Singing with ACA
The Ames Chamber Artists is a community choir made of up singers representing many ages, educational levels, vocational areas, and musical backgrounds. We are happy to invite others to join us in presenting high-quality performances of interesting music.
ACA typically presents at least two full programs of music, one in December and one in May. Rehearsals start near the first of September and the first of January respectively. We rehearse for a bit less than two hours every Thursday evening. Twice for each program, we’ll meet for a few hours on a Saturday morning; the first early on to really hammer out the new music and share a pot-luck brunch, the second near our first full concert to fine-tune.
For each program there are usually several performances. We present our own concert with members of the choir handling all the details (marketing, booking a venue, selling tickets, etc.). Prior to our Ames concert performance, we like to arrange to present our program in a neighboring community. This performance is considered a dress rehearsal and, rather than ticket sales, might include a free will offering. In addition, we enjoy working with other choirs so at various points during the season we may appear as guests of another group presenting a few of our pieces, and where possible, joining together on a piece or two.
Some years we will do a special program in addition to these, such as the Bluegrass Mass with Monroe Crossing from Minnesota and the Iowa State Singers in 2010 or the Poulenc Gloria presented with the Central Iowa Symphony in 2003.
ACA strives to be a good community member. For many years, we’ve participated in the Good Neighbor Concert organized by Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance in Ames to raise funds for individuals needing assistance with food, rent or utilities. This has typically been held on a Sunday afternoon in early November. Since 2019, ACA has chosen one night to volunteer at Food at First, the local organization providing a daily free meal in downtown Ames. ACA members help prepare and serve the meal as well as providing musical selections to the diners.
Joining ACA
We are always happy to bring in new singers and invite all to try out. There are no age, education, affiliation or other requirements, except that each member must audition, both to maintain a standard of ability and to help select an equally balanced group of voices for each program. We require regular and reliable attendance of rehearsals and performances, as well as participation in activities that are necessary to support the choir, such as selling tickets, helping publicize our concerts, raising money, and all the other details that an active choir must see to.
If you want more information or are interested in joining, please contact our Artistic Director, Dr. Jennifer Rodgers, 515-294-7447 or jen@jmrconducting.com.