Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Music Makers,
After serving as Artistic Director for Plano Civic Chorus since 2000, I have decided the time has come for me to step aside at the end of the 2022-2023 concert season and let another enjoy the wonderful opportunity of conducting this marvelous chorus. PCC celebrates its 50th anniversary next season and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my final year! It will be a season of great choral music and multiple chances for me to say thank you and goodbye to all those who have shaped and loved my career into being. I’ve been reminiscing a lot lately about my time with PCC and hundreds of musical memories have been flooding over me. A few of my proudest achievements include a rare performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Mendelssohn’s Lobegesang and Elijah with baritone Donne Ray Albert, Bloch’s Sacred Service with Cantor Richard Cohn, multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah (Parts I, II, and III), Bach’s Magnificat, the Vespers by Rachmaninov, Mozart’s Requiem, and one of my cherished favorites, Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms. In addition to the wonderful concerts, PCC has toured to Europe six times during my tenure. I’m very grateful for the many collaborations with famous musicians that the chorus has been able to experience. Our concert with the legendary Sir David Willcocks in Bern, Switzerland was the stuff that dreams are made of. Performing with Z. Randall Stroope, Ola Gjeilo, Paul Leddington Wright, and Bob Chilcott were tremendous opportunities for musical expression and growth. Speaking of Bob Chilcott, I am excited to announce that PCC has commissioned a new three movement piece for our 50th anniversary from Bob titled Sing in a Season, which will be premiered with Bob conducting in April of 2023. What a special occasion that will be! There will be more celebrations and ample time to honor many others and my mentors in the months ahead, but for now I want to thank the many singers who have made PCC what it is today…a true leader in the Choral Arts. I step down as PCC’s Artistic Director with a great sense of nostalgia and a small twinge of melancholy, but with a greater sense of accomplishment and an even deeper love for Plano Civic Chorus. …how I love choral music. 
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