Tag: Madrigal Choir of Binghamton

National Poetry Month ’26

Here in the United States, April is observed as National Poetry Month. While my writing and activities are constrained by my health, it was my privilege to be involved with a couple of poetry events this month.

I was able to read a couple of my poems as part of the Tioga Arts Council‘s Poetry Out Loud event. Area poets gathered to read poems, their own or others’. I especially loved hearing from some of my friends of the Grapevine Poets and from Dante Di Stefano, whose spouse is director of the Tioga Arts Council. The amazing thing about the reading was that there were a number of participants who had never before done a reading or even attended one. We also had a wide range of work read, including a poem in Bengali which was a combination of singing and speaking.

For the third consecutive year, one of my poems was accepted to the Write Out Loud event at the Fenimore Art Museum near Cooperstown, NY. The performance was the evening before the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton’s spring concert and I knew I would not have energy to sing dress rehearsal, scoot to Cooperstown for the evening, and sing an afternoon concert the next day, so I happily ceded reading duties to Sharon Rankins-Burd, who read my poem “The Bridge” so admirably last year. This year, my poem “Nor’Easter Numbers” was the first poem on the program. I’m looking forward to the recording of the reading becoming available. I’ll post when it is!

How did you celebrate poetry this month?

Baltic concert

Last Sunday, I sang a concert of music from the Baltic region with the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton under the direction of John M. Vaida.

It was a great experience for us and for our audience. We got to perform pieces by composers that were new to most of us. I added languages to my personal list of sung texts, Swedish and Estonian. We also welcomed the Fair Winds Quintet as our guests, made possible by a grant from the United Cultural Fund of the Broome County Arts Council. They played a set before the sung concert and another to begin the second half of the program after intermission. It was wonderful to have these talented local artists join us for the concert.

One of my favorite pieces on the program was “Cantate Domino”, a setting of part of Psalm 98 by the Lithunian composer Vytautas Miškinis. Another highlight was Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Bogoroditse Devo” from his All-Night Vigil. I had first sung this under the direction of Dr. Bruce Borton with the University Chorus. Bruce had prepared a new edition of the Vigil for us to use and we later sang this movement in later programs, so it always reminds me of him. Bruce also became the second artistic director of the Madrigal Choir a few years before his retirement from Binghamton University. After the pandemic shutdown and the end of University Chorus, Bruce welcomed me to Madrigal Choir. Shortly after I joined, Bruce fell ill. I wrote about the last concert he conducted with Madrigal Choir here and about singing at his funeral and Madrigal Choir tribute here. This Rachmoninoff piece was part of a concert dedicated to Bruce at the University. I was grateful for the opportunity to sing it again, especially at Trinity Episcopal Church where Bruce had sung and volunteered for many years as a congregant.

I particularly loved the final piece of the program, a newly written hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, set to the tune “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius. Rev. Gillette is a local Presbyterian pastor and hymnist with over 500 hymns to her credit. This poem, “O God of Love, This Is a Time of Turning”, was written in January, 2026, after speaking with a seminary friend serving in Minneapolis. We printed the words in the program and invited the audience to join us in singing – and they did!

We sang, “May we stand firm for truth and peace and justice;
May we leave fear and hatred far behind.”

May it be so.

One-Liner Wednesday: MCOB concert on Sunday!

Binghamton NY area folks are invited to Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church (opposite Binghamton High School) on Sunday, April 19, 2026, for a concert by the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton highlighting music of the Baltic region, beginning with the Fair Winds Quintet at 2:45 followed by the choral concert at 3:00.

This invitation brought to you through Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/04/15/one-liner-wednesday-id-rather-be/

One-Liner Wednesday: MCOB Baltic concert!

Binghamton, NY area folks, please plan to join the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton and our special guests, the Fair Winds Quintet, for a concert of music from the Baltic region at Trinity Episcopal across from Binghamton High on Sunday, April 19th with Fair Winds at 2:45 and MCOB at 3:00 (NOTE NEW START TIMES)!

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! I’m double-dipping today so that I can also spread the news of Ellen Morris Prewitt’s book launch today!

One-Liner Wednesday: down day

After singing a gig with Madrigal Choir at a senior living complex last night, today is going to be a down day to recover to be ready for a big out-of-town medical appointment tomorrow and another gig on Friday.

Please join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/03/25/one-liner-wednesday-are-they/

SoCS: Love

Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “love.” I’m assuming she chose that prompt for today because it is Valentine’s Day and love is in the air.

B is making individual beef wellingtons for dinner with tiramisu for dessert, leaving the cocoa sprinkled on top off my portion because I can’t have it. (Update: photos here https://joannecorey.com/2026/02/18/one-liner-wednesday-valentines-food/)

Meanwhile, I will be spending the day resting after yet another medical test and a physical therapy session yesterday. If I’m lucky, I’ll manage to make vigil mass this afternoon. I’m hoping that a down day today will make if possible to get through a two and a half hour Madrigal Choir rehearsal tomorrow.

In short, I’m not doing anything special for B this Valentine’s Day.

And he is perfectly okay with that.

B and I met and became friends when I was in my first year in high school and he in his second. By the wonders of our history teacher, Miss Stewart, who seated us in alphabetical order, we were near each other. Within a couple of years, we were high school sweethearts. We married a few weeks after I graduated from college and will celebrate our 44th anniversary this spring.

Our love for each other is an integral part of who we are and who we became, given that we have been growing together since our early teens.

B doesn’t need me to have a special Valentine’s Day gift for him to assure him of my love.

He knows my love for him is who I am and I know his love for me is who he is.

I will, of course, enjoy the special dinner he is making.

And the lemon blueberry scones currently in the oven for breakfast.

But I live B’s love every day and that is the real Valentine’s Day gift that is with us for life.

I hope that love finds each of you today in whatever form it may take for you.

aftermath of a busy weekend

This weekend, I did a lot of board/committee work for the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, plus a rehearsal for spring outside gigs with our small group.

I had PT this morning and did a couple of errands but now I am lying down and expect to be in bed all afternoon.

With hEDS, these things can happen. You can sometimes tough your way through a couple of days or events but you wind up paying for it later.

It’s a balancing act.

This jot is brought to you as part of Linda’s Just Jot It January. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/19/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-19th-2026/

holiday singing

After two very successful concerts of Lessons & Carols for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend with the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, a smaller ensemble prepared for two Christmas-themed performances on December 12th. In the afternoon, we sang at a local nursing home. In the evening, we sang as part of the Roberson Museum’s Home for the Holidays exhibition.

It had been many years since I had done this kind of small group singing out in the community. I was happy that skills I had learned in high school, when I first did that kind of performance, came back to me all these decades later, although, fortunately, we did not have to also do choreography as we did back then.

Singing at the nursing home was especially meaningful. In their later years, my parents had lived in a senior community and experienced various levels of care, so I could recognize some of the challenges that our audience there was facing. The ones who were missing being able to attend church and concerts as they had before health problems intervened. The one who was able to sing along, even though she was no longer able to carry on a conversation because music learned long ago is stored in a different part of the brain. The woman cuddling her baby doll that never leaves her side. The man with his eyes closed who seems to be asleep but who is letting the familiar tunes wash over him. It was a privilege to bring some music to the residents that touched their hearts as they prepared for Christmas.

The evening performance was more lively. We sang in the library of the historic mansion that is part of the Roberson Museum complex. There is a beautiful grand piano to use for accompanied pieces and singalongs and the room houses several of the dozens of trees decorated by various community organizations that are part of the Home for the Holidays exhibition. While some of the audience sat in the library and listened to the whole hour-length performance, others strolled through as they toured the mansion, listening to a piece or two before continuing on their way. There were people of all ages, but everyone was in a festive mood and enjoyed the performance.

I hope that I will have more opportunities to sing out in the community next year with the Madrigal Choir. It’s nice to be spreading cheer in a more intimate setting. It reminds me of singing with the Drury High School Girls’ Ensemble at Rotary Club luncheons, Hadassah teas, and nursing home monthly birthday parties.

Music brings meaning and emotion to performers and listeners alike. It’s wonderful to be close to the audience and see the joy in their eyes while we sing.

One-Liner Wednesday: MCOB Lessons & Carols ’25

For people in Broome/Tioga County NY area, two opportunities to hear the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton‘s iconic Lessons & Carols for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend.

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/11/12/one-liner-wednesday-are-you-seeing-this-on-your-blog/

One-Liner Wednesday: Madrigal Choir concert Oct. 19th!

Binghamton NY area folks are cordially invited to celebrate all times of year with the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton’s concert “The Seasons” on Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 4 PM at Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church, 44 Main St., Binghamton.

This announcement is brought to you through Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays series. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/10/15/one-liner-wednesday-trivia/.