The Southern Delaware Choral Society's 2006-07 performing season met or exceeded expectations. In terms of outreach, we took one of our spring concerts to the western part of the County and were very well received at Woodbridge High School in Bridgeville, DE. We worked with local veterans groups who participated enthusiastically in our "Tribute to Veterans" concert. They provided a color guard and comprised a large segment of the audience. The high school music director worked closely with us from the beginning, even providing his services as a Civil War re-enactor as he read excerpts from letters written by an ancestor of one of our members.

Another component of our successful outreach was the large number of veterans to whom we provided complimentary tickets. By working through several veterans groups in the area, we were able to distribute approximately 400 complimentary tickets that were used at the Bridgeville and Rehoboth concerts. From comments following the concerts, we feel that a number of audience members heard us for the first time, at least three of whom were simply walking the streets of Rehoboth when they heard the bagpiper playing outside the Convention Center and spontaneously came in to hear the concert!

Collaboration with other artists and arts organizations was another goal of the season, and the joint performance with the Chesapeake Brass Band truly enhanced our Veterans Tribute. This collaboration was not easy to orchestrate (pardon the pun), in that we needed to plan housing for 30 band members, the program had to be negotiated via email and was being fine-tuned up to the last minute, and the dress rehearsal had to take place the afternoon of the first performance. In addition, the participation of composer/ guitarist, Jeffrey Van (see p. 17 of program) who flew in from Minnesota at the last minute provided a logistical and musical challenge for both the choir and the sound engineers. Fortunately, Dr. Van is a thorough professional and made an incredibly complex piece of music sound easy and beautiful. Local artists were also called upon to participate in these concerts, with Roo Brown's Folksong Suite and Henry DeWitt's bagpiping well-received by an enthusiastic audience. In addition, a talented young trumpeter from the University of Delaware and a highly-regarded guest organist enhanced our two Christmas concerts.

A third (and on-going) goal has been our effort to foster the development of talented high school and college singers. This year we were particularly fortunate, not only in the selection of our Lee Mitchell Scholarship student, but in the participation of six very talented students. Our four high school students were featured soloists and one of our college students (Matilda Madden) serves on our Board. As an up-date, we have just completed auditions and have awarded scholarships to two students for the up-coming season, a young man from Cape Henlopen High School and a young woman from Milford High School.

A fourth element of our Mission is to introduce seldom-heard choral music to our audiences. Two performances of the Bach Christmas Oratorio, a challenging piece for organ and choir, was a real treat for classical music devotees who, in southern Delaware, rarely have the opportunity to attend a live performance of this piece. We were able to reach out to a new audience comprised of members of a congregation in Rehoboth at whose venue we had never sung. It was a real challenge in that the organ was in the balcony and the choir and director were arranged in the front of the church, but the organist rose to the occasion and performed brilliantly. We did not import guest soloists for this concert but, instead, were able to rely on five of our own accomplished singers to carry the load. Despite several competing events the second weekend in December, both the Rehoboth and Milford Christmas concerts were very well-attended.

A final element in our attempt to enhance the effectiveness and impact of the SD Choral Society has been to make greater use of our Chamber Ensemble. This sub-set of the larger group is comprised of 25 and perform throughout the year for events requiring a smaller group, more flexibility, and varying program needs. A major outreach effort is the annual prison concert, performed in November at the Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown. This program has been a commitment of the SD Choral Society's for ten years, and has been met with touching enthusiasm on the part of the inmates. Other appearances include grandstand concerts in Rehoboth, fund-raising events at various churches, and appearances at Delaware Music School events. The group also provided a smaller ensemble sound when this was called for in both our Christmas and Spring concerts. The Chamber Ensemble serves several valuable functions: (1) it provides a strong core of excellent singers who function as leaders for the larger group; (2) it provides a greater musical challenge for those who are up to the task; (3) it provides a strong outreach link to the community and good public relations for the Society.

Administratively, the Choral Society has made enormous progress in the past year. The new conductor has reached out to and brought back a number of former members while attracting new and younger singers. He has shown a willingness to expand the repertoire to reach a larger and more eclectic audience, as witnessed by the enthusiastic public response to the Spring concerts. The addition of several new Board members with backgrounds in community outreach, grant-writing, and Board development has provided much-needed support for the Executive Director, and the ambitious plans for the upcoming season are a credit to both conductor and Board. We are excited about collaborating with the highly-regarded Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra for that holiday favorite, Handel's Messiah, and look forward to staging a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, in the Spring.