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Carillon Women's Chorale
The Carillon Women's Chorale was formed in 2001 by Karen Nevins for adult women from all walks of life. Repeatedly, adults say that their choir experiences in high school and college were some of their most memorable moments of youth. It was that same haunting memory that motivated Karen Nevins to pursue choral music after raising her family of three children. After teaching public school sixteen years and serving as Adjunct Instructor of Applied Voice five years at Adrian College, Karen cultivates choral excellence in literature selections and the performances of Carillon Women's Chorale.
Membership in Carillon assures its singers a cultural break from the daily routine of life. A choral colleague put it quite simply: "Unlike a painting, music is instantaneous. It lasts for only a moment and it's gone." However, each magical moment allows us the opportunity to remove ourselves from the stresses of daily life ... to refresh the soul, renew the spirit, and create balance in our lives. While some of her memorable musical moments have been shared between Carillon Women's Chorale and her Lincoln High School women's choirs, Karen recognizes the enthusiasm and dedication of Carillon women as affirmation that the adult Women's Choir is essential. Serving as ACDA-MI Repertoire and Standards Chair for Women's Choirs (1999-2001), Nevins is well aware of the wealth of wonderful literature available to women's choirs. Early church literature was not written for womens' voices, but the baroque Ospedali Composers (i.e., Vivaldi, Hasse, Porpora, etc) recognized women's voices as articulate instruments of virtuosity, so they composed challenging and glorious works for advanced women's choirs such as Carillon to perform. Through the performance of these advanced and beautiful works, Nevins' goal is for Carillon Women's Chorale to awaken a new sense of awareness and appreciation for the ethereal singing provided through the excellent literature composed specifically for women's choirs.