This is the fourth installment of BCS Connections & Reflections, a series of short notes, essays, and musical offerings from us to you, our supporters. Abigail Gschwend-Harris, a member of our alto section for three years and a board member, wrote this reflection below.
What is your musical background, and what led you to join BCS initially?
In 2016, I graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tulsa. My favorite musical activity was performing as a collaborative pianist — specifically, accompanying vocal music and working with choirs, small ensembles, opera, or soloists. I accompanied many singers and groups in a variety of musical styles, and as a result, I picked up a great deal of knowledge about the voice and singing techniques. When I moved to Bloomington in 2017, my partner, Josh, wanted to join a choir, and I decided it was time for me, the choral pianist, to try my hand at becoming a choral singer. I remember enthusiastically picking out a short song by Grieg for my audition, and how excited I was when Josh and I were both accepted as singers into BCS. Little did I know the huge role BCS would play in my life in the years to come as I later got more involved by joining the Board of Directors.
You are a committed choral singer who is currently too busy to sing with the group, due to starting a graduate assistantship in a master’s program. Tell us about your program.
In August 2019, I began a master’s program at IU in the School of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA). Due to the busy schedule with my graduate assistantship, I unfortunately had a time conflict with BCS’ Tuesday night rehearsals, so I stepped down as a singer after our 50th Anniversary Gala but continued serving on the Board organizing our community outreach. So far in my program I’ve learned a lot about college and university administration, how to advise and mentor college students, higher education finances, sustainability in higher education, institutional research, diversity as it relates to higher education, statistics applied to education, and much more!
Does your degree program relate in any way to the values and goals of BCS?
Serving on the Board of Directors has taught me many transferrable skills that I’ve utilized in my graduate program, including leadership skills, delegation, fundraising, and collaboration. We in higher education love our committees and boards, so I’m thankful to BCS for giving me a welcoming and friendly experience as a Board member when I joined as one of the youngest members and wasn’t confident about sharing my ideas at first. I’ve also learned there are many overlaps between the nonprofit and higher education world, namely, in finances and fundraising. What I’m most thankful for, though, has been the musical outlet BCS has provided to me and how much I’ve grown as a singer/musician during my time with them.
The mission of the Bloomington Chambers Singers is to perform choral works and, thereby, provide opportunities for performance, education, and community service for the Bloomington area. What things have you done to further our group’s mission?
During my tenure as a board member, I’ve mainly focused on community outreach. I led a group to sing at the City of Bloomington Farmer’s Market, organized groups to sing for local children at two different elementary schools, and kept our busy holiday caroling schedule going (I think last year we had at least 6 different caroling gigs!). I’ve also helped with other initiatives such as the (Dutch Mill) bulb fundraiser, answering the WTIU donation phone line with BCS, and helping organize a few post-concert receptions. Lastly, I’ve even utilized my pianist skills by accompanying a rehearsal or two, leading sectionals from time to time, playing an orchestral keyboard part at some performances, and page turning for our accompanist.
I want to extend my thanks to the Board of Directors for all the hard work they’ve put in over the summer already, to our donors and grant supporters for helping BCS remain financially healthy even during a pandemic, and to all my fellow singers – I miss you!
Musical Offering
The musical offering I’d like to share with you all is the Partita for 8 Voices by Caroline Shaw. This is a contemporary work, which was released in 2012 in the debut album of the singing group, Roomful of Teeth. This a cappella work features 4 movements — Allemande, Sarabande, Courante, and Passacaglia — which many readers will recognize as Baroque musical dance forms. Partita for 8 Voices also features non-Western vocal techniques and extended techniques. Overall, this work is shocking and freaky, yet fun, joyful, and beautiful. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013. I hope you enjoy!
