Shepaug Friends Of Music To Sponsor First Concert

WASHINGTON — An international exchange concert will be the first event sponsored by the recently-formed Shepaug Friends of Music. The February 10 event will feature two guest choirs: The Banchieri Choir from Hungary and A Completely Different Note (CDN), a student a cappella ensemble from The University of Connecticut.

The performance will begin at 7 pm at Shepaug Middle-High School. Admission is $10 for adults, free for students.

The Banchieri Choir has been invited to the United States to appear at the American Choral Directors Association Convention in Boston where only the best choirs of the world are selected to sing.

The Banchieri Choir, a six-member a capella ensemble, are all graduates of the Kodaly Academy.  In 1995 they competed at the International Choir Competition in Tolosa, Spain, and won a first and second place. This launched a professional career and the group has since performed in Japan, France, Germany and Russia.

In concerts they often select a repertoire of music from the renaissance era, combined with contemporary Hungarian music and arrangements of popular music.

CDN’s members are ten young men from a wide range of backgrounds, all with a love for music and harmony, including SVHS 2003 graduate Collin MacDonald.

Established in 1999, CDN has entertained audiences at the Husky WOW, homecoming games, open house events, and appeared as featured guests with the Silk City Chorus of Manchester and the Counterpoints of Clark University.

CDN performs everything from Beible’s Ave Maria to Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time.” The group performs a charged and exciting show leaves audiences humming.

Also performing on February 10 will be the Shepaug Middle and High School Choruses and Competition Choirs.

Shepaug FOM was founded in August of 2003 by a group of parents who realized the need to support the Shepaug Music Program and the ambitious goals of its choral director, Christopher Shay. Shepaug FOM is dedicated to fostering an appreciation of music among students who reside in the Shepaug Valley region by providing training and performances that goes beyond the opportunities available through existing educational curriculum.

For additional information call Shepaug FOM at 860-210-7895. Shepaug Valley Middle-High School is at 159 South Street; call the school office, 860-868-6200, for directions.