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Provide a brief <br />description of your <br />pre-pandemic core <br />arts-related <br />programming or <br />offerings. <br />VOICES produces 5-6 unique choral programs each year to collective <br />audiences of about 1,500 in Orange County, and provides choral <br />ensembles for events in the Triangle on request. We hire local <br />instrumental musicians to accompany each program. Programs <br />reflect our mission – in addition to classical choral repertoire, we <br />offer music from diverse cultures and periods that highlight works by <br />contemporary and local composers including new commissions and <br />national or regional premieres. For example, in December 2018 <br />Voices brought composer and professor Kevin Johnson from <br />Spelman College in Atlanta with senior student Clarke Brown to <br />present four major pieces in gospel style, including two movements <br />from “Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration.” In May 2019 Voices <br />brought composer Kevin Padworski for the regional premiere of his <br />work “Reflections on a Mexican Garden.” Voices presented <br />Honneger’s “Une Cantate de Noël” with full orchestra in collaboration <br />with the North Carolina Boys and Girls Choirs in December 2019. <br />Cantari was slated to present an all-Brasilian concert on March 21, <br />2020, featuring Bahian native composer Caique Vidal accompanied <br />by his drumming ensemble. VOICES also commissions major choral <br />works including Walker’s “Together in Song” and the current work in <br />progress to Todd Coleman, “Having Seen Afar Off” intended for May <br />2020. <br />VOICES serves amateur adult singers (ages 18-87) who can’t imagine <br />life without the joy of singing! Our members live in Chapel Hill, <br />Carrboro and greater Orange County (80%), Durham County (15%), <br />and Wake and Alamance (5%). Since 2015, VOICES rosters have <br />included nearly 400 unique individuals. Seniors comprise <br />approximately 30% of Voices and 12% of Cantari while graduate <br />students comprise about 10% of each group. <br />Historically, VOICES serves a wide audience demographic, especially <br />seniors. Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents comprised 48% of <br />respondents to audience surveys collected in December 2017 and <br />March 2018. Seniors made up 60% of Voices and 40% of Cantari <br />attendees (2018-19 data). These data, scheduled to be updated at <br />Spring 2020 concerts, will be gathered as soon as current restrictions <br />on concerts are lifted. <br />VOICES regularly offers discounts on block ticket purchases to area <br />senior communities and arranges priority seating with escorts into <br />our concert venues. For the 2020-21 season VOICES had made <br />agreements to expand audience engagement activities. Our objective <br />was to increase accessibility to our programs for a more ethnically <br />and economically diverse audience by providing free tickets to <br />Seniors at Orange County senior centers and to music and art <br />students at East Chapel Hill High School. A music composition <br />workshop with instrumental and vocal students at ECHHS with our <br />guest composer was also arranged. VOICES is looking forward to <br />implementing these arrangements in the 2021-22 season. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: C98A761A-0DA8-4BBF-83ED-372E91635D47