When the Piedmont Chamber Singers presents "Faure and Friends" Saturday, the performance will conclude Wendy Looker's first season as music director.
Looker is also the director of choral activities at Guilford College. She succeeded William Osborne last fall after David Schildkret served a year as the group's interim director.
"We've been gelling and bonding as a group," she said.
In addition to music by Camille Saint Saëns and Maurice Ravel, Saturday's program will feature Gabriel Faure's "Requiem."
During the performance of Faure's "Requiem," choristers from Bella Voce, an elite ensemble at Reagan High School, will join the singers. Similar collaborations are planned in the future.
"We're trying to reach out to different schools," Looker said. "Next year, we'll be doing a joint concert with my chamber choir at Guilford College. … It's a good experience for the high school singers to sing with an adult group. It's a good form of educational outreach."
Another form of outreach that Looker introduced this year is the Choral Scholars program. Singers from area colleges pass auditions to sing in the Piedmont Chamber Singers, having been recommended by their teachers and choral directors.
This year, the Piedmont chorus has members from Guilford College, Winston-Salem State University and UNC School of the Arts. Each is paid a modest stipend.
"They help us musically and vocally," she said. "They've got nice, young and active voices. They benefit as well because they may get to sing some literature they may not be singing at school. It's something nice for them to put on their résumés."
As for her plans, Looker said she would like more singers to join the group and will look for them throughout the area, not just Winston-Salem. She said there are openings for all parts, but that good tenors are particularly hard to find. The Piedmont Chamber Singers includes about 30 members. (See www.piedmontchambersingers.org for information on auditions.)
Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings for a couple of hours. There will be three concerts next season: "A Garland for the Queen" (Oct. 15); "A Garland of Carols" (Dec. 10); and "A Garland of Hope: Cantatas of Bach & Britten" (May 14-15, 2012).
Looker said audiences can expect everything from Renaissance fare to pieces accompanied by orchestra. But most of the music will be unaccompanied — a response to budget constraints.
The group has an operating budget of $45,775. The money comes primarily from contributions ($21,500), with the rest provided by the Arts Council of Winston-Salem, ticket sales and other grants.
Through much of the Osborne era, the organization had operating budgets in excess of $80,000. But in spring 2009, when the board of the Piedmont Chamber Singers opted not to renew Osborne's contract, an anonymous donor withdrew support. The benefactor had matched every dollar in patron donations and from ticket sales, grants and sponsorships.
"We're hurting because of it," Looker said. "We're in a stage of recovery financially. … We're doing a lot of brainstorming. (Another) angel certainly would not hurt."
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