Donate to The Young New Yorkers Chorus

One of my dearest friends, Melvin Coston, sings in The Young New Yorkers Chorus. While I’ve sadly never been able to enjoy a concert, he has told me about how much he enjoys the chorus for years. 

A non-profit organization, they are seeking donations.

YNYC was started in 2001 as a way for interested volunteer singers to continue their training (in many cases) and simple love of singing beyond their college years. Each year, they perform three concerts over the course of our season, with the holiday concert typically being the biggest and most celebrated. 

In addition to performing both classical and contemporary choral pieces from all parts of the world, they also conduct a Young Composers competition each year to support and encourage music composers in the development of their craft. The finalists’ submitted works are performed for the first time at the final concert of the every season.

Although they have enjoyed an ever-increasing following and last year saw a record turnout at all our concerts, donations allow them to have consistent rehearsal space, quality concert space and most importantly, the continuation of the Young Composers Competition. Donations are a key financial component to making all of this possible each year.

YNYC is a non-profit organization. All monies go to the necessary functions of the Chorus.

I hope that you’ll take a moment to check out their website. You can hear audio samples, learn about auditions and consider them for your wedding.

See you later! I’m off to donate. Even though I can’t give too much, we all know how every little bit counts.

Support the arts.

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An interview with Anna Huckabee Tull from Custom Crafted Songs

From Anna’s website

Anna Huckabee Tull, founder of Custom Crafted Songs shares her experiences writing custom songs for weddings and other occassions.

 

Anna is an artist, songwriter, singer, and psychologist with five national CD releases. To hear a sample of her music, visit her website. You can also sign up for a free “Song of the Month” here .She will email the song, along with the story behind it. You can also subscribe by emailing her: at tulljam@rcn.com.

 

I was fascinated reading the stories behind the songs and listening to how they transformed into music. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

 

***

 

How did you come up with this original idea?

 

I had a couple of very autobiographical albums out and was performing my stuff at a club when someone who had been really moved by my music came up and asked me if I did songs on commission. “Oh, no,” I told her. “I really don’t.” She just looked at me and said, “I think you do.”  She was my first client, and it’s been full speed ahead ever since.

 

How do clients use your songs?

 

People commission me to write songs for things as straightforward as new baby lullabies, wedding first dance songs, and birthday or holiday gift surprises. But, because I am a psychologist, people often commission me to write songs in the name of their own healing–songs to help bridge the gap in family relationships that have become estranged, songs of good-bye from one who is dying, songs “in the voice of” one who has died and is sorely missed, songs to vent anger, songs to make light of a difficult situation. And then I have even been commissioned to write a song for a tribe in Africa!

 

Who owns the rights to the songs after you write them?

 

Most of the time, I retain the rights, which is what allows me to include songs on my albums (I have five national releases) or as the Song of the Month on my website. But sometimes folks choose to purchase not only the creation of the song but the copyright as well. I did a song for an amazing woman recently who is a motivational speaker. We created a song that encapsulates the message of her talks, and her book. She sings it live every time she gives a talk. And it brings the house down in tears darn near every time. She owns the copyright, so that she can sell CDs at the end of each talk.

 

How can clients best help you to design the most relevant song?

 

It’s really all about an open attitude. Some people prepare a lot (answer advance questions, gather photos) and some people do very little. In the end, it is their willingness to just open themselves up to the process, and to their own journey as we discover the depths of what is there to be expressed, that really makes the song.

 

What is the most creative song you’ve written?

 

The song that cracked me up the most–like, where did THAT come from??–was a humorous song I created on commission on the topic of inspiring yourself to clean up your office, instead of beating up on yourself. The song that came out of it is so much fun! It’s flamenco style, and it is just bursting with ways of taking something that is normally frustrating, and making it completely silly and fun. The song, “The Man of Action Theme Song” is the January 2009 “Song of the Month” feature on my website. Here is the link for that song.

 

But the song that came pouring out of me the most completely and creatively (it just showed up full blown) was a song I did last year for a mom whose 4 year old son had only a few months to live. She called asking for a song for his memorial, but her secret wish was the he might be able to hear it, and take comfort from it, before he died. Somehow, something in me just knew that he only had days, not months, to live. So I dropped everything and wrote and recorded this song in a record-breaking time-frame: one week. I emailed her the song as an mp3 and she was able to play it for

her son three or four times. It put a huge smile on his face. The “official” finished CD arrived at her house by messenger at 4:00 on a Thursday afternoon. She clutched it in one hand, walked into his bed and held his hand with her other hand, and told him, “Okay. It’s okay to go now.” He closed his eyes and died right there, at 4:05. Here is the Link for that song and story.

 

For more information, please see Anna’s website.

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