ABOUT SING OMAHA
Sing Omaha is proud to serve as Nebraska’s ONLY K–12/Adult choral music organization!
This seven-choir organization is built on a solid foundation of commitment to its members and supporters. Sing Omaha promises to ensure that our educational approach will be uniquely suited for each age group, that the artistic experiences offered to our musicians and their audiences will be unrivaled, and that the organization will be run with integrity and honor.
Our motto is simple: ‘Passionate Musicianship. Artistic Excellence. People First.’
History
Sing Omaha grew out of a single adult choir, Canticum, which was an ad-hock community choir, primarily comprised of former University and community/church choir musicians. The choir existed to serve as a recording ensemble for composer/director, Dr. Z. Randall Stroope’s new choral compositions.
When Matt Hill took over direction of Canticum in 2006 from Dr. Stroope, the choir had a solid core of talented, committed members, but saw a significant amount of turn-over. Just one year removed from the conductor transition, Canticum was a reinvented ensemble, with 24 singers singing in their first season, and only six remaining from the original ensemble.
The revamped roster, paired with a new artistic direction, positioned Canticum to make long strides in its 2007 and 2008 concert seasons, but this elite adult choir could only meet a small portion of the choral need in Eastern Nebraska.
In January, 2007, after consulting with a number of choral experts in Nebraska, and around the country, Matt Hill came to the conclusion that the best way to positively impact the choral community in the Omaha area was to build an organization that would provide high-quality education and artistry to singers of all ages and backgrounds.
Upon completion of the legal processes (creation of the corporation, bylaws, etc.), Matt began to think about potential staff and board members who would bring the necessary energy and expertise to 'hit the ground running' with a brand new organization.
In its first two artistic seasons, Sing Omaha fielded four ensembles, ranging in age from Kindergarten through adulthood. The high school mixed choir was folded after the first season, and Sing Omaha entered the 2008-09 season with three choirs: Sono Via (K–7th grade), Harmonia (8–12th grade Treble), and Canticum (Adult).
Having reached over 100 unique, individual singers in the Omaha metro area from 2007–2009, Sing Omaha revamped itself again. July 2009 saw a significant 'facelift' for the organization, with the unveiling of a brand new logo and website, and an announcement of significant organizational expansion.
The 2009–10 season saw Sing Omaha more than DOUBLING in size from three choirs to seven. The four new ensembles enhanced Sing Omaha’s ability to provide the highest-quality choral/vocal experiences to singers by offering, for the first time, uniquely-suited choirs for students K–3rd and 4–7th in both the Bellevue and Millard/West Omaha areas.
In Bellevue, Sono Via East converted from a K–6th ensemble to K–3rd as we added Cantate East (4–7th.) Sono Via West (K–3rd) and Cantate West (4–7th) serve as Sing Omaha’s Western wing.
Sing Omaha also added a second adult choir to its roster for the Fall 2009 season. 'Eclectica' was designed to meet the needs of working professionals who have a strong passion for choral singing, but who desire a more moderate level of commitment than Canticum requires.
We are grateful to have been afforded opportunities to expose our singers and audiences to partner ensembles from the Omaha area and around the world. Since our founding in 2007, Sing Omaha youth and adult choirs have collaborated with such ensembles as:
- The Grace University Concert Choir – Omaha, NE • 2008
- Palladium Brass – Omaha, NE • 2009-present (annual partner)
- The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – London, England • 2009
- The African Children’s Choir • 2010
- Orchestra Omaha – Omaha, NE • 2011
- Ames Children’s Choir – Ames, IA • 2011
Happening Now
The 2011–12 season will see many changes within Sing Omaha’s organizational structure. After a two-day retreat with Carol Weisman, founder of 'Board Builders', Sing Omaha has made growing the Board of Directors its top organizational priority. We are recruiting highly-motivated leaders to help our organization take the next step into non-profit arts management, focusing on raising the profile of the organization in the community and helping to raise money.
From an artistic/educational perspective, we have made exciting decisions that we hope will serve our members well! Our elementary division has been restructured to better accommodate the educational needs of our young singers. Sono Via East and West will now serve grades K–2nd, and Cantate East and West will now serve grades 3rd–5th, with treble singers in grades 6th–12th moving into Harmonia.
We have also made a geographic move in our Sarpy County location from Bellevue to Papillion. We hope that this better positions us to serve students in all of Sarpy County, including: Bellevue, Papillion/LaVista, Ralston, Gretna, and Plattsmouth.
With highly-qualified staff leading each ensemble, and an artistic/educational curriculum plan in place, Sing Omaha’s elementary-aged program is poised to make a profound impact on students in the Omaha metro area for years to come.
In the adult division, Canticum will serve as our only ensemble for the 2011-12 season. Eclectica will return for the 2012-13 season as a select Chamber Choir of 12-18 singers, and will focus on repertoire from the Medieval period through the Renaissance and Baroque, as well as avant guarde 20th Century music and vocal jazz/pop from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Finally, all of Sing Omaha’s choirs will undertake a CD recording project in the 2011-12 season, with a Spring, 2013 release date as a goal. Each choir will be represented on the disc, and CDs will be available for purchase at concerts and at www.singomaha.com.
Future
With the 2011 reorganization, and growth plans in place for the future, Sing Omaha has solidified our commitment to the community by placing the organization in a position to have a powerful and positive influence on singers and audiences in Eastern Nebraska.
With your support, Sing Omaha’s ability to make a strong impact on the lives of musicians and concertgoers will only continue to grow, and we are very excited for that journey!
Summary
We here at Sing Omaha are grateful for the opportunity to serve our community, and we recognize that our success depends on the continued passionate support of our members, audiences, and the community at large.
Thank you for the role you play in making Sing Omaha an organization we can ALL be proud of!
“I like singing, I like
playing the instruments,
but most of all, I like my director the best!”
~ Elliot, 2nd Grade
