Cappella Romana Inc

MUSICAL PERFORMANCES FOR THE PUBLIC.

AS ONE OF THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL CHAMBER CHOIRS IN NORTH AMERICA BOTH BY BUDGET AND ACTIVITY LEVEL, CAPPELLA ROMANA AIMS TO BE THE PREEMINENT GLOBAL PROPONENT OF EARLY AND CONTEMPORARY VOCAL MUSIC INSPIRED BY BYZANTIUM, RUSSIA, AND WESTERN EUROPE. FOUNDED BY MUSIC DIRECTOR ALEXANDER LINGAS IN 1991, ITS HIGHLY FOCUSED PROGRAMS OFFER A GLIMPSE OF THE TRANSCENDENT IN VOCAL ART, MADE POSSIBLE BY DEEP, ORIGINAL MUSICOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH. REACHING MORE AUDIENCES EACH YEAR AND ACCLAIMED RECENTLY IN GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE ("A SOUND WORLD OF UNIQUE BEAUTY"), THE PORTLAND, OREGON BASED ENSEMBLE PRESENTS A WEST COAST CONCERT SERIES (PORTLAND, SEATTLE, AND SAN FRANCISCO) AS ITS MAIN PROGRAM OFFERING. COLLABORATIONS WITH PEERS, SUCH AS PORTLAND ART MUSEUM, PORTLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRA, AND THIRD ANGLE NEW MUSIC, REACH BROAD AUDIENCES, AS DO ITS REGIONAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL TOURS. CAPPELLA'S RECENT INTERNATIONAL TOURS INCLUDE PERFORMANCES IN THE NETHERLANDS, ROMANIA, HUNGARY, SERBIA, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM AND NATIONAL TOURS INCLUDE PERFORMANCES IN WASHINGTON (DC), MINNEAPOLIS, SACRAMENTO, SAN FRANCISCO, ST. LOUIS (MO), LINCOLN (NE), NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, AND SEATTLE. CAPPELLA RECORDS (CAPPELLA ROMANA'S OWN RECORD LABEL) NOW HAS 26 RELEASED RECORDINGS, WHICH ARE DISTRIBUTED BY NAXOS OF AMERICA, AND ITS RECENT RELEASE OF THE ST. TIKHON CHOIR GARNERED A GRAMMY NOMINATION. CAPPELLA ROMANA WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST ADOPTERS OF THE REGIONAL ARTS & CULTURE COUNCIL'S ARTS FOR ALL PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM, BEGUN IN 2007, BENEFITS CITIZENS IN THE PORTLAND METROPOLITAN AREA ON FOOD ASSISTANCE (SNAP). ANY HOLDER OF AN OREGON TRAIL (SNAP) CARD MAY PURCHASE 5 TICKETS TO ANY CAPPELLA ROMANA CONCERT. THE REGULAR MARKET-RATE FOR TICKETS RANGE FROM 22 TO 80. SNAP CREDIT IS NOT USED FOR PURCHASING TICKETS. THE ARTS FOR ALL PROGRAM ENABLES LOWER INCOME INDIVIDUALS TO EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY OF CAPPELLA ROMANA'S MUSICAL PERFORMANCE, IN PERSON, AT A FRACTION OF THE REGULAR PRICE. CAPPELLA ROMANA CONCERTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, COLOR, ETHNIC ORIGIN, GENDER, RELIGION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR DISABILITY. WE WILL NOT TURN SOMEONE AWAY FOR THE LACK OF ABILITY TO PAY. CAPPELLA ROMANA ALSO PROVIDES ITS RECORDINGS WITHOUT CHARGE TO THE NONPROFIT ALL CLASSICAL PORTLAND RADIO STATION TO ENSURE THAT THE GREATER COMMUNITY CAN EXPERIENCE OUR LIVE PERFORMANCES AND RECORDINGS. ALL CLASSICAL'S LISTENERSHIP IS OVER 150,000. CAPPELLA ROMANA ALSO OFFERS FREE RECITALS OF ITS MUSICAL PROGRAM FOR THE PUBLIC AS A GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY, IN PERFORMANCES SUCH AS AT THE GROTTO'S CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AND AT PORTLAND'S GREEK FESTIVAL EACH OCTOBER. CAPPELLA ROMANA HAS ALSO PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE IN HOSPITALS, WITH A SET OF HOLIDAY CAROLS FOR CHRONICALLY ILL PATIENTS THERE, AND FOR WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS IN ITS COMMUNITY. DURING THE PANDEMIC, ADDITIONAL FREE PERFORMANCES WERE BROADCAST ONLINE AND AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE. PROGRAM ACTIVITY IN FY21 BEGINNING IN MARCH 2020, CAPPELLA ROMANA PIVOTED FROM IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES TO ONLINE OFFERINGS. AT THE TIME OF THE LOCKDOWN THAT MONTH, CR WAS PREPARING TCHAIKOVSKY'S DIVINE LITURGY FOR LIVE CONCERTS TWO DAYS LATER, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PACIFIC YOUTH CHOIR. THE PYC WAS UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE, SO INSTEAD OUR 16-MEMBER PROFESSIONAL ENSEMBLE PERFORMED BEFORE AN ON-LINE AUDIENCE OF OVER 65,000 WORLDWIDE (9,953 IN OREGON). SUBSEQUENTLY, WE OFFERED ONLINE INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION PANELS: 1) WOMEN IN SACRED CHANT, 2) THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE AND ORTHODOX MUSIC, AND 3) THE USE OF CHANT AND CHORAL MUSIC AND ENGLISH AND HERITAGE LANGUAGES IN ORTHODOX CONTEXTS. THE FIRST PANEL FEATURED FEMALE LATIN AND GREEK CHANT SPECIALISTS, WITH KOREAN AMERICAN ANNA SONG AND PHOTINI DOWNIE ROBINSON, BOTH FROM PORTLAND, AND DR. SEVI MAZERA-MAMALI FROM ATHENS, GREECE. THE SECOND ESPECIALLY FEATURED DR. SHAWN WALLACE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF JAZZ STUDIES AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, COMPOSER OF A GOSPEL ORTHODOX VESPERS. THE THIRD PRESENTED DOROTHY BERRY, AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOLAR-MUSICIAN FROM HARVARD, AND KEVIN LAWRENCE, COMPOSER FROM THE UNIV. OF NC, WHOSE MUSIC HAS BEEN SUNG AT THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ASSEMBLY IN ZIMBABWE. THESE PANELS SET THE STAGE FOR NEW PROJECTS ON WOMEN IN ORTHODOX MUSIC, AND A MAJOR FESTIVAL ON THE BLACK EXPERIENCE OF ORTHODOX MUSIC, ALREADY PLANNED FOR 2023-24. IN COLLABORATION WITH ANIMA MUNDI PRODUCTIONS (ASHLAND), CR OFFERED A NEW FILM OF OREGON LANDSCAPES ON ROBERT KYR'S ENVIRONMENTAL ORATORIO A TIME FOR LIFE, REACHING OVER 500 IN OREGON. OUR RECORD LABEL CAPPELLA RECORDS RELEASED THREE NEW TITLES, INCLUDING HYMNS OF KASSIAN. KASSIAN IS THE OLDEST KNOWN FEMALE COMPOSER IN THE WORLD WHOSE MUSIC SURVIVES (9TH C., 3 CENTURIES BEFORE HILDEGARD). WE ALSO RELEASED TWO DISCS BY THE ST. TIKHON CHOIR, WHICH RESULTED IN CAPPELLA RECORDS' FIRST GRAMMY NOMINATION. IN DECEMBER 2020 WE REACHED 8,576 WITH "CHRISTMAS WITH CAPPELLA ROMANA," A VIDEO CREATED WITH OUR COVID-TESTED SINGERS LIVING IN A BUBBLE, PRIOR TO VACCINATIONS, INCLUDING EMOTIONAL INTERVIEWS WITH CR SINGERS. SAMA (SEATTLE SACRED MUSIC AND ARTS), A NATIONAL PROGRAM EXPLORING MUSIC OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS, PRESENTED TWO PROGRAMS ON CR, REACHING OVER 25,000 EACH. CR ALSO RE-RELEASED A FULL CONCERT FILM OF "LOST VOICES OF HAGIA SOPHIA" MADE AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY'S BING HALL, FOLLOWING ITS NAMESAKE RECORDING'S 44 WEEKS ON THE BILLBOARD CHART. WE ALSO LICENSED 27 TRACKS TO MOHAWK GAMES, CREATOR OF "OLD WORLD," A VIDEO GAME WITH ENVIRONMENTS IN BYZANTIUM. AS WELL AS GENERATING REVENUE FOR CR, THIS BRINGS OUR MUSIC TO YOUNGER AUDIENCES THROUGH A FAMILIAR MEDIUM (80,000 USERS). PC GAMER NAMED "OLD WORLD" THE BEST STRATEGY GAME OF 2021, AND MOHAWK HAS PUBLISHED A SPOTIFY LIST WITH ALL CR TRACKS LISTED. WE ARE ALSO LICENSING TRACKS FOR AN AUDIO GUIDE FOR THE ST. NICHOLAS SHRINE, THE CHURCH REBUILT NEXT TO THE 9/11 MEMORIAL IN NEW YORK. IN FY21 WE PLANNED TO RETURN TO THE RECORDING STUDIO TO CREATE FOUR NEW TITLES: 1) HEAVEN AND EARTH (SEE DESCRIPTION ABOVE); 2) THE FUNERAL SERVICE BY JOHN MICHAEL BOYER; 3) PANIKHIDA ("MEMORIAL") BY JOHN TAVENER; AND 4) "ODES OF REPENTANCE," WITH MUSIC BY ARVO PRT, WHICH WILL BE RELEASED IN THE FOLLOWING TWO YEARS. WE ALSO COMPLETED THE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS FOR CAPPELLA ROMANA'S FIRST IN-PERSON PERFORMANCE SINCE 2020 - A CONCERT AT THE UTRECHT EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL IN THE NETHERLANDS, THE LARGEST EVENT OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD. LIKEWISE IN FY21 WE LAUNCHED THE FIRST IN-PERSON SUBSCRIPTION SERIES SINCE 2019, TO INCLUDE IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR THESE PROGRAMS, OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY SERIES: 1) A COVID REQUIEM, IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO HAVE DIED OF COVID-19 (NAMES SUBMITTED BY PATRONS); 2) THE DIVINE LITURGY BY BENEDICT SHEEHAN (W/GRAMMY-NOMINATED CD); )3 A BYZANTINE EMPEROR AT KING HENRY'S COURT (BYZANTINE CHANT AT CHRISTMASTIME IN LONDON IN THE YEAR 1400), 4) KANON OF REPENTANCE BY ARVO PRT; AND 5) FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO CALIFORNIA: GREEK WORKS ANCIENT AND MODERN. WE ALSO PLANNED TO PRESENT GUEST ARTISTS THE TALLIS SCHOLARS AND COLLABORATE WITH PORTLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRA FOR ITS ANNUAL CONCERTS OF HANDEL'S MESSIAH.