Who we are
Oure Pleasure (“OP”) is an auditioned choral ensemble of typically 16 singers (currently S-5 A-5 T-4 B-3). A singer-organized non-profit organization, it has generally been professionally directed, but is capable of self-direction as well. In its 35-year history OP has sung under the direction of the late J. Kimball Darling (then choir director and organist at Second Congregational Church, Attleboro), Robert Train Adams (then of U. Mass, Dartmouth), Tim Harbold (Professor of Music and Choral Director, Wheaton College), and Christophe Heidbreder. The group’s name is meant to convey the motivation for its genesis: it was founded by singers who wanted to continue performing after high school and college, and by musicians who otherwise were involved in education and church choirs. OP would be a chance to enjoy sacred music beyond the abilities of church choirs as well as types of secular music for which there are limited performance opportunities. It would not be work or an obligation ... it would be music just for the joy of it.
How we operate
We function under a structure which includes officers (president, treasurer, librarian), committees (e.g., music selection committee, publicity), and bylaws. The director is a non-voting member of the group.
Schedule
We meet weekly on Tuesday from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, September through May. Second Congregational Church is our home base for rehearsals and our music library. The sanctuary in which we sing (and often perform) provides an acoustically pleasing space, a fine Schlicker pipe organ, and a Steinway grand piano.
Finances
Income is from ticket sales, donations, performance fees, member dues, and grants. The director stipend is $2000 per year.
Performance
OP typically performs three times per year. These performances might include a Christmas concert, music for Lent, a Pops-style performance, a spring concert featuring anything from madrigals to settings of poems, etc. Past performances have included the Duruflé Requiem, Lauridsen’s Chansons des Roses, Poulenc motets, Bach motets, Thompson’s Frostiana and Peaceable Kingdom, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, as well as Celtic songs, spirituals, and selections from the Great American Songbook. We don't set artificial boundaries regarding venue and repertoire; in June 2018 we performed The Star Spangled Banner for a Pawtucket Red Sox game.
We have also provided special music for worship in area churches and have participated in concert series such as those of the Providence Public Library. We have collaborated with other ensembles to perform works which might require more voices, soloists, or section leaders. For example, in the spring of 2015 OP joined with Wheaton College students to prepare for a combined performance of Bach’s St. John Passion with Emmanuel Music of Boston.
History
Since our founding in 1983 we have let the spirit of music and the special talents of our directors and members take us on varied and wonderful journeys. OP began as a “madrigal group” complete with “period costume” and recorders. Our repertoire soon expanded to include much of the choral canon appropriate for a group of its size, from medieval to modern, both sacred and secular. Blessed with directors and members with considerable composition skill, we have also performed original works. These include substantial commissioned works, notably It will be summer -- eventually (texts of Emily Dickinson) and the Ten Mile River Suite (texts by Attleboro area poets).
Honors
We are thrilled to have been selected the Adult Champions of WGBH’s “Sing That Thing” vocal competition for 2018. This televised, judged competition featured 18 choral groups from around New England in three categories – high school, college and adult. Our performance is available online.
Mission
Oure Pleasure’s mission is to share the joy of serious music making. We have supported live performance by young people and have commissioned new and fresh compositions. For example, we performed with the choirs of Attleboro High School in a special 2014 city celebration. In 1995 we sponsored a poetry contest, and received submissions from area writers of all ages. A number of the poems set to music were “wind chimes” poems written by students in a second grade class. The premiere of the resulting Ten Mile River Suite at the Attleboro Museum was a memorable evening for OP, the winning poets, and the composers, Director Robert Train Adams and member Mark Rabuck.
Discography
Please click here.
Oure Pleasure (“OP”) is an auditioned choral ensemble of typically 16 singers (currently S-5 A-5 T-4 B-3). A singer-organized non-profit organization, it has generally been professionally directed, but is capable of self-direction as well. In its 35-year history OP has sung under the direction of the late J. Kimball Darling (then choir director and organist at Second Congregational Church, Attleboro), Robert Train Adams (then of U. Mass, Dartmouth), Tim Harbold (Professor of Music and Choral Director, Wheaton College), and Christophe Heidbreder. The group’s name is meant to convey the motivation for its genesis: it was founded by singers who wanted to continue performing after high school and college, and by musicians who otherwise were involved in education and church choirs. OP would be a chance to enjoy sacred music beyond the abilities of church choirs as well as types of secular music for which there are limited performance opportunities. It would not be work or an obligation ... it would be music just for the joy of it.
How we operate
We function under a structure which includes officers (president, treasurer, librarian), committees (e.g., music selection committee, publicity), and bylaws. The director is a non-voting member of the group.
Schedule
We meet weekly on Tuesday from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, September through May. Second Congregational Church is our home base for rehearsals and our music library. The sanctuary in which we sing (and often perform) provides an acoustically pleasing space, a fine Schlicker pipe organ, and a Steinway grand piano.
Finances
Income is from ticket sales, donations, performance fees, member dues, and grants. The director stipend is $2000 per year.
Performance
OP typically performs three times per year. These performances might include a Christmas concert, music for Lent, a Pops-style performance, a spring concert featuring anything from madrigals to settings of poems, etc. Past performances have included the Duruflé Requiem, Lauridsen’s Chansons des Roses, Poulenc motets, Bach motets, Thompson’s Frostiana and Peaceable Kingdom, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, as well as Celtic songs, spirituals, and selections from the Great American Songbook. We don't set artificial boundaries regarding venue and repertoire; in June 2018 we performed The Star Spangled Banner for a Pawtucket Red Sox game.
We have also provided special music for worship in area churches and have participated in concert series such as those of the Providence Public Library. We have collaborated with other ensembles to perform works which might require more voices, soloists, or section leaders. For example, in the spring of 2015 OP joined with Wheaton College students to prepare for a combined performance of Bach’s St. John Passion with Emmanuel Music of Boston.
History
Since our founding in 1983 we have let the spirit of music and the special talents of our directors and members take us on varied and wonderful journeys. OP began as a “madrigal group” complete with “period costume” and recorders. Our repertoire soon expanded to include much of the choral canon appropriate for a group of its size, from medieval to modern, both sacred and secular. Blessed with directors and members with considerable composition skill, we have also performed original works. These include substantial commissioned works, notably It will be summer -- eventually (texts of Emily Dickinson) and the Ten Mile River Suite (texts by Attleboro area poets).
Honors
We are thrilled to have been selected the Adult Champions of WGBH’s “Sing That Thing” vocal competition for 2018. This televised, judged competition featured 18 choral groups from around New England in three categories – high school, college and adult. Our performance is available online.
Mission
Oure Pleasure’s mission is to share the joy of serious music making. We have supported live performance by young people and have commissioned new and fresh compositions. For example, we performed with the choirs of Attleboro High School in a special 2014 city celebration. In 1995 we sponsored a poetry contest, and received submissions from area writers of all ages. A number of the poems set to music were “wind chimes” poems written by students in a second grade class. The premiere of the resulting Ten Mile River Suite at the Attleboro Museum was a memorable evening for OP, the winning poets, and the composers, Director Robert Train Adams and member Mark Rabuck.
Discography
Please click here.
