We’ll let the VM’s press release speak for itself:
PHILADELPHIA CONTEST TO BE LAST COMPETITION FOR VOCAL MAJORITY DIRECTOR JIM CLANCY
Dallas, TX (May 18, 2010) — After nearly forty years and an unprecedented eleven gold medals in international competition, Director Jim Clancy has decided to make the 2010 Philadelphia performance his last international contest at the helm of the Vocal Majority Chorus®. He will continue as Musical Director and primary arranger, but will leave preparation and execution for future contests to Jeff Oxley and the rest of his music staff.
Formed in 1972, the Vocal Majority Chorus® won its first gold medal in the 1975 International competition in Indianapolis and is now preparing for competition in Philadelphia. When asked about the upcoming contest, Clancy says, “I’m very excited about our preparation for this upcoming international competition. I believe that the Vocal Majority Chorus® is singing better than ever, and I am honored to lead the men into competition one last time before our wonderful family of barbershoppers.”
The Board of Directors of the Vocal Majority asks that any questions and comments regarding this announcement be directed to:
Todd Roberts
President, Vocal Majority Chorus
Email: TR3336@aol.com
Wow. The man absolutely defined what a barbershop chorus could be–heck, what a men’s chorus could be. The man changed thousands of lives, and not just those among VM members and audiences.
What are your best memories of Jim Clancy and the VM? What do you expect for Philly? How should we remember Jim’s historical legacy?
This question comes from a younger Society member who belongs to 52Eighty, 2010 Youth Chorus Festival Champions and Sound of the Rockies, 2009 international bronze medalist. He was a barbershopper elsewhere before moving to Colorado. We’ll keep him anonymous so he can be blunt. Here’s his question:
Having come from choruses that post scores no higher than a 55% [high C-level], and now singing with a chorus that can sing in the 90s, I can’t put my finger on what exactly makes a chorus strive to do well enough to reach the A-level category [81 or higher]. I know that one of the chorus I sang with in [prior residence] can certainly produce the types of sounds you hear from the Vocal Majority or the Ambassadors of Harmony, but the discipline isn’t there. Obviously, not all choruses start out like Westminster, in fact most choruses don’t start off as an A-level chorus. What is needed in order to get the average and below-average choruses to obtain the discipline and work ethic needed to become A level?
Thoughts?
Here it is folks! Congratulations to ALL quartets! Read the rest of this entry »
The sun in shining, the nearby Cumberland River crested at 52 feet (12 feet about flood stage) and is receding. No reports of major damage to staff homes, although several staff have been stranded in their neighborhoods and unable to travel. Only a very small puddle in the basement at headquarters — we’re lucky to be on top of a high hill here. Still, we’re at 7th Ave., and the crest of the Cumberland reached as far as 5th Avenue (which is at the bottom of a steep hill).
All the results of 14 inches in two days. Saturday, it was wave after wave of torrential downpour, with eight inches in about 12 hours. The rest came Sunday. Previous two-day record for rain: Just over 6 inches.
I went out on my bike yesterday afternoon with a point and shoot camera. Here are some images from downtown, after all the rain and before the worst of the Cumberland River came last night. Here are some shots, with a little commentary. You can see far more extensive shots of the flooding at The Tennessean.
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