North American Choral Company
The Vocal Music Workshop (VMW) formerly the North American Choral Company is a choir based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA.
Brief history
The North American Choral Company was founded in 1998 The executive director is Jayne Schuitema. Before this it was known as the Lake Michigan Choral Company.
In 1998, the North American Choral Company performed at Spoleto USA, in Charleston, South Carolina, astounding critics with their music.
In 1999, the company toured to New York City, Princeton (New Jersey), and Toronto. In April of that year, the company toured to The Netherlands, and, in November 1999, one hundred singers from the company performed for the 1999 Winners of the United Nations Global Peace and Tolerance Awards, including Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey, Zubin Mehta, and Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Spertus Museum of Judaica in Chicago commissioned the company during their 2000-2001 season.
In 2002, the company toured in Ireland, and, in 2004, they toured in Finland and Estonia.
In 2006, Caritas and Mandala of the company toured Ghana, in West Africa, while the Midwest Chorale toured Toronto.
Caritas often performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, most recently in Carmina Burana. In April 2006, the two groups coordinated to debut Dalit Warshaw's new piece, After the Victory.
Additionally, the North American Choral Company has sung for Richard Einhorn and Eunice Kennedy Schriver, Special Olympics co-founder.
Choirs
The North American Choral Company, known to its members as the NACC, comprises five main choirs, and one special ensemble.
Vox Animosa was formed of the remnants of Vox Vivida and Senior Company, and therefore the choir for elementary students. Singers practice and gain experience and confidence in singing multiple parts—mostly 2 or 3 part harmonies. The Vox Animosa uniform is pink or orange tunic top and black pants for girls, while boys wear a black shirt and black pants
The Vox Lumina choir is made up of those who have recently been judged by the artistic director to be between the level of the Midwest Chorale and the Caritas choir. This group is the newest group in the North American Choral Company, having been formed in the summer of 2006. They mostly perform pop-influenced pieces. While their formal uniforms are black dresses, Vox Lumina members usually wear sparkly tunic tops and black pants.
Vox Nova is an advanced chamber ensemble for older singers. This highly select small ensemble of 8-16 members is for the most advanced singers including changed male voices, middle school, high school and college students. Members must possess strong singing, performance, independent, rehearsing and music reading skills.
Directors
Jayne Schuitema - Executive Director:
Executive Director Jayne Schuitema co-founded the North American choral company in 1998. Her dedication to kids and passion for choral music is demonstrated through years of experience in music organizations, and a lifelong pursuit of inclusive thinking and challenging stereotypes. Jayne’s innovative approach to concert tours and vision of opening the world for young people has enabled kids to celebrate kinship through music and art in Ghana, Estonia, & Guatemala and to the United Nations to sing of peace and tolerance. Her tenacious leadership gives New York opportunities to kids in Grand Rapids.
Artistic Staff:
Cristian Grases - Artistic Advisor and Guest Conductor
Cristian Grases is a Venezuelan musician and choral director of world renown. He began musical training at age 11 in the music school "Juan José Landaeta”, where he studied music theory, harmony, counterpoint, history, and piano. His musical life started as chorister and instrumentalist in 1989, and then as a composer, assistant conductor and conductor of choral and instrumental ensembles until the present. He has studied composition, arranging, choral conducting and orchestra conducting with national and international music masters. After two “Bach-academie” workshops with Helmuth Rilling in Venezuela, Grases was invited by Rilling under a scholarship to study Choral and Orchestral Conducting at the “Sommerakademie” of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1998. He holds a master's degree with honors in Choral Conducting with María Guinand and Alberto Grau in the Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Miami. In 1995 he founded "Cíncopah", a five male vocal ensemble that is dedicated to the creation of new music based in vocal and jazz tendencies. From 1996 to 2002 he was part of the staff of the project "Pequeños Cantores de la Schola” as the conductor of the Second Level and Cantoría Juvenil. In the same year he received a very prestigious award for the arts in Venezuela: "Orden José Felix Ribas" for artistic merit. He also won the first and second prize in a choral arrangement competition "Estilo Caribeño". He has been involved in many international concert tours with his former youth choir Cantoría Juvenil of the Schola Cantorum de Caracas (Venezuela), and the Iowa Youth Chorus (USA); earning international prestige and recognition. He has served as guest conductor in concerts and workshops nationally and internationally; has developed himself as the coordinator of the choral activities in the Youth Orchestra Foundation of Caracas under the direction of Jose Antonio Abreu; and has taught choral conducting, music history and general music at the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Simon Bolivar University of Caracas, Central Washington University in Washington State, and University of Miami in Florida, USA. He was selected to be one of the 16 participants of the Swedish competition for young conductors “Eric Ericson Award” in October 2003. In 2004 he was selected by the IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music) as one of the 5-member committee for the Songbridge Project, together with renowned choral masters and chaired by the creator of the project: Erkki Pohjola (Finland). He won first prize at the Emerging Composer Competition at Yale University in 2008 with his work Visiones del Llano - 2. Amanecer.
Grases has participated in numerous festivals, workshops and events as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator and conducting pedagogue in North and South America, Europe and Asia. In the summer of 2008 Grases conducted workshops and sessions as a guest conductor in France (Europa Cantat Jr.) and Denmark (World Symposium on Choral Music), he also taught and adjudicate in Indonesia, and has been commissioned to compose for ensembles in the San Francisco area. He is the founder and artistic director of Amazonia Vocal Ensemble, based in Miami and that focuses on Latin American repertoire and is the conductor for the Women’s Chamber Ensemble of the University of Miami. Currently he is the assistant conductor of the Miami Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Eduardo Marturet and the Conductor of the Young Musician’s Orchestra in Miami. Grases was selected to be part of the Board of Directors of the IFCM
Deborah André – Conductor Vox Nova & Vox Lumina
Mrs. Andre has been adjunct faculty at Grand Valley State University for the past three years where she directed the Festival Women’s Chorus. She is also a member of the faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts, where she directed the All-State Choir. For the past eight years, she has been teaching both elementary and secondary vocal music in Hudsonville Public schools. Since taking over the vocal program at Hudsonville High School five years ago, Deborah’s choirs have achieved much success and have had the pleasure of singing in distinguished festivals in New York and in Chicago. Deborah is a 2000 graduate of Grand Valley State University where she earned her BME and is currently pursuing a Masters of Music Education from GVSU. She has served on the executive board for Michigan Music Educators Association as a district representative and as the chair for the state music conference in Ann Arbor and in Grand Rapids. She is a member of American Choral Directors Association, Michigan School Vocal Music Association, and Music Educators National Conference.
Sarah Bowman – Conductor Vox Animosa & Vox Vivida
Originally from Muskegon, Sarah Bowman is a graduate of Grand Valley State University and now happily in her third year of teaching at Fruitport High School, where she directs three choirs and travels to nearby elementary schools to teach general music. She completed her student teaching overseas in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She also had student teaching placements at Cross Creek Charter Academy and East Kentwood High School. In addition to her full-time teaching position, she performs with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, is an active church pianist, and will soon begin her graduate work at the University of Michigan in summer 2009. She counts as her mentors Dr. Charles Norris, Dr. James Borst, Luanne Barnes, and Ellen Pool. She has long help the North America Choral Company in high esteem and is thrilled to take on this opportunity!
Karen Salvador - In-School Conductor
NACC website