Binghamton Philharmonic presents masterful performance

Reviewed by Tony Villecco
The Binghamton Philharmonic, under the direction of Maestro Jose-Luis Novo, executed a powerful and emotionally charged presentation of Giuseppe Verdi’s monumental Requiem Sunday afternoon (Nov. 11) at Binghamton University’s Anderson Center.

BAMirror team moves into the spotlight

BAMirror contributors will be walking the walk as well as talking the talk over the next couple of weekends. Three of our regular reviewers (Lee Shepherd, Julian Shepherd and Tony Villecco) and Broome County Arts Council Executive Director Sharon Ball are all donning their performance hats.

Villecco, a tenor, will be featured in Nov. 17 in “Basically Baroque,” billed as “an evening of rare and not so rare vocal and musical selections from the 17^th and 18^thcenturies. Also performing will be Jeffrey Wahl, recorder; Madeleine Iannone, harpsichord, and Emily Creo, bass continuo.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at the Unitarian Church 183 Riverside Drive, Binghamton.

Cost at the door: $10 (senior citizens and students, $8). Information: (607) 727-3894.

Take five with Bruce Borton and the Madrigal Choir

EDITOR’S NOTE: After a months-long search for the perfect replacement for retiring founder and longtime director Anne Boyer Cotton, The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton — and its audience – last spring chose Bruce Borton, who is also the director of choral activities at Binghamton University. As the choir readies for the debut of the Borton era this weekend, we offer this quick “take five” interview, which author and choir member Therese Walsh had with Borton, focusing on the choir’s immediate and long-term future.

Precedent and prospect: A singer’s insight into Madrigal Choir’s new artistic director

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Frequent BAMirror reviewer and contributor David Schriber, who offers the following predictions for the Bruce Borton era of The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, sings with the choir and is on its board of directors. He also served on the search committee that recommended Borton to be the choir’s new artistic director.

By David L. Schriber

With the naming of a new artistic director, The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton begins a new era. How will Brue Borton put his own mark on Anne Boyer Cotten’s musical legacy to Greater Binghamton? What can the choir and its audience expect?

I have a good idea, for I have sung with Bruce Borton’s University Chorus for more than 20 years. It took me just one semester to realize I had by serendipity stumbled across the finest choral conductor in the area. Since that time, and especially more recently as I prepared to retire and joined several other choruses and have sung under several other conductors, nothing has changed that assessment. For many years I thought Borton was one of the best-kept musical secrets in Broome County, until the Broome County Arts Council awarded him a Heart of the Arts Award in 2008 for his contributions to music in our community.

Before coming to Binghamton, Borton was a member of and conducting assistant with the late Robert Shaw’s Atlanta Symphony Chorus. One of Borton’s treasured possessions is the autographed poster that hangs in his office. Much of the wisdom of “Mister Shaw,” as Borton refers to him with reverence, lives on in this unpretentious man from Illinois. One thing Madrigal Choir singers will certainly learn from Borton is Shaw’s theory and philosophy of choral blending. Yes, I know, Bruce; Shaw never liked the term “blend,” but that’s what the rest of us call it. It’s all about how you shape your mouth and throat and where you place the sound in the resonating cavity. A lifelong learner, Borton continues regular attendance at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association.

Borton’s warm-up exercises are more than stretching the vocal chords to avoid voice strain. Besides tonal quality, they teach pitch control, accurate intervals, and rhythm. Borton is one of those people who can beat 3/4 time on one knee while beating 4/4 time on the other. His well-equipped toolbag of warm-up and rehearsal techniques, tips, and tricks has had its own ripple effect upon the dozen or so music teachers who sing at any given time in University Chorus, including our daughter’s high school chorus teacher at the time.

A vast command of repertoire across all periods and genres enables Borton to offer creative and entertaining programming, such as his guest concert with The Madrigal Choir in October 2009 with music from five centuries, all based on texts of William Shakespeare, and featuring collaboration with guest instrumentalists and actors.

Borton always prefers performing a piece in its original language (with full text translated to English in the concert program for comprehension). This will be a good fit for The Madrigal Choir, among whose members are many foreign language skills. It should also be appreciated in our community, which treasures its many ethnic traditions.

It’s likely that Borton, who directs BU’s own biennial Madrigal Feaste, will continue Anne Boyer Cotten’s unique traditions such as the biennial costumed Ceremony and Celebration for Twelfth Night. Borton will remember and respect where this choir has come from, even as he brings fresh and new ideas of his own. He has made singing an important part of my life and a source of enjoyment and satisfaction, of celebration and even consolation. His personable style will give cohesive leadership that will knit The Madrigal Choir even tighter together. He will bring constructive challenges to stretch singers and audience alike in a manner that is pleasing and widening of horizons.