- Choir
- History
- Artistic Leaders
- Board of Directors
- Membership
- Schedule
- Concerts
- Contact
The Naugatuck Community Choir
Don't miss this opportunity to join one of the finest community choirs in the state of Connecticut under the direction of Dr. Marguerite Mullée Rehearsals for the 12th annual winter concert program begin on Monday January 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm in the Naugatuck High School choir room. New registration begins at 6:30. The choir will meet every Monday evening at the Naugatuck High School Choir Room. On certain holidays and school snow days rehearsals shall take place at the Salem Lutheran Church at 14 Salem Street. Singers of all voice parts are welcome -- but we have a need for Tenors!
New members are encouraged to come on down and join. No audition is required! Vocalists from ages 16 and older are welcome to become members. The choir is open to people from all over the Naugatuck Valley Region and beyond. So, don't hesitate. Come join and make great friends and perform great vocal music.
For more information please call Aldona Laporta 203-729-2772 or email for general information or questions
A Brief History
In October of 1997 the Naugatuck Arts Commission sought out singers to start a community choir here in the borough of Naugatuck. The Naugatuck Community Choir, now in its 11th year, encourages interest in choral music for residents of the greater Naugatuck area and beyond. It provides great music as a source of entertainment and education for the general community.
With members from 17 communities the NCC provides year round opportunities for participation in performance at a variety of local venues for entertainment, education, fundraising and the personal satisfaction of the members and the audience. The Naugatuck Community Choir is a non-profit, non-audition organization that is open to any and all adults that have a love of great choral music and a passion for excellence.
About the Artistic Director
Marguerite is very active in the New England area as a conductor, singer and teacher. A graduate of Columbia University where she earned a doctorate in Conducting and Vocal Pedagogy, this is her fourth season as Artistic Director of the Naugatuck Community Choir. Under her direction, the grop has maintained a busy performing schedule, including a successful singing tour of Italy in July 2008. She also serves as Music Director at Our Lady of Grace Monestary (North Guilford, CT) and teaches private lessons in voice, conducting and piaono in Kent.
Dr. Mullée has been Professor of Liturgical Music at Holy Apostles College and Seminary (Cromwell, CT), Professor of Conducting at the Brookly Queens Conservatory, Music Director/Conductor of the Millennium Orchestra, a multi-generational instrumental group in New York, NY, Music/Artistic Director of the Connecticut Conservatory of the Performing Arts, founder and Music Director of the Joyful Noise Ensemble in Katonah, NY and has conducted numerous community, festival and church choirs in the area. She has received critical acclaim for her conducting, including her work with the Kent Singers with whom she made several recordings and commissioned and premiered new additions to the choral repertoire. She is featured conductor on the latest Capstone recording of Concert Music for Orchestra by CT Composers, Inc.; her performance in particular was singled out in a review: "[...] the last word in elegance, [...] highly communicative, especially the eloquent string orchestra in Legacy conducted by Marguerite Mulée."
While studying at Columbia University, she worked closely with Dino Anagnost and served as assitant conductor for the Metropolitan Singers/Greek Choral Society as well as the Little Orchestra Society in New York, NY. In addition to Dr. Anagnost, she has studied conducting with Robert Shaw, Joseph Flummerfelt, Dennis Keene, Peter Bagley and Robert Page and has been chosen a Conducting Fellow for the Dennis Keene Choral Festival for two consecutive years.
In Demand as a choral clinician and presenter, Dr, Mullée presents workshops and lectures throughout the Northeast to community, church and school choirs. She has been featured at Wisdom House (Litchfield, CT), University of Connecticut, Manhattanville College (Purchase, NY), the Summer Festival at Caramoor (Katonah, NY) and Portsmouth Abbey School (Portsmouth, RI). She also offers summer singing workshops in Barga, Italy.
Dr. Mullée has founded vibrant choral programs in both private and public schools in CT and NY. In 2003, Dr. Mullée received a grant from Ney Yor State for Excellence in Teaching and in 2008 she and the Naugatuck Community Choir received an Official Statement from Connecticut State Governor Jodi Rell in recognition of their contribution to the choral arts in the state of Connecticut.
About the Accompanist
Norman McFarlane was born in Kingston, Jamaica where he first learned piano. After coming to the United States, he studied organ with Ezequiel Menendez and Rafael Ferreyra. Norman received his Service Playing Certificate in Organ from the American Guild of Organists, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Charter Oak State College and a Diploma in Radio & Television Broadcasting from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He currently is the organist and accompanist for all service music at the traditional Sunday services at South United Methodist Church in Manchester. He has also served as organist at churches in Newington, Windsor Locks and Hartford and has sung with the Manchester Symphony Chorale.
Board of Directors:
Aldona Laporta, President
John Allen, Vice President
Nikki O'Callaghan, Secretary
Marty Donovan, Treasurer
Leslie LaCharity, Librarian
Diana Scalzi, Soprano Section Leader
Merci Matcheson, Alto Section Leader
Herman Gibson, Tenor Section Leader
David Santamauro, Bass Section Leader
Membership
The Naugatuck Community Choir (NCC) is an organized choral ensemble dedicated to performing serious choral music. Membership is open to all singers in our community and surrounding towns. Our goal is to encourage interest in choral music for residents of the greater Naugatuck area and provide a source of entertainment for the general community and be numbered among the best musical organizations in the area. We require our members to be dedicated to vocal excellence and to be fiscally responsible for the future of the organization. Membership in NCC means that each member is committed to:
- Attendance: Attendance will be taken by the section leaders. Each member is expected to attend all normally scheduled rehearsals. After three absences the member may be requested by the Music Director to review the music in private to assess whether the member is at a level consistent with the rest of the choir. In addition to the consistent and timely attendance of normally scheduled rehearsals, it is expected that each member shall increase his/her personal proficiency through such methods as listening to rehearsal tapes, home study and practice of the music.
- Time: Each Member must realize that the NCC cannot exist if the only time allocated by the member is for singing. In addition to our normal rehearsal time, there will be time reserved and allocated to other group activities, whether administrative or social, which will help to ensure the Choir's success in its development as a choral organization.
- Fiscal Responsibility: Each member should feel personally responsible for their fair share of the fiscal health of the choir. Dues payment is merely the foundation. Fundraising activities, and other revenue solicitation efforts must be considered as part of every member's normal activity. Without your commitment to our financial obligations, it will be difficult to expand our artistic program and continue to pursue programs involving orchestra and other musicians.
- Performance: The NCC will present a yearly series of concerts, consisting of one in December and one in May. Additionally, to support the Arts in Naugatuck. The NCC may participate in the Annual Veterans Concert as well as other performances to which the NCC is invited to perform. The concerts will consist of various selections of music of all types and spanning the entire range of choral periods. Typically, the choir will perform with a piano, organ, chamber orchestra, or instrumental ensemble. Musical selection and selection of soloists is done by the Music Director.
Without effort and commitment in all these areas, the enormous potential and fun of choral singing cannot be maximized.
In our pursuit of choral excellence, the NCC and its members are committed to maintaining a high musical level of the choir through personal dedication, hard work and an understanding of the team effort needed to attain its goals.
Spring Schedule
Rehearsals
| Day | Date | Event | Time | Place | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Jan. 26 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Feb. 2 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Feb. 9 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | General Meeting |
| Monday | Feb. 16 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | Salem Lutheran Church | |
| Monday | Feb. 23 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Mar. 2 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Mar. 9 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Mar. 16 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Mar. 23 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Mar. 30 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | General Meeting |
| Monday | Apr. 6 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Apr. 13 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | Salem Lutheran Church |
| Monday | Apr. 20 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | Apr. 27 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | May 4 | Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | NHS Choir Room | |
| Monday | May 11 | Dress Rehearsal | 7:00 - 9:00 PM | Congregational Chruch | |
| Saturday | May 16 | Dress Rehearsal | 4:00 - 6:00 PM | Congregational Chruch | Call: 3:45 PM / General Meeting / Elections |
| Sunday | May 17 | Spring Concert | 4:00 PM | Congregational Chruch | Call: 3:00 PM |
Concerts
| Summer is Icumin In | Medieval English Canon |
| Salvator Mundi | Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) |
| Non Nobis Domine | William Byrd (1540-1623) |
| Hallelujah Amen | Frederich Handel (1685-1759) |
| O Hush Thee My Babie | Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) |
| I am the Monarch of the Sea | W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) & Arthur Sullivan |
| As Torrents in Summer | Edward Elgar (1857-1934) |
| Festival te Deum | Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) |
| Drinking Song | Vaughan Williams |
| Sigh No More | Vaughan Williams |
| Blackbird | Paul McCartney (1942- ) |
| Song for Athene | Tavener (1944- ) |
| Gaelic Blessing | John Rutter (1945- ) |
| Pie Jesu | Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948- ) |
Contact Information
| General Information: | info@naugatuckcommunitychoir.org |
| Membership Inquiries: | membership@naugatuckcommunitychoir.org |