MEASURE U SPOTLIGHT: EASTERN SIERRA COMMUNITY CHORUS
Tell us a little about your program/organization.
The Eastern Sierra Community Chorus was founded in the 1970s by Dr. Walter Buchanan and his wife Edith. Since then, the Chorus has performed under the baton of Brian Schuldt of the Felici Trio, Mark Hatter, Vic Guder, Carl Gorham, Stephanie Everson and Chris Lanane.
After 2017, the ESCC took a hiatus and in December 2021, Dr. Nancy Holland revived the Chorus with their participation in a Christmas Eve Service at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
The Chorus has performed spring concerts with the Mammoth High School Choir every year since. In the summer, the Chorus performs in the Mammoth Lakes July 4th celebration, Pops in the Park, in collaboration with the Eastern Sierra Pops Orchestra, as well as at Jazz Festival and the Shakespeare Festival.
In the Winter, we collaborate with the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Brian Schuldt.
Under the leadership of Dr. Nancy Holland, we have grown to a chorus of over 30 members, all of whom are volunteer singers.
How does your program/organization impact the lives of people in Mammoth Lakes?
We provide FREE choral concerts throughout the year, offering a wide variety of music, from classical to pop to jazz to madrigals. We are the ONLY choral organization in Mammoth Lakes. Dr. Nancy Holland, our director, goes into the schools to coach Mike Hammers and Hailey Hurd’s choirs, and we sing together at our Spring Concerts. This year we will be offering a Music Reading Lesson series, which is open to the public.
Your program/organization is a Measure U grant recipient, can you tell us what you use that funding for in your program/organization?
We purchase music for the chorus for both the spring and winter concerts as well as our summer programs. We pay for an accompanist, Marek Jakubowski, who runs the California Piano Store in Bishop, as well as instrumentalists to accompany our concerts. We often hire a guitar, bass, and drums to play for our pop numbers. The winter concert features an orchestra of 40 players, which includes 10 paid players. We split the costs with the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra. We also pay for the rights to perform and record the music to organizations such as ASCAP and BMI. And we pay for the printing of programs and flyers, as well as ads and interviews in The Sheet and on KMMT to advertise our programs.
Did the Measure U grant funding make it possible for you to offer programming that would not have been available otherwise?
Yes. This year we are performing a work for chorus and orchestra, Vivaldi’s Gloria. We hope in future to perform more major works for chorus and orchestra. The funding allows us to hire orchestra members to accompany the chorus. We are fortunate to have professional level soloists within the chorus who will be featured in the work.
How did the Measure U grant funding help your program/organization to provide opportunities for locals to engage with arts/culture/mobility/recreation?
We have hired Cassandra Kapitzke to interpret all of our lyrics into America Sign Language. She does a beautiful job of translating in gestures that are dance-like and add to the enjoyment of those who are hearing-impaired.
We also translate our flyers into Spanish to attract a more diverse audience. Both venues, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and the Cerro Coso Community College are ADA accessible.
What is the next big thing happening with your organization/program?
We are presenting FREE Winter Concerts this week with the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra conducted by Brian Schuldt featuring:
Beethoven Symphony No. 1 performed by the orchestra
Christmas and Hanukkah music performed by ESCC
Vivaldi Gloria performed by chorus and orchestra
A Christmas Festival, arranged by Leroy Anderson, performed by chorus and orchestra
Friday, December 6:
7:30 pm: Concert at St. Joseph Church, Mammoth Lakes
Saturday, December 7:
7 pm: Concert at Cerro Coso College, Bishop
Do you have any words of advice for other programs/organizations that might be looking at applying for Measure U funding?
Do apply for funding from Measure U. We have so many amazing arts and cultural and recreation organizations that benefit from their funding. Coming to the presentations to the committee in January is an education in itself.
I was so impressed with all the good work that Measure U does through the organizations it supports.
About Mammoth Lakes Recreation
Formed in 2014, Mammoth Lakes Recreation’s mission is to deliver cutting edge sustainable recreation, mobility, and arts & culture opportunities and infrastructure for the benefit of the community and natural environment of Mammoth Lakes. For more information, go to www.mammothlakesrecreation.org.