Category: Uncategorized

  • Positive Energy, Inspiration, and Compassion: The Shared Ideals of Concentus & Alex and Ani

    Please join Concentus for a fundraiser at Alex and Ani. Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 6-9pm. By Kara Juszczak Since joining Concentus in 2007, I have been so touched by the passion and positive energy of our members.  Many of us have experienced some major life event(s) during the time we have been members.  For me, I’ve…

  • Finding a Personal Connection to What We Sing

    By Sarah Kelsick Singing in a musical community like Rochester, NY, you have an abundance of opportunity to learn and perform a variety of music.  You always try to find a personal connection to each piece to keep it fresh and enjoyable for both you and your audience.  For what seemed to me the first…

  • What Goes into a Concert

    By Maggie Symington, Concentus Member It’s always exhilarating and sad when we reach the culmination of a season’s practice and finally perform. Months of rehearsals go into preparing for our concerts – I actually calculated the rehearsal-hours this season: 40, spread over 16 Sunday evenings. Of course, very few in the group attended every rehearsal…

  • Why Attend a Live Performance?

    By Maggie Symington, Concentus Member Why does anyone bother to attend a live classical concert?  It seems obvious that if Bruce Springsteen or Coldplay came to town, the hall (or, more likely, stadium) would be sold out.  But a choral concert?  Or the symphony orchestra?  Why not just stay home and listen to a CD,…

  • Performing The Planets – as Singer and Spouse: A Conversation with Kathy (and Kenny) Grant

    By Kathy (Cronin) Grant, Concentus Member Mention The Planets and it seems that a vast majority respond with comments about their favorite movement or where they most love to be while listening to Holst’s work (outside on a mountaintop or on the open water on a boat at night are commonly mentioned.)  Gustav Holst’s favorite work seems…

  • A Conversation with the Composer: Rich Wilder, Where Is My Love?

    By Maggie Symington, Concentus Member It’s not often that a singer gets the opportunity to chat with the composer of a piece she’s singing – he or she is either inaccessible or dead.  So I was excited to learn that Richard Wilder, composer of Where Is My Love?, which will be premiered at Concentus’ June concert,…

  • The Role of the Conductor: A Member’s Perspective

    By Maggie Symington, Concentus Member My non-musician husband once asked me what purpose the conductor serves in a concert.  He understands that an ensemble needs someone to prepare the group, but he can’t understand what function the person with her back to the audience at a performance serves. Because he’s a guy, I tried a…

  • On Community and Sisterhood: A Member’s Perspective

    By Johanna (Johnson) Rehbaum, Concentus Member I moved to Rochester two and a half years ago to serve as a pastor of two small, Lutheran churches in Webster. One of the first things I did upon arrival was search for a women’s choir to join. I had been blessed with this sort of community in…

  • Letting it Shine at Christmas Time: A Member’s Perspective

    By Johanna (Johnson) Rehbaum, Concentus Member As a pastor in the Rochester area, this season is a pretty busy one for me. While I love Christmas preparations at my church, the time I spend preparing for Concentus Christmas concerts is for me a sacred time. The music we sing, some ancient and some contemporary, is…

  • Finding Intentionality Through Music: A Member’s Perspective

    By Kara Juszczak, Concentus Member and Stage Manager When people have asked me about being a therapist and a musician, I’ve always said that they are just two of my passions, two parts of me that I love, two skills I am good at….   Recently, when discussing positive self-care with a group of graduate level…