ATTRACTING YOUTH!

New Musical Arrangements
     A significant highlight of the 2007 meeting of the AMCA Executive Council, held May 18, 2007 in Marquette, MI was a decision by the Council to authorize music arrangements that will appeal to younger singers. The decision was a merger of two ideas, the first an attempt to incorporate some new music into the Common Repertoire that would attract younger singers, and the second a suggestion by John Robert of the WUM District to seek talented music arrangers who would take some popular songs and arrange them for TTBB. John's suggestion was that we use International dues to purchase sufficient copies of the new arrangements for all choruses in the AMCA. The Council authorized John to work with Don Crouch and the music committee to seek such arrangers.

Submit Musical Selections
     All members are encouraged to submit suggestions on which songs they would like to have arranged for male choruses. Contact Ron Stenzel, Jim Egan, Norbert Lehmann, Paul Carlton or Don Crouch with your suggestions.

Big Sing 2008

     The other major topic of this meeting was related to details of the International Big Sing scheduled next spring in Eau Claire.

Choruses Invited
     Winnipeg, as well as choruses from the two former AMCA districts will be invited to participate in the Mass numbers. In addition, Eau Claire is considering inviting a neighboring chorus that is not currently a member in hopes of convincing them to join.

Solo Choruses
     The UWEC Statesmen, as the only Student Member Chorus of AMCA, will present a solo number for the Saturday concert as will the Eau Claire Male Chorus as the host. Other solos were assigned based on total members per district and number of choruses per district as follows: 4 to the UMW, 2 to the WUM and 1 to NYP. There are currently 6 choruses in the WUM, while only 2 choruses are currently active in the NYP.

Massed Musical Selections / Conductor Assignments
     David Fehr, Eau Claire director, attended the meeting to discuss the organization's expectations for Mass numbers. He was able to attend a meeting of the WUM directors during the weekend to learn their preferences and also obtained input informally from the two representatives of the NYP. Besides the 3 anthems, there will be 6 mass numbers, primarily drawn from the Common Repertoire. The selections will be announced soon - CHECK THE AMCA WEBSITE. Conductors for the mass numbers will be assigned to directors whose choruses do not have solo numbers on Saturday night. Directors will be contacted regarding their preferences after the mass numbers are announced. Directors should be prepared to list their preferences in rank order, and also to specify any numbers they would NOT like to direct.

Afterglow
     AfterGlow solos will be allocated first to choruses that do not have solos on Saturday. The order will be predetermined, so watch for how to submit your preferences.

Other Business

Attendance
     All officers were present at the meeting. None of the committee chairmen were able to attend. Reports were submitted by each officer, district representative and committee chairman, including in-absentia reports from those unable to attend. The reports were reviewed and approved.

Budget
     The proposed budget for the 2007-08 Fiscal Year was discussed. The amount of regular member dues was revisited. It was noted that costs to operate continue to rise and membership in AMCA continues to decline, thus placing a greater burden on each individual. Also, given the suggestion that we fund new music arrangements for the entire organization the council decided to raise the dues for regular membership to $10 per person. Dues for other types of membership remain the same.

Chorister/Website
     Both the Chorister Editor and Webmaster reiterated their usual pleas for more information to share, and the Chairman stated that we need to communicate regularly during the year, not just at meetings, if the organization is to remain active and vibrant.

JoAnne Normandin
     The Executive Council also received news during the weekend that JoAnne Normandin, long time Minneapolis Knights of Columbus Male Chorus director and a life member of the AMCA had passed away. A memorial in the amount of $100 was donated to the AMCA Scholarship Fund in her honor.

Next Meeting
     The 2008 Executive Council meeting will be hosted by the Upper Midwest District in conjunction with the International Big Sing in Eau Claire. The meeting is to take place on Friday, April 25th at the Plaza Hotel and Suites.