My husband died in January, 1976. I had just turned 50, and had five children ages 13-20. While Tom left us a wonderful heritage, and family and friends were very supportive, the next years were full of struggle. My main aim was to get all the children through college, which was finally accomplished in 1984. A couple of years before that, seeing the huge financial burden beginning to come to an end, I decided to plan a couple of years for myself: what had I not had a chance to do that I really wanted?

Working with professional singers was at the top of the list. I'd been composing and conducting performances and workshops with good amateur groups, but not being challenged to work at my top level. Could I make a recording that would satisfy my ears? Having a professional chorus was the indispensable first step.

But they would have to be paid - so there would have to be a not-for-profit corporation set up. That can't exist for one's own benefit, so I began to envision a group that would not only perform, but also have a strong educational component, and a connection to local and wider communities. (I remember discovering that setting up a non-profit corporation was one of the few activities I could have chosen that's more expensive than putting five children through college.)

And who was I to start such a group? A trusted concert-manager friend advised me to go ahead: I was steeped in the background and experienced in the field. When it came to setting up a Board of Directors, another friend a told me to ignore the conventional wisdom that called for business and legal folk, and simply to get people enthusiastic about my work. I have a copy of a letter I wrote to a few friends in January, 1984, inviting them to a meeting here at Singing Brook Farm in the summer to outline the corporation, set some goals, and work out procedures for achieving them. I remember one cross-country flight where I wrote a list of all the recordings I'd like to make - and twenty years later, by gum, we're doing it. That seems fairly miraculous!

The first concert, Antecedents: Musical Bridges, was to be at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in September, 1985. We had to cancel because of a hurricane with just 24 hours notice: I recall the disappointment as we taped the big windows of our apartment in preparation for what turned out to be a rather mild storm. But the outcome for us was that we ended up with a recording rather than a concert: the Musical Heritage Society released Sacred Symphonies in 1988. That was the first of what is now nine professional recordings, with two more preparing for release. We have since gotten reviews like "The arrangements . . . are unfailingly rich and lovely: simple moving folk tunes transformed into high art." for My Love and I, and for Listen, Lord, ". . . these singers are professionals, so there's nothing they can't sing well. We hear no artificially affected or inflected sonorities form them--just good old full-throated, exuberant choral singing, with just a touch of modern refinement. Parker's...deep understanding of the tradition keeps her work utterly true to the musical spirit of early America."

The first actual performance was in the Tower Room at the Riverside Church in May, 1986. "Love Songs for Johannes" featured the Brahms' Liebeslieder op. 52 and my SongStream, along with other madrigals, an audience SING of German folksongs, and wonderful refreshments (There was a whole platter of huge fresh strawberries.) The first Spirituals Concert was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in January, 1987, with a massed choir of 60 voices including our professional 16, narrator, a string quartet, the rhythm section from the Paul Winter Consort and two big works, my Sermon from the Mountain: Martin Luther King, Jr., and my settings of some of Ellington's Songs from the Sacred Concerts. I remember whole-hearted enthusiasm from the melting-pot audience when we joined in familiar Spirituals at the close.

That same year we initiated a series of six SINGS at the Cathedral School, open to the larger community at no charge. We were trying to find ways to make music that had almost no monetary cost but that would provide a rewarding singing experience for family groups, older folks, foreign students and anyone who might wander in off the street. I remember mounting posters at schools and bus stops on the Upper West Side, to let people know about them. These have taken place each year since - not only in the city (in libraries, church basements and schools), but also as part of almost every workshop/performance that I participate in all over the States and Canada. I've learned so much from them, and become more and more convinced that this is the beginning point for real music-making for amateur singers.

The first Newsletter appeared in the Spring, 1985 with these opening words: "Welcome to Melodious Accord, Inc. We are a new organization, dedicated to bringing together composers, performers and listeners in the creation and re-creation of music. . ." It went on to state that we would "look for composers who were engaged in a creative dialogue with their communities", and produce music "which is heard as an enriching process, not a product." "We will encourage the performance, recording and publication of music which is both functional and beautiful."

Tall plans - but during the next ten years, while we sponsored a Composition Contest and Concerts, we presented music by some thirty contemporary composers, often in attendance at the concert which included their music. The Contest was for second performances (no one else was doing this) and routinely more than one hundred scores a year would appear in my mailbox. We housed and fed the visitors, and gave them a taste of small concert life in New York City. I made some wonderful friends this way: Paul Halley, Eddie Bonnemere, George Shearing, Dave Brubeck, Imant Raminsh, David Hurd, Bern Herbolsheimer, Joelle Wallach, Jane Marshall . . . and many more.

We continued to look for ways to make ourselves known that didn't involve expensive concerts. Thinking of ourselves as a bridge between different disciplines, it seemed natural to provide a place for lyric composers and poets to meet and exchange ideas. So the first Symposium, Poems and Songs, occurred in 1990, with readings and brief performances for each of the ten participants, followed by a choral concert including some of their work at Symphony Space. The Lyric Muse came the next year with a similar format, followed by Poetry, Music and Liturgy at Trinity Church, with a focus on sacred arts. Each one opened new doorways for us, with very different modes of expression and work habits coming from very different personalities. We grew to include dance and improvisatory theatre in our offerings: a well-attended meeting at Union Seminary in 1994 had one participant boasting "Now I can say that I've acted, sung and danced on Broadway!" The last Symposium was on Sound Teaching in 1998 in Massachusetts - we still hope to continue that series.

Through these busy years I continued my own composing and traveling for workshops and performances around the country and abroad. I had forgotten that we'd hosted Composer Workshops in New York 1988 - 1990; these were not resumed until 2001. But I remember well the first Fellowship Program in January of 1989, it is etched in my memory. Again a friend had assured me that people would pay to come to the City and work with me - and so it proved. Eleanor Epstein was our intrepid "first Fellow" - I learned so much from her! The next year there were four Fellows, and in each year their numbers have grown so that now there are well over one hundred. The program has evolved over the years to include four different groups: singers, song leaders, composers and arrangers, all based on melody studies. How surprising - and how gratifying that people now come to rural Massachusetts instead of the big city to immerse themselves in the mysteries of Song.

A quick chronological sweep through the Newsletters has brought back lots of memories. Hard working Board Members have continually infused our work with new ideas and talents, working in development, publicity, outreach, address list management, artistic goals and just plain feeding us! (I remember exploring people's interests at one meeting, and concluding that the main loves we shared were for singing and cooking!) Our singer members supply us with needed feedback and occasional chiding, for which we are grateful. I have a special affection for the people who have served as Managing Director: they have had to invent the job as they went along, and have consistently displayed a capacity for hard work, ingenuity and good humor. Somehow we all survived my move to Massachusetts in 1996, and our meetings now alternate between the two states. We rehearse, perform, record and keep a small office in New York City; my other activities are centered in my studio here in the hills.

Melodious Accord has turned out to be a focal point for my life and work. It provides the framework that carries my professional performing and teaching activities, and makes me keep re-defining my own goals. Having it survive and thrive for twenty years is an incredible satisfaction -- not to mention its recognition by my colleagues in Chorus America as a vital force in choral music in this country. Repeated grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and some prestigious Foundations give us renewed energy, as does a lively correspondence with many friends and supporters through the Newsletter.

I've never been able to separate completely the different facets of my life, so composing and publishing are woven through these years, as is the acquisition of eleven grandchildren who are the one true distraction from my work. I've been writing articles on various subjects for different publications, and have published three small books on aspects of my work. This year I have finally signed a contract for my long-time project The Anatomy of Melody, which details the theoretical basis of my teaching. Another off-shoot of my work is the Alice Parker Music Company, which makes my out-of-print works available through licensing agreements. And there's a continuing commitment to get all my papers into the Archive at the University of Maryland Library.

What does the future hold for Melodious Accord? Who knows? I'm turning 80 this year, feeling vigorous and ready for new challenges -- but that could change. I do know that the Board is considering ways in which our focus on education can continue when I'm not here. Part of that is in our new line of publications - Jim Heiks' Hand-Me-Down Song series - and the publication of Song-sheets and other teaching materials. Collections of Editorials and Articles from the Newsletter are coming out this anniversary year, as we explore other ways to celebrate.

I do wish to thank all of you who have brought us this far, and are now working to keep Melodious Accord vital in the next years. You are close to my heart as friends, family and colleagues, and empower all my work. May we all keep spreading Melodious Accord throughout the world.

Congratulations on the first 20 years

You have always taught us that singing together is good for people not only because of the singing, but because of the togetherness. You make magic and you make sense and you remind us that every phrase and every person matters. Thank you for showing us how to sing, how to listen, how to live.

Tom Hall, Music Director
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Past Chair, Chorus America

The View from Here
Changing Greens

There has been more than a subtle shift in the colors I see as I look out the big windows in the studio. What had been a deep green of the trees has added a gray tone, and in some cases the background color is a soft brown - tan, really, rather than the black shade-contrasts of summer. The sky is a brilliant blue, unknown earlier, which seems designed to set off the occasional scarlet or orange leaf that comes fluttering down.

Already the roads are carpeted with leaves, and sometimes, without any breeze, a tree just lets go a soft, silent shower that floats easily down to the still-green grass. Some bare branches come into view, and I can see sunlight slanting through the woods, patterning the ground in new ways.

We had our first real cold-snap last week. It was brief - just one night, and not yet freezing - but enough to make one light the wood stove and rejoice in the particular warmth, sound and smell that come from that handy appliance. Already split wood prices have soared here, along with those of oil, and we'll all be doing a lot of our heating with stoves this winter.

We had a long spell of perfectly beautiful sunny, warm days as the summer ended. But almost no rain - and the brooks have gotten narrower and quieter. Our dam (which admittedly has a few leaks) got low enough so that water wasn't flowing over, and I've never seen the amount of algae that has resulted. Lovely feathery things on the bottom, and leaves and twigs on the top - but it doesn't look like home. One or two more storms like the one yesterday will clear that up in a hurry - as well as the fact that we'll soon be emptying it for the winter. Come to think of it, those feathery plants underwater do have the yellow-green of early spring growth. It would take a painter to document that change from yellow- to gray-green in the landscape - not to mention the incredible number of greens at any one glance at the woods in mid-summer. Perhaps the only possible response to such variety is the monochromatic white/black of winter!

Alice Parker Makes Me Smile

Our church brought Alice Parker to guest-conduct a performance of her Easter Rejoicing. It was my introduction to a great teacher. It was as simple, yet profound, as a smile. And years later I remember it as a brilliant example of leading amateurs to the heart of music. After a romp through a short movement in one of Alice's favorite asymmetrical meters, the choristers sputtered the final chord with, shall we say, rhythmic indecision. Alice paused. Rather than haranguing us to "count!" or to "watch!" she directed our attention to Isaac Watts's text: "And there the Father--smiles." Urging us to speak the words as if personally recounting the sight of God's smile, she helped to set the scene: "a sharp intake of breath, followed by the slow apprehension of His smile; and remember that the word 'smiles' has six syllables, not one. Try it: s-m-ah-ee-l-s. How quickly and economically Alice coaxed us to match the feeling and sound of the text in our mouths to its apt musical setting and, with not a word of philosophy, to transcend it all. We felt we could perform as if we'd gotten to the heart of the music. That was in 1978, yet I recall the experience still as a vivid reminder to teach the essentials, not the mechanicals, no matter who your singers are.

Celebrate Twenty Years
with
MELODIOUS ACCORD and ALICE PARKER

Anniversary Programs in New York City

Score Study in New York City
January 10-13, 2006

Concert and SING
January 15, 2006

Fellowship Programs in Hawley, MA
for adventurous musicians
who wish to expand their horizons

Melody:	Singing	May 12-15, 2006
Melody:	Song Leading A:	June 18-25, 2006
	Song Leading B*:	July 11-15, 2006
Composers Workshop		October 15-22, 2006
Melody:	Arranging	November 5-12, 2006

*Special program in 2006 offered by Alice in Harrisonburg, VA

For further information, contact Kay Holt at 413-536-1753
or kay@aliceparker.com

This Table

The poem below appeared in our November 2002 Newsletter. Written by John Thornburg, poet, composer, and theologian, who had attended the Composer Workshop that year, it carries special meaning for all who have participated in the Fellow- ship Program and gathered around the "blue-draped" table in Alice's studio.

This table does not speak.
Its legs transmit no truth.
The top, with tea-stained cups
And piles of scores
With notes demanding to be free from print's
captivity,
Says not a word.

Yet seated all around are music hounds
who cannot wait to get the scent;
to be released, to jump the fence
and join the hunt for sanity.
For this is music's gift,
to show that what is deep is real.

And so, the table speaks
as those around its blue-draped edge
find glimpses of the Word
who pitched a tent on Earth.
In the Beginning

In the Beginning

Jody Kerssenbrock, one of the founding directors of Melodious Accord, was at Singing Brook Farm that summer in 1984 when the organization finally began to take form. Jody recalls the meeting at Singing Brook Farm. "..you kept getting back to how melody was so important, and how all else then fell together. What stood in the way of naming the group Melodious Accord was that you had written a piece, Melodious Accord." But, the following quotes from Alice's thoughts during that meeting make clear why it became inevitable that Melodious Accord it had to be.

"My entire life has been devoted to teaching music as a whole rather than as a product. I'm fascinated by the process by which the composer relates to the performer who relates then to the community who happens to listen, and then to the larger community around them; and believe that this circle is really what music making is and should be. That's what I want Melodious Accord to stand for."

"We will want to do teaching in the form of workshops . . . that try to reach 'the front-line troops,' the people working in school and church music who have to produce every day or every week and who don't often have the chance to communicate with people who are top-level composers and conductors who, in turn, depend on what those front-line troops are doing."

"Of first importance is the composer who is aware of his or her audience...(who) demystifies the process of writing music...who feels that music is a functional, wonderful means of communication between human beings and that the music that you write is not just for concert, or outside of everyday activity, but for things that mean the most to you: raising children, marrying, dying, worshiping, dancing...."

"You can't draw lines between composing, teaching and performing---they're all parts of the same process. Composing and performing are opposite sides of the same coin."

The Melodious Accord Newsletter is published three times a year, reaching 4000 musicians in the United States and Canada.

Send address changes, deletions, name changes, etc. to Kay Holt, 34 Ashfield Lane, South Hadley, MA 01075; (413) 536-1753 phone and fax; e-mail:newsletter@melodiousaccord.org.

Looking Back - and AheadEditorial