We Are The Susquehanna Valley Chorale

From Bach to Broadway,
From Haydn to Hollywood,
From Rutter to Ragtime -
—to inspire the love of great choral music.

The Susquehanna Valley Chorale's 2007-2008 Concert Season celebrates our 39th year of successfully encouraging musical artistry in Central Pennsylvania. Our mission is: to inspire the love of great choral music.

The SVC was founded in 1969 by a small group of musically oriented people who wished to sing, learn, and grow together in the performance of superb choral music. The first performance included 40 singers recruited by the founders. The Chorale succeeded quickly - it was incorporated in 1972 - and grew continuously. We currently consist of well over 100 auditioned singers from a wide geographical area - from State College to Berwick, and Williamsport to Shamokin - and from practically all vocations and walks of life, bound together by our joy in performing and presenting great choral works. The conviction of the founders has been amply confirmed for almost 40 years: The people of the Susquehanna Valley of Central Pennsylvania do respond positively to the opportunity to sing and to hear such music locally in live concert. The SVC has consistently attracted enthusiastic audiences, eager new members, high-quality conductor-directors and soloists, and talented instrumentalists. Supported by the SVC Orchestra, composed of professionally trained instrumentalists drawn from much of Pennsylvania, and vocal soloists from across the United States, the SVC is able to bring outstanding choral music to this area. We are, thus, ambassadors for the arts in Central Pennsylvania.

The presentation of diverse works from four centuries of composition has characterized the SVC since its inception. While many of our concerts feature choral masterpieces from the sacred repertoire, often sung in their original languages, we have performed secular pieces such as Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (in its Pennsylvania premier) and Orff's Carmina Burana, excerpts from a number of Mozart, Wagner, and other operas. In addition, our concerts have included the multi-composer composition Sing for the Cure (a fundraiser to support breast cancer research) as well as ever-popular 20th-century "standards" and hits from stage and screen. Most of our concerts feature well-known works, but others include recent compositions or less-frequently performed older pieces. This requires Chorale members to extend their skills, and offers audiences the opportunity to hear different styles of choral music worthy of performance. (For a listing of the SVC's concerts see our Concert History.) This variety of presentations, including those that play key roles in community holiday celebrations, allows the SVC to reach the hearts, minds and souls of many persons, and enriches the cultural environment of our region.

Thanks to our demonstrated achievements and potential, we have attracted outstanding conductors to our podiums during our 35 years of existence. Since 1996, our director has been Dr. William Payn, professor of music at Bucknell University; his immediate predecessor (1972 - 1996) was Cyril Stretansky, professor of music at Susquehanna University. The Chorale has also sung with the Williamsport Symphony under its director-conductor, Robin Fountain, and with the world-renowned Paragon Ragtime Orchestra under its founder and director-conductor, Rick Benjamin. Our always eagerly anticipated and well-received Pops Concerts owe much of their success to our sharing the stage with the Jack Fries Stage Band.

The Chorale has performed at Zion Lutheran Church (Sunbury), Christ's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Lewisburg), St. Peter's Cathedral (Scranton), the Basilica of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Danville), Rooke Chapel and Weis Center for the Performing Arts (Bucknell University), Weber Chapel-Auditorium (Susquehanna University), Founders Hall (Hershey), and the Community Arts Center (Williamsport). Our service area actually extends well beyond these sites, thanks to broadcasts of recorded concerts on PBS stations such as WVIA (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).

We are the region's only community choral group dedicated to presenting orchestra-accompanied choral music of major standing. Throughout our existence, the SVC has provided challenging opportunities for the singers who volunteer each year, as well as for our paid conductor-director, vocal soloists, and orchestra members. Even though our operating costs are high, our ticket prices remain very reasonable to encourage anyone with an interest in fine music to attend our concerts. Still, in each year of our existence, we have demonstrated fiscal responsibility through deficit-free operation.

The Future of the SVC

While the SVC remains a vital force for the presentation, growth, and teaching of choral art, we are currently committed to extending the quality and range of our performances and our visibility and relevance in our communities. We have moved aggressively to strengthen our current activities, reorganizing and expanding our Board of Directors, and we have begun to envision a wide variety of new ways in which the SVC can serve and expand our presence in the multi-county region of Central Pennsylvania. Among our highest-priority goals are the following:

  • to strengthen our ability to bring outstanding choral music to more people and in a larger service area;
  • to reduce our dependence upon revenue from ticket sales and subscriptions;
  • to broaden our audience base, by attracting younger adults to our membership and audiences, and facilitating attendance by "senior citizens" at our concerts;
  • to present, on occasion, additional benefit concerts for worthy causes;
  • to help school systems and music teachers to increase the appreciation and performance of the musical arts;
  • to establish prizes, scholarships and other means of recognizing and supporting promising school-age musicians in our service area;
  • to attract community and business leaders to serve on SVC committees and the Board of Directors; and
  • to create a contribution and donation funding specifically to support our conductor-director, choral sections, soloists, and orchestra chairs/sections.

Achieving these goals will require well-designed and executed strategies related to energetic marketing, fundraising and Board/committee development. All SVC members, especially those in leadership positions, will have to see themselves as ambassadors for the Chorale. Persons with the necessary talents, means and contacts who are already committed to our mission, and those who are potential supporters, will have to be convinced that valid opportunities for their support and recognition are available.

The SVC, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, has obtained funding from ticket subscriptions, contributions from individuals, businesses, trusts and foundations. Specifically, these sources include the Edna M. Sheary Trust, Charles B. Degenstein Foundation and the G. Scott and Bessie K. Guyer Foundation), and the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), the regional arts funding partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Significantly increased financial support must be forthcoming if we are to continue to offer residents of our communities, at very affordable prices, access to the quality concerts we seek to present and for which we are acclaimed. Without enhanced contributions, our commitment to - and opportunities for - presenting major works will be diminished, and our outreach efforts will suffer.

Opportunities for support include the following:

  • sponsorship of the conductor-director for a concert or an entire season;
  • sponsorship of exceptional vocal or orchestral soloists for a given concert;
  • matching gift challenges to encourage and support a major fund-raising campaign;
  • a lead gift for an entire season, especially a major anniversary;
  • sponsorship of awards and scholarships for outstanding school-age musicians;
  • a major startup gift for an envisioned support group, The Friends of the SVC.

Recognition for such generous gifts would come through the area media, SVC newsletters, releases and concert programs, special announcements at concerts, presence at award events, and special recognition-oriented social gatherings open to the public.

Bylaws

Read or download the Susquehanna Valley Chorale Bylaws.

Our Conductor

DR. WILLIAM A. PAYN

Dr. William A. Payn has been the Music Director and Conductor of the Susquehanna Valley Chorale and Orchestra since 1996. In addition to his work with the Chorale, he is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Bucknell University, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1982. His responsibilities there include conducting the Rooke Chapel Choir, the Bucknell University Chorale, and the Rooke Chapel Ringers. In June 2001, Bucknell University awarded D. Payn the "Class of '56 Lectureship" for inspirational teaching.

Dr. Payn received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where in May, 1996, he received the alumni's Distinguished Merit Award. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ and harpsichord literature, graduating summa cum laude from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV.

In addition to his conducting work, Dr. Payn has achieved prominence as a composer. He currently has 30 published works, including a new work, Heart Melodies, distributed by Paradigm Press and performed by the Phoenix Symphony in 2003.

Major Works Performed

Bach
• Mass in B Minor
• Cantata No. 196
• Magnificat in D
Berlioz
• Requiem
Bloch
• Sacred Service
Britten
• A Ceremony of Carols
• Rejoice in the Lamb
• Saint Nicholas Cantata
• Jubilate Deo
• Te Deum
Brahms
• Alto Rhapsody
• Ein deutsches Requiem
• Nänie
• Schicksalslied
Bruckner
• Te Deum
• Mass in E Minor
Duruflè
• Requiem
Dvorák
• Requiem
• Te Deum
• Stabat Mater
Faurè
• Requiem
Gounod
• Messe Solennelle
Handel
• Israel in Egypt
• The Messiah
Hanson
• The Cherubic Hymn, Opus 37
Haydn
• Mass in D Minor
• Mass in Time of War
• The Creation
• The Seasons
Lauridsen
• Lux Aeterna
   Mendelssohn
• Elijah
Mozart
• Mass in C Major
• Regina Coeli
• Davidde Penitente Cantata
• Requiem in D Minor
• Vesperae Solennes de Confessore
Orff
• Carmina Burana
Peeters
• Te Deum
Purcell
• Te Deum Laudamus
• Jubilate Deo
Ramirez
Missa Criolla
Rutter
• Gloria
• Magnificat
• Requiem
• TeDeum
Schubert
• Mass in A Flat
• Mass in G
Thompson
• The Testament of Freedom
Vaughn Williams
• Benedicite
• Dona Nobis Pacem
• Hodie
• Serenade to Music
• Toward the Unknown Region
Verdi
• Requiem
Vivaldi
• Gloria
Walton
• Belshazzar's Feast
Wilberg
• Tres Cantus Laudendi