December 1, 2009 – FORT WAYNE, IN. Members of the Heartland Chamber Chorale, Northeast Indiana’s professional vocal ensemble, performed in concert side by side with student choristers from East Allen County Schools on November 22 at Plymouth Congregational Church in downtown Fort Wayne. Under the direction of HCC artistic director Maestro Robert Nance, professional and student vocalists prepared together to perform classical and contemporary selections. Titles included Gabriel Faure’s Requiem and Cantique de Jean Racine, spiritual Ride on King Jesus, and a new composition by Alex Shapiro entitled Celebrate. Approximately 70 students and 24 professional singers were joined by several area professional instrumentalists, including pianist Alexander Klepach, violinist Olga Yurkova, harpist Ann Lewellen, and organist Michael Hollman.

Every year, the Heartland Chamber Chorale performs Side by Side with area choirs as part of their comprehensive musical education outreach. The HCC adopts area high school or university choirs to prepare several special concerts as part of annual school choral programs. The HCC also auditions individual student singers for participation with members of the Chorale in one of their regular subscription concert programs. For more information about the HCC’s educational outreach, contact 260.436.8080.

Heartland Chamber Chorale programs are provided with support from:
Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne (a local agency), the Indiana Arts Commission (a state agency), and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).

The Heartland Chamber Chorale is an independent, professional vocal ensemble-in-residence on the campus of the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana.