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| The North State Chorale and
Sinfonia |
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| Richard
Earl Cook, Conductor/Artistic Director |
| Carol
Cook, Accompanist |
| Jonathan
Poe, Organist/Associate Accompanist |
| North
State Chorale History |
| North
State Chorale and Sinfonia Membership |
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First Tenor
Clyde Christmas
David Meck
Frank Roesel
Baritone
Corky Carmichael
Jay Christmas
Bud Crumpacker
Larry Dettman
Loren Little
Neil Oerter
Jim Pryor
Scotty Speas
Wayne Yancey |
Second Tenor
Jeff Collins
Riley Davis
Pete Dorer
Dick Jennings
Joesph Nicastro
Jay Parsons
Mark Thompson
Bass
Lee Bridgers
Louis Elledge
Al Griffin
Jim McGinnis
Roger Meisenbach
Bob Owen
Glenn Patterson
Jerry Smith
John Stewart
Wayne Vestal
Brent Weavil |
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Violin I
Catherine Burton
Andrew Emmett
Amanda Judd |
Violin II
Kay Hensley
Betty Kelly
Lauren Kossler |
Viola
Louise Thomas
Alvoy Brian
Ann Carter |
Cello
Laura Shirley
Bass
John Spuller |
About the Conductor/Musical
Director
Richard Earl Cook is among the most active conductors in the area. He has been the assistant conductor for both Piedmont Opera Theater in Winston-Salem, and the Greensboro Opera Company. He has conducted the Saint Louis Symphony Chorus, the Winston-Salem/Piedmont Triad Symphony, the Winston-Salem Youth Symphony, the Greensboro Youth Symphony, and the Charlotte Youth Symphony. Dr. Cook has served on the faculties of Elon University, High Point University, and the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he conducted the NCSA Cantata Singers and worked with the Summer Session. In addition to directing the North State Chorale, he is Director of Church Music at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem.
Dr. Cook began his musical training with piano studies at an early age. He pursued conducting while in high school. During his college years, he studied privately with Leo Driehuys of the Charlotte Symphony. He later studied conducting at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and was awarded a grant to attend the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena, Italy, where he studied under the legendary Franco Ferrara. Most recently, he attended the International Conducting Institute in Catania, Sicily.
A native of Hallsboro, North Carolina, Dr. Cook holds a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Pfeiffer University, a Master of Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he has taught music theory and conducting. He is an advocate of contemporary music, and has conducted works by such composers as Stacy Garrop and Bernard Rands. In addition to his conducting activities, Dr. Cook has appeared as a tenor soloist in opera and oratorio performances in the United States and Europe. He resides in Winston-Salem with his wife Carol, and their son John.
About
the Accompanist
Carol Cook
holds a BM in piano performance from the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro, and an MM in opera coaching and accompanying
from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.
She has done advanced study in coaching and accompanying at
the Steeliche Hochschule fuer Musik in Stuttgart, Germany, and
at the American Institute for Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz,
Austria.
Mrs. Cook has worked as an accompanist with Elvira Green and
Ken Chester, both of the Metropolitan Opera, as well as with
numerous other performing artists. She has served as staff accompanist
for the Young Artist's Opera Theater, the UNCG Opera Theatre,
Greensboro Opera Company, the Burlington Boys' Choir, The North
Carolina School of the Arts, and the Stuttgart Staatstheater
and Ballet.
In addition to her work as an accompanist, Mrs. Cook is president
of Noteworthy Engraving, and has worked with composers such
as Libby Larsen, Hillary Tann, Calvin Hampton, and Margaret
Vardell Sandresky. Her company regularly works under contract
with Boosey & Hawkes and Oxford University Press.
About
the Organist/Associate Accompanist
Jonathan Poe
is currently Church Organist at Mount Tabor United Methodist
Church in Winston-Salem. A native of Mebane, North Carolina,
his musical training began with piano studies at an early age.
He continued his musical study through high school, and is currently
completing the Bachelor of Music degree at the Univerisity of
North Carolina at Greensboro. He has served as accompanist for
recitals in the School of Music in UNCG, as well as for area
choral ensembles such as the Roan-Salisbury Choral Society.
Mr. Poe is an active member of several professional organizations,
including the American Guild of Organists, North Carolina Music
Educators Association, American Choral Directors Associations,
and the Organ Historical Society. He has hosted conferences
for musical organizations and lectured at the university level
on muisc of the Baroque period.
NSC History
In the fall of 1989,
a group of men came together to form a new choral ensemble in
the area. The Piedmont Triad Men's Chorus, as it was called,
was made up of men from across the region who had a desire to
revive male choral singing, and to bring it to the forefront
of our area's musically rich culture. In 1993, the NCS appointed
Dr. Richard Earl Cook as Artistic Director. Under his direction
the chorus has established itself as the Triad's premiere men's
ensemble, and has won acclaim for its distinctive sound and
musical sensitivity. The ensemble's tone is derived largely
from the Welsh tradition of male choral singing and, to a lesser
degree, from the tradition of college glee clubs.
In addition to producing its own series of concerts, the chorus
has performed with the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Greensboro
Symphony Orchestra, Piedmont Opera Theatre, the Elon College
and Greensboro College Choirs, and The University of North Carolina
at Greensboro Opera Theatre. The annual holiday performances
at the Biltmore Estate have become a favorite with the NSC audience.
The 2004 Invitational Festival of Male Choirs included a sold
out performance at Wake Forest University. The Chorus rehearses
and performs in Winston-Salem; Saint Timothy's Episcopal Church
has been the home of the NSC since 2003.
This season celebrates seventeen years of success. It also signals
the beginning of a new era for the Chorale. This fall, the NCS
will travel to Williamsburg, Virginia, for a candlelight performance
in historic Bruton Parish Church. Next spring, the chorus will
produce its first commercially-available recording. |
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Questions?
Call the North State Chorale: 336/725-0858 |
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