Take Note! is Looking to Welcome New Singers

Take Note!, a Mansfield-based a cappella ensemble that has been performing benefit concerts for local nonprofits, free of charge, for the last 17 years, is opening auditions to round out several voice parts in their group. Take Note! sings eclectic, challenging a cappella repertoire ranging from jazz to madrigals, pop classics, spirituals, modern classical pieces and world music. Comprised of 20+ singers who live and work in and around the Quiet Corner, the members come from varied backgrounds and professions, but all share a deep love of choral music and a desire to help others. The group’s mission statement says it best: Through performances in support of charitable endeavors, we are raising voices, raising spirits, raising hope.

Do you love choral singing? Do you think that you or someone you know would be a good fit for Take Note!? There are currently openings for one singer in each of the following voice parts: Soprano 1, Alto 2, Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Bass 1, and Bass 2. Potential singers must have prior choral experience, basic sight singing skills, be able to sing independently and in tune and be able to learn music on their own outside of our weekly rehearsals. To learn more, contact Artistic Director Linda Tracy at takenote@snet.net.

For many area nonprofits, Take Note! has been a very effective fundraiser over the years. Because Take Note! performs free of charge, all donations received at a Take Note! benefit concert go directly to the concert beneficiary. In addition, Take Note! provides organizations with posters, sample press releases, media placement expertise, and concert programs, free of charge as well. The ensemble is supported exclusively by the generosity of their donors–Take Note! conducts an annual fundraising drive, and performs one concert in June as a thank you to those donors.

In their 17 years together, Take Note! has presented well over 100 benefit concerts for more than 60 nonprofit organizations, helping to raise close to $250,00 to support their neighbors. The wide array of concert beneficiaries includes Covenant Soup Kitchen, The Windham No Freeze Project, WAIM, Community Kitchens of Northeast CT, and Quiet Corner Refugee Resettlement among many others. In addition to benefit performances, Take Note! also supports local arts education organizations, so that young people who might not otherwise be able to participate in creative enrichment programs have the opportunity to do so. Among past beneficiaries are Community School of the Arts, Jorgensen’s Outreach for Youth, The Ossen Fund for the Arts, Windham Regional Arts Council, Willimantic Orchestra and Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut.

Beginning this year, Take Note! will also be offering a scholarship to area high school seniors or undergraduate college students who will be or are enrolled as college music majors. The scholarship has been established by Take Note! in memory of one of their founding members, Toni Brancia. More information on the Take Note! Antonia Brancia Memorial Scholarship can be found at https://www.cfect.org/Scholarships/About-Our-Scholarships.

All members of Take Note!, including Artistic Director, Linda Tracy, volunteer their time and talents. They feel they are amply compensated by the joy of sharing their music with the community. One of the most frequent comments from audience members is that the singers really seem to be enjoying themselves. Group members explain that they have become a family and do indeed thoroughly enjoy being able to make music together. The fact that they can do what they love while helping others is an added blessing.

To learn more about Take Note!, including their upcoming concert schedule, visit their website at www.take-note.org.