Kickstarter

                            THE CHAGRIN FALLS ALUMNI CHORUS

                     BE A PART OF THE 2012 CFHS MOLLIE MACKNIN
                   ALUMNI CHORUS CONCERT AND CD PRODUCTION

     On Saturday, May 26, 2012 - "Blossom Time Saturday", the Chagrin Falls High School Alumni Chorus will perform its third Memorial Day Program at the Performing Arts Center at Chagrin Falls High School, with an expanded program and world-renowned guest artists.
     The first concert, in May , 2010, the Chagrin Falls High School alumni chorus presented a quality, entertaining, and educational program to commemorate the spirit of Memorial Day together with the musical legacy of the Chagrin Falls high school choirs. The concert, free and open to the public in order to encourage community participation (especially for those unable to attend the Memorial Day observance held in the Civil War section of Evergreen Cemetery presented by the current High School choir following the Memorial Day parade on Monday), was well received by our audience and fulfilling for the performers.
     In 2011, the event was moved to the Performing Arts Center on the high school campus, which was a much more professional (and costly) venue. The Performing Arts Center boasts seating for 500,with professional lighting and sound. The 2011 program was very similar to the debut show, but word of mouth and more promotion brought a larger audience. The program consisted of the singing of The National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, an abbreviated recitation of the Patrick Henry "Liberty or Death" speech and the Gettysburg Address. The presentation "Molly Goes To War" brought the cherished memory of those WWII veterans from Chagrin Falls into our midst, and the folding of the flag by former classmates moved the audience deeply. Costs for the 2011 program were covered by donations and support from the Chagrin Falls Alumni Association.
     This year, the chorus will present the third annual concert (still free of charge) with new horizons in mind. The program is expanded, guest artists have been invited, and the plan is to record and distribute CDs of the performance.  We will look back to where it all began for so many of us in the person of Mrs. Mollie Macknin - our former music teacher, choir director, mentor and friend. During her tenure at Chagrin Schools from 1968-1984, Mrs. Macknin introduced her many students to the joy of choral music. In this spirit and looking forward, we have decided that this concert - and this chorus - will be dedicated to the efforts and hard work invested by Mrs. Macknin and will officially become the Chagrin Falls High School Mollie Macknin Alumni Chorus.
     In celebrating Mrs. Macknin and her career, we have invited two of her former students who have gone on to make their careers in music to perform with us: Tina Shafer (CFHS'74) singer/songwriter/vocal coach, and Steffanie Pearce (CFHS'76) international operatic soprano. Please see bios and credits on both artists below.
     We estimate the cost of the 2012 concert to be approximately $5,000.00 - our fund raising goal. A partial list of estimated expenses includes:

$2,000.00: auditorium/equipment rental and professional staff;
$1,000.00: honorarium and transportation for professional performers;
$1,000.00: CD production and distribution; photographic production and distribution;
$1,000.00: programs; posters; post concert reception;

All funds generated by this campaign will be used exclusively to cover the cost of the concert.
A full financial disclosure of all disbursements will be made available to the public sometime in the month of August 2012.

This is a very unique gathering treasured by performers and audience alike.

     Thank you very much - in advance, for your interest and involvement. 

                                         SEE YOU "IN THE FALLS"

AS THE ALUMNI CHORUS CONCERT IS SPONSORED BY THE CHAGRIN FALLS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (501-c3) ALL OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE TO THIS PROJECT ARE TAX EXEMPT.

PLEASE CONSIDER BEING A FINANCIAL PARTICIPANT IN MAKING THIS WORTHWHILE EVENT POSSIBLE AND TO PRESERVE IT ON CD FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION AND FOR PLACEMENT IN THE TOM MATTERN HISTORICAL ROOM. 

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------STEFFANIE PEARCE, soprano 
Born in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Steffanie Pearce grew up singing everything from folk to classical music. Her formal studies started at the Cleveland Institue of Music and finished at The U.of So. California "Opera Workshop". She has won the Pavarotti Competition, Montreal International, D’Angelo, Baltimore Opera and the American Traditions competition among others. On the opera stage she is most noted for distinctive portrayals of tragic heroines including: Tosca, Violetta, Leonora, Marguerite, Donna Anna, Mimi, and the Three Heroins of Tales of Hoffman.. She has been a guest artist with many opera companies including; Opera de Marseille, Opera Lisboa, Opera Colorado, The Opera Co. of Philadelphia , Pittsburgh Opera Theater, San Diego Opera, The Buxton Festival in England, Baltimore Opera, Opera Delaware, New Jersey Opera Festival and has been a featured artist in many European and US tours with Teatro Lyrico d’Europe.
Equally at home on the concert stage, she has performed the Strauss 4 Last Songs and Carmina Burana with The Montreal Symphony. Miss Pearce is a frequent guest of the Lexington Philharmonic and has sung Gorecki’s Symphony No.3, Villa-Lobos Bachiana No. 5 and this season, Mahler’s 4th Symphony with them. Her oratorio repertoire is extensive and she has appeared as a soloist at many famous theaters including: Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Hollywood Bowl, The Dorothy Chandler, The Academy of Music, Blossom Music Festival, Marlborough Music Festival and many others.
Now a resident of Naples, Florida, Miss Pearce is the Founding Director of Opera Naples, Southwest Florida’s first profession regional opera company. 
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TINA SHAFER, singer, songwriter, vocal coach                                             History of The New York Songwriterʼs Circle /SongCirclemusic:
Singer Songwriter/vocal coach Tina Shafer, started hosting and booking the New York Songwriterʼs Circle in 1991 at the legendary Bitter End in NYC. At first Tina called upon some of her writing friends to do shows in the round: George David Weiss, Steven Dorff, Albert Hammond, Chuck Taylor, Siedah Garrett, Gary Burr, Hugh Prestwood, Big and Rich, Lana Del Rey and Gavin DeGraw ... later she decided to incorporate young talent as well.
Tina is also a seasoned performer having opened for Suzanne Vega, sung with Phoebe Snow, John Oates, Marc Cohn, Gary Burr and Gavin DeGraw to name a few.
Tinaʼs discography:
  Love is on the Way, a song featured on Celine Dion’s 33-million-selling album “Letʼs Talk About Love” and the centerpiece song for Bette Midlerʼs $100-million grossing film“The First Wives Club”
· Flower in The Rain, sung by Sheena Easton and theme song for the new “Outer Limits” tv series
· The Way That you Love Me- written with Albert Hammond for “Days of Our Lives”
Some of the talent that has come through the Songwriterʼs Circle over the past 18 years:
· Multi -platinum selling artist Vanessa Carlton
· Grammy award winning artist Norah Jones
Tinaʼs vocal students, present and past
· Avril Lavigne
· Vanessa Carlton
· Jamie Lynn Sigler
· Gabe Saporta
· Ducan Cummings
· Friday Night Boys
· Charlotte Sometimes
· Jesse Harris
· Lana Del Rey
· CABB Abigail Breslin and Cassidy Reif