![]() When I was four years old, my parents took me to see The Wizard of Oz at a movie theatre. I remember being transfixed by the young Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow.” Even at that young age, I realized that singing was what I wanted most to do! Thus, when I was five years old, my mother signed me up for Pre-choir at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Our teacher, Mrs. Pickering, taught us the rudiments of choral singing when we were in kindergarten and first grades. At age seven, I progressed to the Cecelian Choir, which covered second through sixth grades, and was taught by Mrs. Huey. At that time, Howard Swan was the Music Director at PPC, as well as the choral conductor at Occidental College. He organized large-scale pageants for Christmas and Easter in which the Cecelian Choir, the Boys’ Choir, the Crusader Choir (Jr. High and High School) and the Kirk Choir (adults) all participated. These were thrilling for me because they involved multiple choirs singing intricate music from various points in the sanctuary (somewhat like St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, or Westminster Abbey in London). I was hooked! At Pomona College I participated in the College Choir under William Russell, which performed great choral masterworks with orchestra, as well as with the Glee Club, which went on tour over semester break. Although my vocal studies veered into opera and musical theatre during graduate school at USC, I always retained a great love of choral music. After graduate school, I joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Roger Wagner, and sang for six years with this esteemed chorale before moving to San Luis Obispo in 1983. Although the major thrust of my musical career in San Luis Obispo concentrated on opera (Pacific Repertory Opera, now Opera SLO), I have continued to participate in multiple local choral groups including Vocal Arts Ensemble, SLO Master Chorale and the Mozart Festival Chorus. Founding and co-conducting Canzona Women’s Ensemble with Cricket, has been a most rewarding and appropriate “retirement project,” and brings me back to my roots -- the seeds of which were sown so many years ago! ~ Jill Anderson, Co-Artistic Director ![]() As a young teen growing up on the east coast, I was fortunate to be able to spend two summers at the Peabody Conservatory Junior music camp in northern Vermont. This was a 7-week adventure with 29 other teens in the rambling home on the grounds of the Lyndon State Teachers College. My days were filled with musicianship training, creative musical composition and lots of modern dance inspired by the great Martha Graham, since the founder’s two daughters both worked and studied with Graham in New York City. Each Saturday, we would climb one of the beautiful mountains of northern New England, starting with something modest and, weather-permitting, hike to the top of Mt. Washington on our final weekend! I credit those music-filled summers with my inspiration to study choral music in college and graduate school. American composer Ron Nelson was our composer-in-residence, and I still remember singing his Three Mountain Ballads under his direction. Many years later in 2010, Jill and I programmed two of them on our premiere concert, joining our voices with the girls of the Central Coast Youth Chorus directed by Melody Svennungsen. It was a joy for me to share those pieces that I had loved as a teenager. As Canzona prepares to begin our 14th season, I view the summer months as my opportunity to dive into repertoire and once again become an adventurer! I try to discover something new each day, and revel in the abundance of resources available now, with women’s choirs from all over the world posting their musical selections online. I have my stack of index cards already piling up on my desk and can’t wait to share my ideas with Jill, recognizing that we might have enough set aside for the next 10 years of concerts! Rest assured that I do get outside, although mountain-climbing is not something I do regularly. I hope to see you at our fall concert on November 6th, and wish you a summer filled with your own adventures. ~Cricket Handler, Co-Artistic Director |