Tuesday, Mar 8, 2011
"Sounds Choral" recognizes the founder of Philadelphia's Singing City.
by Anne Sears
Sounds Choral, the program devoted exclusively to the choral art, will honor the birthday anniversary and inspiring story of Elaine Isaacson Brown on Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m. EDT. A member of the Westminster Choir College Class of 1934, Elaine Brown was the founderand conductor of Philadelphia’s renowned Singing City Choir.
Founded in 1948, the Choir was born out of the Fellowship House movement, which believed that differences between races, religions, and cultures could be bridged by ordinary people coming together in shared activities. In addition to performances in and around Philadelphia, the Choir traveled to the South during the 1950s and '60s struggle for civil rights, performing before integrated audiences. It has performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic, and it has toured in Jordan, Russia, Cuba and Ireland.
Marjorie Herman, host of Sounds Choral, has written about the broadcast, “Elaine Brown's vision of "Singing City" has been crossing boundaries since she founded it in 1948.” The program will include vintage recordings from Talbott Library and interviews with Brown’s students, including Westminster faculty member James Jordan.
WWFM The Classical Network is at 89.1 FM locally and online at www.wwfm.org. The program will also be available for streaming online after the broadcast on Sunday.