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First Some BackgroundYour Association has encouraged the writing of music for its members beginning with William Bentz who wrote and dedicated "Salutation - Hail Friends of Music!" to the AMCA. It was then adopted by the Board of Governors on July 1934 as the official salutation of AMCA and has since been an opening selection at massed sings.The arrangements many of us still sing of the American and Canadian national anthems were written by members for members. "O Canada" was arranged by Fred Roy, a member of the Queensmen of Toronto, and dedicated to the AMCA by the Ontario District in 1972; and the "Star Spangled Banner" was arranged by George Stone of the George Stone Singers, presented as a "singable arrangement" and adopted by the AMCA as the only version to be performed at Big Sings. In more recent years the so-called Smith arrangement of the latter was preferred by some districts and in 1986 a motion was approved to allow each district to choose which version from the two to use at their Big Sings. The host district of an International Sing was also given the option of choosing from the two approved arrangements the one they would use. This motion stands today. More Background - A Commissioned PieceIn September 1992, a contract was signed between composer, Dr. Paul Brandvik, director of choral activities at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, MN and the AMCA to write a composition to be completed by September 1992 for a performance debut at the International Big Sing in Marquette, Michigan in 1993. The fee was an honorarium of $500.00. The resulting selection titled "Sonnet 29" was based on a poem by William Shakespeare - "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state ... ".The Saturday morning of the Marquette Sing a meeting took place of the AMCA Board of Directors and high on the agenda was a discussion of the difficulty our members had had in learning the piece and the need to either drop it from the concert or hold music for its performance. After some discussion (holding music was frowned on then as it is today) it was agreed that "Sonnet 29" be performed with music held. It is interesting to note that the conductor selected for that occasion was our current Music Reviewer, Donald Crouch of the Milwaukee Male Chorus. Still More BackgroundStay with me, we're getting to main topic shortly.Today "Sonnet 29" sits in most chorus' music files unused and in many cases beyond the capability of our member choruses. In May 1993 the suggestion to initiate a music contest as outlined in Executive Secretary, Bill Bates' proposal was given general approval. The purpose as stated in the proposal read "To promote composition for male voice choirs and provide AMCA member choruses with a continuing supply of new music on a regular basis." and "To establish the AMCA as the major source of new music for male voice choirs and so provide another tangible benefit to current and prospective members." - an extremely optimistic but worthwhile objective! An implementation committee was established to report back with recommendations. A huge amount of time and effort was expended by delegate Roger Kees in drafting the rules, regulations and entry forms. Part of that process was enlisting the pro bono services of lawyer, Sara Jarvinen, with the invaluable assistance of dedicated member, JoAnne Normandin who at the time was employed by this firm. The contest became a reality in 1995 and is an active part of AMCA activities today. Roger Kees was the first chairman of the music contest committee and served until career advancement made it necessary for him to resign the position. New Music - Where It Can Be FoundThe current Chairman of the AMCA annual "Music Contest" is Harry Learoyd, conductor of the Queensmen of Toronto Male Chorus. Each year Harry brings to the Board of Directors the current submissions for consideration and a vote is taken on Harry's recommendations.So, here my friends, is your source of new music - a list that is added to every year and its is right on our AMCA web site! Click on our Music Contest site and check out the list of winners there. I ask you, how many of these selections have you considered for your repertoire. They are fresh, new and interesting but our members don't seem to know that they are available. You may just find something that would suit your special needs for this year. And if you are a composer, all the information you need is at this site location - why not consider submitting one of your works in this year's contest?! Postscript - The theme song for our Lansing 2003 International Big Sing, "Friends", was last year's first place winner of the AMCA Music Contest. If you are planning to participate, you should have ordered this music by now! by clicking on Make a Comment. View Feedback | Make A Comment Email Notification of updates! This column is planned as a regular feature and will be written monthly by the Executive Secretary. Links to other columns are available here also.
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