Date: Fri 21-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Andreotta-Choral-Gregory

Full Text:

A New Direction For Mary Andreotta's Musical Career

(with photo)

BY SHANNON HICKS

Except for a few years when she was living in Massachusetts, and for a short

time after she gave birth to her second son, Mary Andreotta has been a member

of Newtown Choral Society since 1987. She is used to performing with the

chorus, and is also used to performing with and directing the church choir at

Newtown Congregational Church. Mary is also a recent addition to the

performing membership of Connecticut Opera Alliance.

Next weekend, though, Mary Andreotta will debut in a new role. On May 29, when

Newtown Choral Society presents its spring concert, "An Evening of Gilbert &

Sullivan, Lerner and Loewe," Mary will be in front of the audience at Newtown

Meeting House not as a member of the chorus but as its new director.

When Jonathan Pope decided earlier this year he would not be returning for

another season as director of the choral society, the group found itself

looking for a new leader. Because others knew of her leadership with Newtown

Congregational Church's choir, Mary was asked if she would be interested in

taking over the group's lead position. Earlier this spring, Mary accepted the

challenge.

Her duties now include leading the group's weekly rehearsals, and trying to

get the best sound from each of its members. The choral society is strictly

non-professional. Its members join because they enjoy singing and are willing

to learn from their director while preparing for performances. As director,

Mary is also responsible for picking the music the group will perform for its

two annual concerts.

"I run the group through a series of vocal exercises each week, and offer

suggestions for diction -- the pronunciation of words -- and vowel placement,"

Mary recently explained. "My main concern is to try to get the best sound from

the chorus."

Because of the short notice between the time Mr Pope resigned from his post

(although he does remain on good terms with the chorus -- the group will be

performing this weekend for its former director at his wedding) and Mary

accepted the job, there was not much time to spend on selecting the music for

the spring concert.

"It's been kind of a rushed thing," Mary admitted. "Picking the music, that

actually takes a long time." As the name of next weekend's concert implies,

the chorus will be focusing on music by the American lyricist and playwright

Alan Jay Lerner and his partner, the American composer Frederick Loewe,

including selections from the duo's stage collaborations My Fair Lady , Paint

Your Wagon and Camelot .

The concert will also present selections from comic operas, the form perfected

by the writing team of Sir William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The only real

public sign of a change within the workings of the chorus has been the fact

that the group's spring concert takes place a few weeks later than when it has

traditionally been performed.

"We're having the concert a little later than usual this year," Mary said.

"It's usually earlier in May, but I wanted to make sure everyone was ready for

it. And we are..."

The chorus currently has a roster of about 30 members. Ages range from early

20s into the 70s.

Singers do not have to audition in order to become members. Instead, "they

just have to show up," said Mary. "And hopefully it's more towards the

beginning of a concert's rehearsal period," she laughed. "I'd love to see more

people join. We're always looking."

Rehearsals are weekly at Newtown Middle School, and the group presents its

concerts just around the corner and up the hill, at Newtown Meeting House.

Praise From A Predecessor

Jan Gregory is a former choir director and member of Newtown Congregational

Church. She was the director of the adult choir when Mary was growing up. In

fact, Mary was in the junior choir under Jan's leadership.

Now a minister of music in a different local church and a resident of

Southbury, Mrs Gregory continues to maintain a number of the friendships she

built while living in Newtown years ago. Many of those relationships evolved

out of her work at the church, and she fondly recalled Mary earlier this week.

"From what I understand, she's done a fine job," Mrs Gregory said Tuesday

afternoon, between classes she was teaching at Renaissance Center for the Arts

in Southbury. "She's a wonderful musician, and she has a great voice."

Shortly after Mary was married, Mrs Gregory said, the church did a production

of The Nativity According To St Luke , and Mary Andreotta sang the role of

Mary. "She did just a great job," Mrs Gregory recalled.

"I have heard some very positive comments from the folks at the [Newtown]

church, both those who are in the choir and those who are members of the

congregation, and everyone seems very pleased with the job she is doing," Mrs

Gregory continued. "I ran into one member of the congregation just this past

weekend, and he was talking about her work. She's not afraid to step out and

take a chance and do a song that's a little different with the choir, and he

really appreciated that."

Mrs Gregory is also a past director of Newtown Choral Society, a post she held

for nearly six years. She had not yet heard of Mary Andreotta's appointment to

the chorus' directorship until just this week, but was thrilled to learn of

the decision.

"Oh great!," she cried. "That's really wonderful. That's an interesting

completion of the circle, isn't it?" she exclaimed. "They're in for a great

time. Mary is a good musician and she really enjoys music, and when you have

that kind of a leader, then you really get the best out of the singers."

Mary, who says she has always loved to sing and knew early on she had a good

voice, received her bachelor's degree in music in December from Western

Connecticut State University. She continues to study and improve her voice.

She is taking lessons with Boyd Schlaefer, a Brookfield resident who is a

member of the New York City Opera.

"He fits in lessons here and there, and also teaches at WestConn," Mary said.

"With a lot of musicians, I've noticed we all hold down a number of jobs

related to the field."

Mary's own life fits that pattern. In addition to directing Newtown Choral

Society and the senior and youth choirs at Newtown Congregational Church, she

also offers private piano and voice lessons.

Mary and her husband David have been living in Newtown since 1994, when the

family moved here after living in Massachusetts for a few years. Mary actually

grew up in Newtown, and graduated from Newtown High School in 1979. She and

her husband have two sons, Richard, 6«, and Robert, who is 4«.

Mary first joined Newtown Choral Society in 1987, and remained a member until

she and her husband moved to Massachusetts a few years later. The Andreottas

moved back to Newtown in 1994, and Mary again joined the chorus. She needed to

take another break when her second son was born, but then returned to the

group in the fall of 1998.

Taking on the new responsibilities of leading Newtown Choral Society has been

a busy addition to Mary's schedule, but it is also something she has been able

to ease into fairly easily.

"Singing with a group is so different from directing one, because you go from

being a participant to being in charge," said Mary. "It's a bit of a shift,

but I am enjoying it. It's really a lot of fun."

"We're ready for next weekend," the director said confidently. "It hasn't been

difficult to change my role with the choir, and I think a lot of that had to

do with already working the way I was with the church choir.

"This change in roles feels like it came very naturally."