Encore’s Fifth Annual Institutes at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the Chautauqua Institution are set:

The St. Mary’s College of Maryland Institute will be June 19-23, 2012. In addition to the traditional Choral Institute, this year Encore will be adding Band, Theatre and Dance Tracks. The band program will be under the direction of Dr. Roy Ernst, founder of the New Horizons International Music Association, New Horizons has “199 and counting” groups, mostly bands, across the U.S. and internationally.

The Dance Track will be under the direction of Shula Strassfeld of Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, MD. Shula conducted the Dance Track at Chautauqua in August, 2011 to rave reviews.

As always, the Choral Track will be conducted by Encore Founder and Executive Director Jeanne Kelly. Co-conducting this year will be Krystal Rickard McCoy, director of Encore’s Southern Maryland Chorale and St. Maries Musica.

Encore returns to the Chautauqua Institution for the fifth time August 27-31, 2012. As in 2011, the Institute will include Choral, Theatre and Dance Tracks.

The Choral Track will be co-conducted by Jeanne Kelly and Barry Talley, retired Director of Music Activities at the United States Naval Academy.

Dr. Stuart Kandell, Founder of Stagebridge Theatre in Oakland, California, and David Barnet, professor of theatre at University of Alberta, Canada, will again conduct the Theatre Track, while Shula Strassfeld will return to conduct the Dance program.

For more complete information, or to register for St. Mary's download a brochure and registration form here.  The Chautauqua brochure and registration form is downloadable here.

If you prefer to register online (Encore will send you an invoice), CLICK HERE to register for St. Mary's.  CLICK HERE to register for Chautauqua.

Read about the 2011 Encore Institute at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and view photos HERE.

Read about the 2011 Encore Institute at the Chautauqua Institution HERE.

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Join Encore Chorale for a fantastic “Singing at Sea” voyage May 15, 2013,  sailing from Normandy to Paris, France on board the luxurious Grand Circle river boat Bizet.  We will be touring the Normandy Beaches, Honfleur, Rouen, Giverny, Auvers-Sur-Oise, and on to Paris.  Singers will be performing in two towns along the way. Included in this exclusive discovery series are a Paris cruise, introduction to Impressionism, a French cooking demonstration and language lesson,  home-hosted visit, French gourmet tasting, painting lesson, cheese-tasting, and the Caen Peace Memorial Museum.  Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!

Singers who are not currently singing with Encore Chorales will receive music via mail and will be expected to know the music at performance level when they arrive in France.    We will have some rehearsal time on board the Bizet.

Encore goes international!   Come join us.

Download an informational flier HERE or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details and reservation information.

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In addition to the existing eleven DC/MD/VA area chorales, Encore Creativity for Older Adults is pleased to introduce two new programs, dance, and theatre, for older adults 55+ at Asbury Solomons, Solomons, Maryland.  Encore is the nation’s largest and fastest growing choral program for older adults. Now we are expanding our array of programs with professional instructors, well established in their respective artistic fields.

Encore Chorales are open to all who love to rehearse and perform four part choral music.  Many of Encore's existing 500 Encore Chorale singers throughout the Washington/Baltimore area have sung their entire life or are coming back to what they love…..singing!  Singers rehearse weekly for fifteen weeks and then perform free community concerts in high profile venues such as the Kennedy Center and National Presbyterian Church.  Music for the spring will include Gilbert and Sullivan, Broadway, Americana and operetta.  Most of the Chorales are under the direction of Encore's Executive Director, Jeanne Kelly.  The Asbury Solomons Chorale is directed by Krystal Rickard McCoy; Springfield is directed by Robert Rudolph.

At Asbury Solomons, Encore offer a creative, dynamic movement class especially for people who like to dance, of all levels age 55 and over. If you took ballet as a child, if you’ve never danced a step in your life, if you think you have not two but three left feet, or if you’ve been dancing all your life, come join us for 90 minutes of fun-exploring movement, embodying your stories, creating dance.   Shula Strassfeld, known throughout the country for her innovative modern dance teaching, will be the instructor.

Michelle Freire will bring innovative theatre for older adults to Asbury Solomons.   “Anyone Can Act” is for those who have always thought they have a flair for the dramatic!  This class invites you to explore the fundamentals of the craft of acting.  In a playful, non-competitive  environment, students will engage in exercises to explore concepts such as focus, trust, observation, vocal production, and physicality and use their skills to create characters.  The class will culminate in a presentation of short scenes or monologues.  No experience necessary and line memorization is optional.

“Doing the Improv-Able”  is an improvisation class, or acting without a script. It’s lots of fun but isn’t as simple as just “making it up as you go along.”  Comedy improvisation (such as what you see on TV shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway” requires attention to detail so that people, places, and situations you create are believable and hilarious. The class will culminate in a presentation of your own comedy improv show.   No experience necessary and memorization is not required.

Encore Winter-Spring  Schedule Details (15 week semester unless otherwise indicated)

Day/Start	Program	Tuition	Time	Location
Thursday Jan 12	Chorale	Contact Myerberg	10:30-12:00	Myerberg Senior Center, Baltimore, MD
Friday Jan 13	Chorale	Residents Only	10:30-12:00	Goodwin House Alexandria, VA
Friday Jan 13	Chorale	Residents Only	1:00-2:30	Goodwin House Baileys Crossroads, VA
Tuesday Jan 17	Theatre - Anyone Can Act	$150/10 Weeks	1:00-2:30	Asbury-Solomons Island Retirement Community
Tuesday Jan 17	Theatre - Improv	$150/10 Weeks	3:00-4:30	Asbury-Solomons Island Retirement Community
Tuesday Jan 17	Chorale	$140	11:00-12:30	Potomac Academy/ The Woodlands, Fairfax, VA
Tuesday Jan 17	Chorale	$140	2:00-3:30	Langston-Brown Senior Center, Arlington, VA
Tuesday Jan 17	Chorale	Contact Laurel Lake	3:00-4:15	Laurel Lake, Hudson, OH
Wednesday Jan 18	Chorale	Contact Smithsonian	10:30-Noon	Smithsonian. Washington, DC
Wednesday Jan 18	Chorale	$140	1:30-3:00	Messiah UMC, Springfield, VA
Thursday Jan 19	Dance/ Movement	$140/10 Weeks	9:00-10:30	Asbury-Solomons Island Retirement Community
Thursday Jan 19	Chorale	$140	11:00-12:30	Asbury-Solomons Island Retirement Community
Thursday Jan 19	Chorale	$160	1:30-3:00	Washington Conservatory at Glen Echo, MD
Monday Jan 23	Chorale	$140	10:30-Noon	Schweinhaut Senior Center, Silver Spring, MD
Monday Jan 23	Chorale	Contact AACC	2:00-3:30	Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, MD

Please contact Encore at 301-261-5747  Email:    This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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The Encore Chorale Holiday Concert season of 2011 began with a rousing concert at Anne Arundel Community College Pascal Center for Performing Arts on Friday, December 9 at 7:30pm, presenting Encore Chorales from Myerberg, AACC and our newest chorale from Southern Maryland. Ninety singers wowed their enthusiastic audience with a confident and excellent choral sound. The singers looked sophisticated with the ladies in elegant black and the men in dark suits and white shirts with great festive holiday ties.

The repertoire for all the Encore Holiday Concerts included It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Eddie Pola and George Wyle Sing We Now of Christmas, arranged by Kevin McChesney, All on a Cold Winter’s Night by Douglas E. Wagner,a melody based on the Greensleeves, S’vivon (The Dreidl) by Darmon Meader, Brendan Graham’s Christmas Pipes, Christmas a la Fa La La by Jay Althaus, and the highlight of the evening, Variations on Jingle Bells by John Pierpont, arranged for the Turtle Creek Chorale. The concert closed with the Hallelujah Chorus by G.F.Handel.

The singers sang with a full warm, ringing tone that filled the concert hall.   Their diction was precise and their stage presence was elegant. And when it came time to deliver personality in Christmas A La Fa La La and Jingle Bells, they were hilarious.  The audience showed their appreciation with long applause.

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Family & Nursing Care, Inc., the area's leading and most highly regarded resource for private duty home care, has partnered with Encore to support our Encore Chorale program. Through the partnership, Family & Nursing Care will support programs for more than 200 Maryland Encore Chorale singers to practice and present at concerts throughout the Washington, DC area. Family & Nursing Care has partnered with Encore to sponsor upcoming Holiday 2011 and Spring 2012 Maryland Chorale Concerts. This partnership will allow for increased access to artistic opportunities for older adults.

“Our decision to sponsor Encore Chorale’s programs was an easy one,” said Neal Kursban, President of Family & Nursing Care. “Encore Chorale enables older adults to have an active and quality life, which is what Family & Nursing care strives to do every day with the clients we serve. Encore and Family & Nursing Care are clearly aligned in our goals for excellence and accessibility.”

“Both Encore and Family & Nursing Care enable older adults to maintain their quality of life and stay involved,” said Jeanne Kelly, President and Executive Director of Encore Creativity for Older Adults. “We are thrilled to have Family & Nursing Care’s support so that we may continue to grow our programs and make them available to an even wider audience of older adults.”

The free concerts being supported by Family & Nursing Care through the partnership include a concert on December 14, 2011 at the Friendship Heights Village Center, a winter concert on December 18, 2011 at the Montgomery College Cafritz Arts Center for more than 500 attendees, a concert at the Schweinhaut Senior Center in the Spring (date TBD) for more than 200 attendees and a concert at Glen Echo, also in Spring 2012 (date TBD).

Family & Nursing Care, family owned and operated since 1968, has long been recognized as the area’s leading and most highly regarded resource for private duty home care. They specialize in helping families maintain a balanced lifestyle by referring experienced caregivers who provide a range of personalized services that meet the individual needs of each client. Their hallmark is finding that special match between each client and caregiver. Service is provided in Maryland (ALL of Montgomery and Prince George's counties) and Washington, DC. Learn more at www.familynursingcare.com.

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