Singers in Accord Choral Ensemble was created in 2009. It is uniquely organized as a singer-led choral ensemble dedicated to enriching lives and building community through the power of choral music. The group collaborates with a new conductor, performing artist, or artistic ensemble in each concert to create distinctive concert experiences for its singers and audience members. Singers in Accord strives to enrich the cultural life of the community through outreach, education and innovative performances. Singers in Accord is a 501c3 non-profit corporation.
The ensemble was originally founded in 1996 as World Voices by Dr. Karle Erickson, Artistic Director . At each of its concerts, World Voices focused on the music of a particular culture or region of the world. In 2009, the board of directors of World Voices turned leadership of the organization to a new board made up of six singers from World Voices. The new board changed the name of the ensemble to Singers in Accord and changed its artistic model to one of inviting different conductors to collaborate with the singers as artistic partners to create each concert program. Since 2009, Singers in Accord has worked with 13 different conductors.
Dr. Angela Broeker, Director of Choral Activities at the University of St. Thomas, said this about Singers in Accord:
"The ensemble model first brought to the United States was from Europe, where kings and queens and various other heads of state built top-down hierarchical models that contained a single leader responsible for structure and policy. But here in the United States, where our country is based on shared governance, doesn't it make sense to have a choral ensemble where singers take ownership? You've created an ensemble hungry for varied approaches to the choral art, an ensemble committed to collaborations, and an ensemble always open to the sharing of new ideas. A forward-looking ensemble committed to 21st-century values!"
Singers in Accord has no paid staff but is run by singer / Team Leaders who also function as its board. The eight teams which lead the organization are: Artistic, Concert Planning, Marketing, Process Control, Technology, Financial, Fund Raising, and Administration.
Listen to recordings from past concerts
The Singers in Accord ensemble
Erin Appel
Patti Arntz
Amy Christie
Stephanie Eckhoff
Gloria Fredkove
Jan LeClair
Penny Meier
Laurie Meyers
Becky Pansch
Melani Schwartz
Schele Smith
Yi Fang "Clare" Tan
Kim Wetteland
Sarah Weyers
Alto:
Sarah Appleget Harris
Cierra Buckner
Linda Burk
Jessie Clausen
Monica Degeneffe
Rosalie Eldevik
Meghan Gilpin
Diane Hilscher
Megan Pamperin
Jennie Schut
Madeline Smoot
Sheri Williams
Stephanie Young-Teske
Jamie Anderson
Michael Atherton
Mike Devine
Mark Eckhoff
Ryan Ecklund
Isaiah Hollman
Hunter Illsley
Jay Johnson
Jordan Kleist
Jim Norquist
PAUL THEISEN
Ken Williams
Bass:
Dan Digre
David Erickson
Daniel Gebur
Neil Goldsmith
John Hatlestad
Michael Karlsrud
Jordan McGowan
Paul Nevin
Dana Skoglund
Jonah Snyder
Dylen Wetteland
Scott Witebsky