United Cultural Fund grants total $228,000 for 2013

By Barb Van Atta

Broome County Arts Council Board Chairman Fred Xlander and Executive Director Sharon Ball today (March 13) announced the awarding of more than $228,000 in United Cultural Fund (UCF) grants for 2013. Seven arts and cultural organizations will share in $210,428 in UCF general operating support grants. Project grants totaling another $18,298 will be shared by 14 organizations and individual artists.

Crabb funeral arrangements complete

A funeral service for Binghamton Downtown Singers co-founder Alan C. Crabb will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday (Sept. 22) at Christ Episcopal Church, 187 Washington St., Binghamton, with the Rev. Stephen Heiss officiating. Heiss is pastor of Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Binghamton, which in recent years has been the rehearsal home of the Downtown Singers.

The family will receive friends from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday (Sept. 21) at the Barber Memorial Home Inc., 428 Main St., Johnson City.

Crabb died Sept. 15. Here’s a link to his complete Press & Sun-Bulletin obituary, which was published this morning (Sept. 20): http://tinyurl.com/cxpldka. The BAMirror obituary below is followed by many comments from his friends and fellow musicians.

— Barb Van Atta

Downtown Singers co-founder Alan Crabb dies in Pa. hospital

Alan Crabb

By Barb Van Atta

Alan C. Crabb, Artistic Director and co-founder of the Binghamton Downtown Singers, died Saturday morning (Sept. 15) at University of Philadelphia Hospital, of multiple complications following heart surgery. He was 70. Funeral arrangements are pending at Barber Memorial Home in Johnson City.

A gifted singer, he was well-known in both local and national music circles. As a conductor, he was commended for his ability to inspire the musicians under his baton to the highest levels of musical excellence.

Crabb, a graduate of the Crane School of Music (SUNY-Potsdam), appeared with many of the major orchestras of North America, including those of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, St. Louis, Denver, Seattle, San Antonio, New Jersey, and Vancouver, Canada, as well as in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In addition to his symphonic and oratoria work, he was, for many years, a well-regarded operatic tenor, performing locally with Tri-Cities Opera and also with the Syracuse, Pittsburgh and other companies. His affiliation with Tri-Cities Opera began in the late 1960s as chorus master, and, during the 1970s, he sang leading roles from lyric (Rodolfo in La Boheme) to heroic (Manrico in Il Trovatore).