I think a community chorus partnering with an urban arts center makes good sense. In October, the Indianapolis Choral Artisans will begin its inaugural season with rehearsal space and first performance opportunity provided by the Harrison Center for the Arts. I’m looking forward to the collaborative synergy, which will take place between the two organizations. A newly, developed chorus of townspeople needs other community and neighborhood-based organizations to develop a healthy existence. An infant chorus only grows strong by seeking to establish and build relationships with other like-minded artistic communities.
I was thrilled to hear that the Harrison Center would be interested in exploring the possibilities of housing a community chorus. I’ll never forget exploring their website early on, trying to acquaint myself with their DNA makeup and finding a video entitled “48 Hours in Indy”.
The video vignette featured 48 hours from one of their residency internships, seeking to capture what makes a city great and breeds its creativity. The narrator opens with the following, “What helps breed a city’s creativity is…knowing the process of getting there can be just as great as the product itself…pursing beautiful things, just to see if they can be done. And when it has been done, it’s worth sharing – worth putting on display; bringing out the whole neighborhood to celebrate connection.” I really loved this fabulous statement, because it also captures precisely what a conductor and chorus hope to accomplish when learning a new piece of music. Whether it's a piece by J. S. Bach or a beautifully arranged folk song, good music works its own will in a certain way – it has its own organic inevitability. I'm looking forward to seeing how the arts will continue to be a binding force in Indianapolis - bringing people together to celebrate creativity and connection.