About

The Group

Chamber Singers is SUNY Geneseo's internationally touring co-ed choir. Rehearsing three times a week(Tues/Thurs: 3:30-5:00; Weds:4:00-5:30), Chamber Singers repertoire spans multiple centuries of composition, and, in addition to madrigals, motets, and modern pieces, has included major collective works such as Acis and Galatea, Carmina Burana, and Mozart's Requiem. The ensemble, which often has around forty-five members, performs both at SUNY Geneseo as well as outside it, with performances in nearby towns, out of state, and additionally overseas in Europe.

The People

Dr. Gerard Floriano(Director, Conductor), a SUNY Geneseo Alumnus, is an emerging American Conductor accomplished in both operatic and orchestral arenas. He has been Director of Choral activities at SUNY Geneseo since 1998, and sinc ethis time has retained Chamber Singers traditions while bringing new ideas to choir.

In addition to Directing Chamber Singers, Festival Chorus, Carol Choristers, and now the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Floriano leads numerous groups in the Rochester area. He is Artistic Director for the Rochester Opera Factory as well as Mercury Opera of Rochester. He also directs the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra, a gathering of talented young musicians from Buffalo, in addition to occasional performances with the Rochester Philharmonic.

Dr. Floriano is a graduate of the Eastman School of music with a Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting. He resides in Rochester, NY, with his wife and three children.

Alan Case(Piano, Assistant Director) is the principal vocal coach at SUNY Geneseo, and also serves as the founder and director of Geneseo Vocal Miscellany, a loosely organized and flexible gathering of talented Geneseo musicians, dancers, and actors seeking additional stage experience, particularly in musical theater. Currently assistant director of the Geneseo Chamber Singers, he earned the President’s Award for Professional Service in 1999. Much beloved of students, he is highly regarded as a teacher, mentor, and friend.

Auditions

Chamber Singers has auditions in both fall and spring semesters with membership being expected for the year. Returning members must reaudition. All those auditioning must perform a memorized piece of their own selection and should provide the accompanist with appropriate music. Voice Majors must perform a classical piece, but for general auditions, musical theatre is heavily discouraged. Solid experience in sight-reading and pitch-matching is expected. For more information(dates and times) check the Events section.

History

Chamber Singers - or, if you prefer its original title, Madrigal Choir - started as a select group of fourteen singers dedicated to singing sixteenth-century madrigals. Gordon Goewey, the Chair of the Music Department from 1951 to 1959, founded the group in 1957, making it the youngest of the three choirs still at Geneseo (arriving after both Carol Choristers and Festival Chorus)

Dr. Goewey, who often sang with the group instead of conducting them, turned the position of "director" over to fellow Professor John Kucaba in 1959. Dr. Kucaba wasted no time in instilling high musical standards within the members of the group, and also expanding the membership to twenty-four. Dr. Kucaba is also responsible for the group's first recording, a collection of Christmas music. He is also responsible for giving the group its current title.

However, as Dr. Kucaba became more involved with music-related academia at SUNY Geneseo, he realized he couldn't devote as much time he wanted to Chamber Singers, and relinquished the directorship to Robert M. Isgro, who would hold the position for the next thirty-five years. Isgro brought about many changes, most of which were incremental in nature - including increasing both the group size and frequency of rehearsals.

Dr. Isgro sought out a broader range of audiences than his predecessors, and under his direction, the group attended a number of music conventions and intercollegiate conferences, including NYSSMA(New York State School Music Association), MENC(Music Educators National Conference), NYSATA(New York State Arts Teachers Association), AMS(American Musicological Society), and CMS(College Music Society).

Dr. Isgro arranged for numerous performances with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as a number of concerts throughout Europe. He also had the group recorded over fourteen times, and started the now-traditional Christmas Dinner, a winter-time event featuring a "sumptuous" feast accompanied by vocal and instrumental music, dancing, and dramatic and comedic sketches.

In 1998, Dr. Isgro retired as Director of Chamber Singers, and a nation-wide search was conducted for a replacement. Fully on his own merit, Dr. Floriano, a graduate of Geneseo's own voice program and former Chamber Singer himself, applied for and received the position.

Dr. Floriano made a number of changes, the biggest of which being a shift in rehearsal time from 5PM, which had not changed for nearly four decades. He also reinstated the spring tour and added another production to Geneseo's Christmas Dinner: Carlo Menotti's moving Christmas Opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors. Dr. Floriano has continued to maintain Chamber Singers' high standards and is constantly pushing the group to do better.

Website

The Chamber Singers Website was created by myself, Dave Gordon, and I'm personally responsible for all updating and maintenance. I created it using Notepad(XHTML, Javascript, and CSS) as well as Adobe Photoshop.