Community Foundation of Central Illinois provides grant to SRC Foundation for musical premiere

The Spoon River College Community Chorus will be presenting a new musical written by composer Richard Etter thanks to a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Central Illinois. The musical —MASS THEATRICAL— is a full two act production requiring a full cast/chorus, a children’s ensemble, and instrumentation. The premiere performance dates are February 17, 18, and 19, 2011 at the SRC Theatre in Taylor Hall on the Canton campus.

The project is being made possible by a grant from the Mildred L. Arends Musical & Cultural Activities Fund and the George A. Fulton Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Illinois.

“The SRC Community Chorus is an outreach program sponsored by the SRC Foundation,” said Carol Davis, Vice President of Community Outreach for the college. “This will be our sixth year of presenting quality musical performances with educational/entertainment objectives. The opportunity afforded us by the Community Foundation of Central Illinois meets all of our objectives and more. We are extremely grateful for this grant.”

MASS THEATRICAL was written by Fulton County native Richard Etter in 2007. He has been searching for a group to premiere the work since that time. After taking part in the SRC Community Chorus production last February, he decided to approach Carol Davis to direct and John L. Davis to conduct.

“I am very excited to have this production produced,” said Richard Etter. “I feel confident in selecting the SRC Community Chorus as the vehicle for its first presentation and I look forward to working with John, Carol, and the rest of the SRC Chorus. We’ve already begun the interpretation process.”

The work will be refined and developed during the next two months and then receive its first printing in December. The chorus begins rehearsals in January. No auditions are required for participation in the SRC Community Chorus. A commitment to the rehearsal process and a love of music is all that is required. Chorus members range in age from 8 to 80.

This is not the first time the Community Foundation has awarded the SRC Foundation a grant. The Community Foundation of Central Illinois provided the funds for the establishment of the Spoon River College Community Chorus in 2005-06.

“We knew there was a desire for a community chorus in the college district,” Davis said. “We just needed the start-up funds to get it established. The Community Foundation gave us our start and over 60 individuals from throughout west central Illinois sang in our first presentation of Handel’s MESSIAH. The program has expanded every year since then.”

For more information about the SRC Community Chorus, please contact Carol Davis at (309) 647-6395 or carol.davis@src.edu.  For more information about the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, please contact Kristan at (309) 674-8730

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