summer evening - rehearsing then presenting the program all on the same day!  Click on title for more details.

Faure Requiem: Wednesday July 7 - 7:00 PM - Benefits Habitat for Humanity

Vivaldi Gloria: Wednesday July 14 - 7:00 PM - Benefits National Alliance on Mental Illness

Both concerts are located at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Plymouth, MN.

Click here for a google map to the church!

From Age to Age, under the direction of Andrew Miller, will present two concerts on the choral calendar:

Friday, June 25, Onamia, MN

Saturday, June 26, Little Falls, MN

Click here for an informative Flyer about these two upcoming concerts!

Click here for their website.

I've heard this group and they are excellent.  All of their concerts benefit people in need, too.  A great way to spend a summer evening in Minnesota!

The Minnesota Boychoir will present their first Spring Concert this coming Sunday at 7:00 pm at the Wayzata Community Church. 

Founded in 1962, the Minnesota Boychoir is dedicated to musical excellence, discipline, teamwork, and leadership preparation.

Click here for the details about this wonderful choir and their Spring concert!

The Northwestern College Choir (pictured here), under the direction of Tim Sawyer, will present 'Bon Voyage' concerts this weekend (Friday and Sunday). The "Sacred Bridges" concerts will feature music with a Baltic flavor as they prepare for their tour of Latvia, Estonia and Finland. 

Believe it or not - this choir ROCKS! 
So says Jamie Thomas in the article published in Metro Magazine - click here for the full article.

Recently I met with Keith Kostuch and Bob Peterson and talked about the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale and the unique musical offering the chorale brings to the Sunday Mass at the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul. 

This coming Sunday, Mother's Day, features Rheinberger's Mass in C. Here are the details for this special presentation.

Be sure to check out their choir page to see a full list of upcoming Masses.

VocalEssence will present "Mallets & Melodies" at the Cathedral of St. Paul at 8:00 pm. 

Check out all the information about this special choral event on their website here!

The Augsburg Choir will present their 'Bon Voyage Concert' the Hoversten Chapel, Augsburg College at 8:00 pm. 

Check out the details of this concert here!

I'm pleased to have the Twin Cities Jewish Chorale on the ChoralExpress Choral Calendar!  This new choir will present their inaugural concert, "400 Years of the Diaspora" on Sunday, June 6 at 3:00 pm at Theatre Or at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park, MN (Click here for Google Map).  They have a great Website located at www.twincitiesjewishchorale.org - so be sure to check out their information there.  For all the details about their concert listing on ChoralExpress, click here!

What's the best way to find concerts using ChoralExpress?

First of all, sign up to receive the eNewsletter!  You can do that by going to your state calendar and use the sign up form located on the left.  And feel free to sign up for more than just one state - heck, sign up for all five eNewsletters to keep up to date on all the concerts posted here!  The eNewsletters are sent out several times each month, so your inbox isn't overloaded. 

Secondly, go to the Choirs page (click here or on the Choirs tab along the top of the site). When you find a choir you're interested in, click on the name of the choir and then you'll see all the concerts they are performing.

Finally, you can simply click on any of the state Choral Calendars!  You can 'drill down' to see concerts in a specific region of the state or a specific type of choir (or both!).  And be sure to check out the All States Choral Calendar to see ALL of the concerts by choirs in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

And just for fun - try using the Search tool located in the upper right corner of the site.  It's a great way to look for additional information posted on ChoralExpress.