The Santa Ynez Valley Chorale in the News

Third Place: Danielle Reyes Second Place: Roy Bilkey First Place: Britni Alleman. Congratulations to our winners and to all of our contestants! Thank you to our wonderful audience, volunteers, judges and sponsors. Valley Idol 2010 was a terrific success and we hope to see you all back next year!

SB RESIDENT SEIZES 'VALLEY IDOL' CHALLENGE
By Alonzo Orozco, Contributing Writer, Santa Ynez Valley Journal

A capacity crowd of some 350 folks settled into Solvang’s Veteran Memorial Hall to enjoy a fine array of talent at last Saturday night’s “Valley Idol Singing Contest” finale.

“We didn’t have anybody who didn’t rise to the occasion,” boasts Shannon Casey of the 12 contestants and former champion who performed in the 3rd annual event sponsored by the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale.

A part-time Santa Barbara tour guide, Britni Alleman, went home with the 1st-place prize, singing a tune titled “California Burrito” by Chuck Ragan.

“Just being with all of them (the people she loves) for such an occasion was wonderful and winning felt great on top of that,” exclaims Alleman, describing how she felt about winning the event. Planning to take music classes in the fall, she may also find the $1,000 prize and free studio recording session donated by Erickson Sound Lab to come in handy.

Casey, who in the past has served as president of the Chorale board, said the reason the talent pool was so deep in comparison to previous years was partly because of the minimum age limit being raised to 16 this year.

There was also an increase in radio advertising, including stations such as MIX 96.7 and Crazy Country for the event that helped in attributing to last weekend’s success.

The evening started out with last year’s winner, Morgan Laughlin, singing her rendition of Carrie Underwood’s hit “Some Hearts.” The contest, derived from the popular TV show “American Idol,” then went into full swing as the enthusiastic audience purchased $1 tickets to cast votes for their favorites after hearing each finalist perform during the 1st round of the competition. All the proceeds go to the Chorale to help in realizing one of the community choir’s goals of producing entertainment that promotes music in the Valley.

The top four vote-getters moved on to the 2nd round, accompanied by two other survivors chosen by the three judges who had a hand in selecting the finalists for the contest during the preliminary round held a couple of weeks ago in the Parish Hall at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Los Olivos. Those three include Bear Erickson of Erickson Sound Labs, Lynda Kelley of MIX 96.7 and Allen Koehn, a former Presbyterian minister from a Princeton seminary who actually found employment years ago dressed up as the cartoon character Woody the Woodpecker around the time of Hollywood’s Golden Era.

Round 3 saw the three remaining finalists perform one more number each to determine the champion. Danielle Reyes, originally from Santa Barbara, who for the past three years has sang for Cottage Hospital’s “Circle of Remembrance,” was rewarded 3rd place with one of her songs being a “pop music” piece. While Roy Bilkey, a student at Cuesta College, earned the 2nd prize with “Waggon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show that he performed while also playing the guitar.

Bilkey was also richer in more ways than one. “‘Valley Idol’ was one of the only times I have ever played in front of a crowd, so this experience was a huge confidence-builder for the future,” explains the student who also works at a feed store. He ended up taking home $500, courtesy of El Rancho Market, Rancho Olivos Olive Oil, owned by the proud founder of the event, none other than Casey herself, donated the 3rd prize of $250.

While not exactly in the stratosphere of “American Idol,” a local singing competition was no less nerve-wrecking for 20 contestants vying for the title of “Santa Ynez Valley Idol 2010.” “I’m still shaking from it,” said Santa Ynez resident Elia Gonzalez. “I decided to sing on the spur of the moment.” The 3rd annual Valley Idol Singing Contest kicked off Saturday afternoon in a packed Parish Hall at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Los Olivos.

The preliminary round of the contest saw singers and musicians performing a wide variety of musical styles, including country western, classical, pop and hip-hop.

Gonzalez sang “Fallen” by Alicia Keys - a tune she hums to in the shower, the car and just about anywhere. Because she signed up at the last minute, she sang the song a cappella. But that didn’t stifle her ability to channel emotion into the song. “The room was full of your voice,” said musician and judge Bear Erickson. “Your command of the rhythm made me feel the band and the track.”

Gonzalez has just started taking vocal classes at Santa Barbara City College. “My friend egged me on,” she said, adding that she also performed for a poignant reason. “I also wanted to do it for my dad, who’s very ill. He has always told me to go for what I love.”

Lompoc resident Kirsten Rasmussen had already performed at a closed audition in Santa Barbara before she heard about the event going on up north. Amped up by the earlier performance, she sang a passionate rendition of an R&B song by Mary J Blige. “It all started with Barney,” the 16-year-old said with a laugh. The competition was presented by the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, which is a non-profit performing arts group that presents a three concert series in both December and May.

“This year, the bulk of the people who auditioned were very strong singers,” noted Shannon Casey, chair of Idol. “We had a high caliber of singers, and we’re looking forward to a very tough contest and a spectacular show.”

The Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale held its second annual Santa Ynez Valley Idol competition on Saturday April 28th to a sold-out house. After two rounds of voting, the top three finalists were chosen from the group of 12 exceptional contestants, with both the judges and the audience having a hand in the selection. The first prize winner was Morgan Laughlin, who at only 13, won over the crowd with her beautiful voice and captivating appearance. The second prize went to Chelsea Chaput, 15, whose outstanding stage presence and versatility made her a stand-out. In third place was Antonio Barret, 13, whose talent as a vocalist, was enhanced by his performing original songs and accompanying himself on the keyboard. The three finalists won $1000, $500 and $250 respectively.

Thanks to our entertaining emcee, Jim Farnum, and our knowledgeable judges Kate Bennett, Lynda Kelley, and Nikolaus Schiffmann, for helping to make this an enjoyable evening. The level of interest and support for this fund raiser in the community made it a real success!

The hills of Los Olivos were alive with the sound of music as 13 finalists competed to become the “Santa Ynez Valley Idol” Friday night at St. Mark’s Church. The singing contest was the idea of the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale’s Board President Shannon Casey, modeled on the television program “American Idol.”

“There are nearly 70 people in the Chorale and it took the majority of the members to pull this off,” said Mary Jane West-Delgado, treasurer of the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale. “It was so successful we are already working on next year’s event.”

“It was a unanimously well-received event. Everybody was saying we should do it again next year,” said Gary Foshee. “It was the feel-good event of the year.”

“The Idol performance was phenomenal,” said Carol Millard, who attended the event. “So much talent was realized while listening to all the contestants perform their various songs. All ages, young and not so young, sang such a variety of songs. The emcee, judges and audience’s enthusiasm made for a wonderful evening. All the Chorale members who worked so hard at organizing the event accomplished their goals, beyond measure.”

Those who frequent Santa Ynez Airport sometimes witness strange occurrences and unusual events. Strong winds sometimes cause hard and exciting landings, unusual airplanes arrive, and cattle from the neighboring pastures sometimes even get loose and wander onto the airport property. Valentine’s Day brought one of the most unusual occurrences to the airport for a considerable time.

Twelve members of the Santa Ynez Valley Chorale appeared at Stan Peternel’s hangar to serenade a group of airport “bums.” The group was on a fundraising tour and group member Mimi Walston donated $40 for a Valentine’s Day song to her honey, airport “bum” Carl Walston.

The Santa Ynez Valley Chorale is comprised of 70 singers of all ages according to group member Charyl Benton. On this day, the group had more than a dozen stops and provided singing Valentines for those who were fortunate enough to have especially thoughtful lovers.

The Chorale was begun in 1978 by the young music teacher Karl Thompson and a small group of friends and family members who simply loved to sing together. Four more conductors came and went over the years, each with a different strength and musical vision. When Artistic Director/Conductor Chris Bowman took over in 1996, however, membership in the Chorale began to grow and the group was catapulted to new levels of professionalism and style.

Members of the Chorale are thrilled to have the unique opportunity to perform music composed by their own director. Not only is it exciting for me as a singer, says Kramer, but I put myself in his shoes, and I can't even imagine what that must feel like to him; it's got to be phenomenal. Bowman couldn't agree more. Even though he has an idea about how his music will sound beforehand, It's a far cry from hearing it performed live, he says. And to be out in front conducting it is an electric experience.

The Chorale singers also share a common spirit, Kramer believes, even though they represent all walks of life and range in age from 17 to over 80. Without a doubt, music transcends age and culture and language, she says. It creates joy and healing in people. This was especially evident during the Christmas concert that followed September 11. The music and words were already chosen by then, she says, but when we sang, it all took on a new meaning for everybody.

All voices are welcome in the Chorale. You don't have to be an excellent singer to join, Madsen says, but you can achieve excellence by being part of it and learning from Chris. A significant commitment, however, is required. The big classical pieces Chris chooses for us sometimes boggle my mind, Kramer says. Madsen agrees. It takes a long time to get it right, he says, and it really gets hectic as we approach concert time. But there is no denying that the end result is well worth the effort. You can really feel exhausted, but when you get on that stage and you're singing, Madsen says, it's a natural high.

The wonders of the Valley never seem to cease. The natural beauties of ranches, vineyards and spectacular views from mountain trails remind a newcomer that it is a very special place on God's earth. But there is more. Saturday night in the little town of Los Olivos strains of heavenly music wafted high into the rafters of St. Mark' s Church and down the street. The Santa Ynez Valley Chorale Chamber Singers conducted by Chris Bowman bathed us in a rich variety of music from Gregorian chant to contemporary works. A special treat was hearing three versions of the Ave Maria (Chant, a renaissance version and the romantic Schubert) showing us how the great masters put their unique stamp on an ancient text. Music lovers were humming along to familiar pieces known to most choristers such as Hassler's Cantate domino, Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus and Franck's Panis Angelicus. The Chorale's diction and balance made listening a great pleasure.

Special solos by multi-talented conductor Bowman, the lyrical and expressive soprano Cathleen Mclsaac, and outstanding violinist Diane Byington added to the already superb quality of the whole chorale. Bowman' s own playful Gigue in D brought out the exquisite range of tones on the Schoenstein organ and was received with joy by the audience. Mclsaac's beautiful interpretation of Mendelssohn's On Wings of Song set the tone from the beginning of the concert that the evening was going to be filled with exquisite singing. Byington's lyrical rendition of Massanet's Meditation transported us beyond the walls of the church into our own private worlds. Perhaps the final number, Walking in the Spirit by contemporary composer Mark Hayes in the style of African-American spirituals, expressed the spirit of the valley as the audience rose to a standing ovation and called for an encore. A lovely reception followed in Stacy Hall where musicians and appreciators alike could stroll around to share their enthusiasm and gratitude for music that indeed filled the soul.