New Associate Choral Director Hired

Constance Defotis, director of choral activities at the University of West Virginia, will assume the newly-created position of associate conductor of Harvard-Radcliffe Choruses next fall.

The new post will fill the gap left when Beverly Taylor departured last year from her job as conductor of the Radcliffe Choral Society (RCS).

The decision to hire Defotis was made at the end of January after auditions with the Collegium, the Glee Club and RCS.

Director of Choral Activities Jameson N. Marvin--who has been conducting all the choirs simultaneously this year--will share some of the responsibilities for administrative work and conducting with the new associate director.

"We're really looking forward to teaming together," Marvin said.

Marvin and Defotis will each direct the three choirs for part of next year. Defotis will begin conducting the Collegium next fall and travel with the Glee Club over spring break and summer vacation, while Marvin will continue with RCS and Glee Club until sometime in the spring.

Defotis will also conduct the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus.

Marvin said that the restructuring was partly to offer singers in all groups the benefits of having two conductors with different perspectives.

"We each have different strengths and lots of things to offer, and the students will really benefit from that," he said. "It's going to be a source of new energies here."

Dean of Students Harry R. Lewis '68 wrote yesterday in an e-mail message that he thought the rotation of the conductors would help to keep choral activities at Harvard "lively and energetic."

The restructuring of the conductors generated some controversy among students and alumni last year when Taylor resigned after seventeen years of service.

"The circumstances surrounding Ms. Taylor's decision to leave include much bad management on the part of the University," Alan L. Rothschild wrote in a letter last year.

"Ms. Taylor's departure from the Harvard music arena will be damaging to that department," Rothschild wrote.

But many students said yesterday that replacing Taylor with a new position and conductor was no longer a concern for them.

"The transition was expected," said Patricia Chi-Yan Chui '98, manager of RCS. "The associate conductor search has been going on for a while."

Chui added that there were a lot of first-year members of the group this year and that only a few present singers had extensive instruction under Taylor.

Singers had mixed reactions to the plan for restructuring the conducting responsibilities.

"A lot of people are confused about the positions," said Willow D. Crystal '98, the assistant financial manager for RCS. "Without having started, it is hard to know how different it is going to be."

Loh-Sze Y. Leung '97, the president of RCS, said that it is important to foster a good relationship with Defotis early on to preserve continuity when Defotis takes over conducting responsibilities in the spring.

Chui said that the biggest advantage to the new program is that having different conductors will add different elements of training.

Defotis will help in emphasizing voice training and individual instruction, while Marvin will continue to improve the choir as a whole, Chui said.

Last night students from the choirs met with Defotis at an informal dinner sponsored by Pforzheimer House.

Earlier this weekend, members of the executive committees of the choirs also met with Defotis to talk about their plans and concerns.

"[The meeting] was a chance for her to come back after the audition process was over and talk about concerns that had been brought up in the audition process," said Leung.

Some singers mentioned that the original auditions did not go as well as choir members would have liked and students were initially apprehensive about the decision.

"There was not a big feeling of enthusiasm," said one singer about Defotis' audition.

Still, most students praised the enormous experience and qualifications DeFotis has for the job.

"Musically, she's impeccable," said Chui.

"She's really an amazing musician," said Leung. "I think we're all pretty excited about having [Defotis here]."

Defotis is a professional singer and has sung and directed opera courses in Germany, working with both the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Boy's Choir

Loh-Sze Y. Leung '97, the president of RCS, said that it is important to foster a good relationship with Defotis early on to preserve continuity when Defotis takes over conducting responsibilities in the spring.

Chui said that the biggest advantage to the new program is that having different conductors will add different elements of training.

Defotis will help in emphasizing voice training and individual instruction, while Marvin will continue to improve the choir as a whole, Chui said.

Last night students from the choirs met with Defotis at an informal dinner sponsored by Pforzheimer House.

Earlier this weekend, members of the executive committees of the choirs also met with Defotis to talk about their plans and concerns.

"[The meeting] was a chance for her to come back after the audition process was over and talk about concerns that had been brought up in the audition process," said Leung.

Some singers mentioned that the original auditions did not go as well as choir members would have liked and students were initially apprehensive about the decision.

"There was not a big feeling of enthusiasm," said one singer about Defotis' audition.

Still, most students praised the enormous experience and qualifications DeFotis has for the job.

"Musically, she's impeccable," said Chui.

"She's really an amazing musician," said Leung. "I think we're all pretty excited about having [Defotis here]."

Defotis is a professional singer and has sung and directed opera courses in Germany, working with both the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Boy's Choir