March 2018

MANAGE YOUR CHORAL HOLDINGS DIRECTLY IN MUSICA

Do you have your own library of choral music? Why not manage it directly in MUSICA?

With MUSICA, there is no longer any need to use local software to painstakingly input details of your holdings in your personal database. We have all you require online in the form of easy-to-use professional document management software. Here you can create any number of fields for private use or to share with others.

It is highly likely that most of your holdings are already described in MUSICA in great detail.

All you need to do is add information on them to your own private fields in our existing records. And if you own a score that is not yet described in MUSICA, why not create a new record that you can share with others, or revise or expand with the help of our users all over the world? If you need a hand, our documentalist Pierre-Luc will be happy to guide you through the process.

To be among the first to take advantage of this feature, get in touch with us.

NEW MEMBERS

A warm welcome to three new members, who will increase Musica’s use worldwide and help to improve the presence of their choral heritage.

GERMANY: Bärenreiter
One of Germany’s leading publishers, whose membership will enable us to streamline the process of recording all details of their catalogue in Musica. So far we have entries for almost 4,400 titles.

IRELAND: Association of Irish Choirs
All AOIC members will now have privileged access to Musica from the www.aoic.ie homepage.

IRELAND: Cork International Choral Festival
Choirs come from all over the world to one of Europe’s most prestigious festivals. And it’s worth going to hear them! This year the festival runs from 18 to 22 April.
Find out more

FAVORITE PIECES

Every month we present a favorite – a piece that no choir director stranded on a desert island should do without.

February 2018: Maria (IV) by Mårten Jansson (Sweden)
A superb choral work by a Swedish composer from whom we discover great things.
This is the set piece chosen by Bärenreiter for its current online choir competition.
Full details

March 2018: Ritmo by Dan Davison (USA)
A bundle of energy, this piece will wow any audience.
Available for SATB or TTBB
Full details

April 2018: Alleluia by Fredrik Sixten (Sweden)
An intense piece that will grip you right through to the rounded serenity of the final major chord.
Full details

MEET US IN THE COMING MONTHS DURING FESTIVALS…

We are always happy to meet you, either at our stand or when we give a presentation, at one of the prestigious festivals and other events that those who love choral music will go out of their way to attend. We look forward to showing you what new functions and services are available in Musica, and to sharing with you our own passion for the choral repertoire.

IRELAND, 18-22 April: Cork International Choral Festival
Choirs come from all over the world to this, one of Europe’s most prestigious festivals and international competitions and we reckon it’s worth the journey!
This year Jean Sturm, our director, will be there to give a presentation on Musica.
Just make your way to the School of Music at 11 a.m. on Saturday 21 April. 
More information

GERMANY, 5-13 May: Deutscher Chorwettbewerb (Freiburg-im-Breisgau)
A national choir competition organised every four years by the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat).
Musica will be at the exhibition from 10 to 12 May.
More information

CANADA, 27 June - 3 July: Podium 2018 (Saint John’s, Newfoundland)
Podium, Canada’s leading choral festival, is held every two years, each time in a different province.
Musica will be at the exhibition and is scheduled to give a formal presentation.
More information

ESTONIA, 27 July - 5 August: EUROPA CANTAT XX (Tallinn)
This European festival is organised every three years by the European Choral Association - Europa Cantat. Musica will have a stand in the exhibition area from 28 July to 2 August, and will also be giving a presentation and taking part in meetings like the ERASMUS+ "Sing Me In" project.
More information

FRANCE, 7-9 September: Congrès (Inter)National des Chefs de Choeurs (Puteaux).
This is the annual gathering of French-speaking choir directors. Musica will be in the exhibition area.
More information

NEXT MUSICA WORKSHOP

Musica sessions offer those active in the choral world a prized opportunity to meet their peers, learn more about how the Musica project works and become involved in expanding and improving the database. Please come along if you are a choir director, a publisher, a musicologist, a composer … or just passionate about choral music.

The next session is being organised jointly with the University of Strasbourg (France) from 29 October to 3 November

Find out more or write to us, where you can also apply to attend the session.

We are seeking volunteers to organise similar sessions in other countries. The sessions offer an excellent opportunity to promote your national choral heritage by bringing it to a world audience through Musica.

If you are interested, write to us.

ONGOING PROJECTS

- ERASMUS+ "Sing Me In" is a European project with partners from 9 countries, all coordinated by the European Choral Association - Europa Cantat. The aim is to develop tools to promote the integration of young migrants through collective singing. A repertoire specific to this project is currently being entered in Musica. More details

- We are continuing to revamp our website, and are embarking on the final stage of activating the new database management software for public use.

MUSICA NEEDS YOU

You too could be part of living and developing the Musica project! We are always happy to hear from people who can offer their skills and some of their time to help expand the database, or simply start using it interactively.

That Musica exists is largely thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of volunteers eager to share their love for choral music with others of the same mind-set.

Wherever you live, there is something you could do. The payback for helping out will be the satisfaction of knowing it is useful and the gratitude of countless friends. And we have a long list of needs. Here are just some of them, you can :

- Contribute to moderate our Facebook page
- Work with our team of French, English, German and Spanish translators
- Update our composer bios
- Improve the content of existing records or input new ones, especially from your own local choral tradition
- Give life to new projects around the choral repertoire
- Suggest a piece of the month
- Give details in Musica of where your own documentary holdings are kept
- … or simply talk about Musica to others who may not have discovered us yet.

There are a thousand ways of taking part and helping to develop this global project, which is reliant on volunteers who are truly enthusiastic about the choral art.

Write to us and let us know what you think you could do!

NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS

FENIARCO: We are pleased to announce the 52nd national choir competition "Città di Vittorio Veneto" under Feniarco’s patronage.
More information

EUROPÄISCHES JUGENDCHOR FESTIVAL BASEL: The festival will be in full swing from 9th to 13th of May 2018. More information
During this festival, the Swiss Choir Union organizes the 8th meeting of the Swiss Choir conductor, on May 10th, 2018 More information

NEW ZEALAND CHORAL FEDERATION: You can register now for The Big Sing 2018 choral competition.
Register for the competition