Faculty and staff are invited to attend a screening of the LLCC Choir’s performance at Illinois ACDA today at 1 p.m. in MNRD 2250. The screening will be 20-25 minutes. Footage was captured by LLCC film student Madison Lewis.
Any questions can be addressed to Laurie Lewis-Fritz at laurie.lewis-fritz@llcc.edu.
The LLCC Choir performed at the Illinois ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) Fall Conference on Saturday, Oct. 16 at DePaul University in Chicago. The program focused on hope, resilience, and rising to action in the face of personal and global crises.
Various members of the audience, including Illinois ACDA leadership, complimented the concert to Laurie Lewis-Fritz, assistant professor of music and choir director. Comments included praise for a balanced sound and fantastic singing; compliments on the students’ enthusiasm and level of preparedness; a wonderful, emotional and meaningful program; and moments of brilliance. Comments were also made about the emotional impact of the staging of the opening song, “How Can I Keep From Singing,” which reflected how choir has looked for many groups across the world the last 18 months. The President of Illinois ACDA also noted how genuine and flexible the students were during the conference and their obvious love of singing and spending time together.
Outside of the performance, the students had the opportunity to hear the other performing choirs, attend various sessions on choral singing and sing along at repertoire reading sessions. They also learned from various speakers, including headliner David Brunner, a well-known and award-winning choral composer, and Eric Johnson, the winner of the prestigious Decker Award.
The LLCC Choir was selected to perform via an audition process that included submitting audio recordings and programs from the past two years. LLCC was the only community college with a performing choir at the conference. LLCC was one of three colleges with performing choirs at the conference, the other two being Augustana and the University of Illinois.
Students expressed feeling inspired by the performances and that they learned a lot about choral music. Performing at the conference deepened their love and enthusiasm for choral music and singing. The students often led standing ovations for the other performing choirs. They represented LLCC and its music program with professionalism, class, respect and joy.
The LLCC Choir will present two Illinois ACDA Preview Concerts today in A. Lincoln Commons. The performances are at noon and 7 p.m. and are free to attend.
This will be the choir’s first live performance since December 2019.
The program features repertoire that focuses on finding hope and strength and rising to action in the face of personal and global crises.
The LLCC Choir has been selected to perform this program at the Illinois ACDA Fall Conference next week at DePaul University. This is a special honor, and the choir is the only community college choir performing.
The LLCC Choir (MUS 110) meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1-1:50 p.m. in Menard Hall, Room 2250. Employees can obtain a tuition waiver for the choir through HR. No audition is necessary.
Please note that, if LLCC employees in the choir wish to participate in the Illinois ACDA Fall Conference performance, they will be able to ride the bus to and from Chicago but will otherwise be expected to cover their own expenses. Participation in the conference is not a requirement to be part of the choir.
Contact Laurie Lewis-Fritz at laurie.lewis-fritz@llcc.edu or 217-786-2562 with any questions!
The Illinois chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) has selected the LLCC Choir to perform at its fall conference in Chicago on Oct. 15-16.
The LLCC Choir was chosen based on concert programs and performance samples from the past two years. “This honor is only granted to a few select choirs,” explains Laurie Lewis-Fritz, LLCC instructor of music. “We are proud to provide a high-quality, well-rounded music program at LLCC. The students have earned this recognition for their work and are very excited to perform at the conference.”
Under the direction of Lewis-Fritz, fall LLCC Choir members are expected to include: Jordan Andrews of Riverton, Nicholas Barrett of Sherman, Jazmyn Constant of Springfield, Anna Crumbaugh of Springfield, Kylie French-Wilson of Winchester, Blake Friedrich of Taylorville, Graham Kinley of Springfield, Macy Mosley of Springfield, Dane Paige of Rochester, Taylor Riegle of Chatham, Elijah Sadler of Rochester, Tanner Stephens of Ashland, Anna Stone-Viele of Ashland, Susan Wheeler of Rochester, Nathan Wirsing of Springfield, Brett Wisecup of Rochester and Hunter Woods of Springfield.
In addition to featuring select choral performances, the conference provides professional development and networking opportunities for choral music from elementary through collegiate and adult professional choirs. The ACDA is an organization for choral directors and composers that aims to inspire excellence and nurture lifelong involvement in choral music.
The Spring 2021 Honors Recital is available on LLCC Music’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Featuring 10 music majors in voice, piano, clarinet, saxophone and percussion, the video showcases students playing repertoire they have been working on this semester.
The LLCC Choir (MUS 110-01) will be meeting in the flex modality this fall semester, with in-person meetings occurring on Mondays and Wednesdays, 2-2:30 p.m. in Sangamon Hall (Rooms 0014 and 0015), and a remote meeting occurring on Fridays, 2-2:50 p.m. People will be placed 10-16 feet apart and required to wear masks for in-person meetings. LLCC employees interested in participating can also do so fully remotely, if preferred.
The upcoming concert, titled “Together,” includes repertoire that focuses on what the word “together” means, the longing for it and how we get there. It will be distributed as a video and is already shaping up to be an exciting collaboration across multiple areas!
Contact Laurie Lewis-Fritz at laurie.lewis-fritz@llcc.edu for additional information.
Laurie Lewis-Fritz, instructor of music, shares how LLCC music classes are adjusting well to online instruction! Check out how she is leading the LLCC choir, private applied voice and private applied piano classes.
(NOTE: Use a browser other than Internet Explorer to watch this video.)
Registration is ongoing for the LLCC Choir! The choir (MUS 110) meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from noon-12:50 p.m. in MNRD 2250 and is open to everyone of all ages and abilities, including LLCC employees! The choir will be singing a wide variety of repertoire with a few performances near the end of the semester. HR has tuition waivers, so there is only a small fee to sign up.
The Community Education section of the LLCC Choir is also open for anyone in the community who would like to join!
For more information, please contact Laurie Lewis-Fritz at laurie.lewis-fritz@llcc.edu or 786-2562.
Laurie Lewis-Fritz, instructor of music, was interviewed Jan. 4 on WTAX about the opportunity for community members to join the college’s band and choral groups through LLCC Community Education. Those interested can register for LLCC Choir via WebAdvisor or calling registration at 786-2292. Class details can be found at www.llcc.edu/cew-arts. For those interested in joining LLCC Big Band, contact manley.mallard@llcc.edu.
Kevin Lust, director, Illinois Small Business Development Center, talked about the center’s relocation to LLCC’s Capital City Training Center and the services offered during interviews Dec. 26 on WFMB and Sports Radio 1450.