SEATTLE
G I R L S’
CHOIR
ANNUAL REPORT
2013-2014
SEATTLE GIRLS ’ C HOIR
PO Box 22388
Seattle, WA 98102
206.526.1900 | SeattleGirlsChoir.org
Seattle Girls’ Choir
2013-14
Board of Directors
Barbara Lynne Logan, President
Suzie Ness, Secretary
Heidi Njegovan, Treasurer
Staff
Lauren Cooper
Dennis Dacey
Emilio Marasco
Nathaniel Papadakis
Mr. Jacob Winkler, Artistic Director
Dr. Jerome Wright, Artistic Director Emeritus
Stacia Cammarano, Office Manager
Barbara Halliday, Concert Manager
Conductors
Mr. Jacob Winkler
Mr. Alex Gagiu
Dr. Jean-Marie Kent
Ms. Aimee Mell
Ms. Kyra Rengstorf
Accompanists
Ms. Ruth Draper
Ms. Molly Knight Forde
Ms. Laura Thompson
Mr. Edelmar Obenza
Ms. Emma Vizenor
Advisory Board
Sarah Bartolome, Assistant Professor of Music Education, Louisiana State University
Almeda Berkey, Co-founder and Music Director, Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum
Jackson Berkey, Co-founder and Composer/Pianist, Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum
Geoffrey Boers, Director of Choral Activities, University of Washington
Camille Dierksheide, Alumna, Seattle Girls’ Choir (1990)
John Muehleisen, Composer-in-Residence and Artistic Advisor, Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble
Karen P. Thomas, Artistic Director, Seattle Pro Musica
Kelly Tweeddale, Executive Director, Seattle Opera
Jerome Wright, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, Seattle Girls’ Choir
SEATTLE GIRLS’ CHOIR
THANKS THE FOLLOWING
COMPANIES FOR PROVIDING GENEROUS SUPPORT
DURING THE 2013-14 SEASON.
to our generous donors
THANK YOU!
Anonymous
Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Adrienne Fairhall
Kathleen Allen
Anahid Alvarez and Ivan Lozada
Katherine and Josh Anderson
Jason Atlas and Laura MacMahon
Bruce Baker-Harvey
Nancy and Sam Bent
Jackson and Almeda Berkey
Sarah Beshlian
Bob Bock and Vicki Lai
Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Boyden
Mary Anne Braund
Karin Brookes and Simon Woods
Kristin and Bob Calaff
Stacia Cammarano and Susan Michaels
Jeffrey Cantor and Michelle Doyle
Joan Carstens
Katrina and Ken Case
Celia Castle and Brenda Bauer
Barbara and Richard Chin
Grace and Adolf Christ
Min and Michael Christ
Nancy Cohen and Stephen Page
Lauren Cooper
Jan Crews
Katherine Crews
Dennis Dacey and Kathleen Mulligan
Karin DeArmas and Reijo Pitkanen
Jacque Deerr-Lord and Bob Lord
Claire and Todd Deligan
Tony and Farida Dowler
Sascha Dublin and Mikael Kvart
Dr. and Mrs. Rodney Dubois
Margaret Duffy and Martin Unger
Marta Dzheneva and Milko Tsenkov
Lloyd and Kim Embry
Leslie Ernesti
Sally and Jerry Fehr
Gerald Fehr
Howard and Carolyn Ferguson
Sean and Jamie Flynn
Cornelia Ford
Ted Ford and Anne Fitzgerald
Molly Knight Forde and Sean Forde
Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Forde
Jeremy and Angela Foster
Jill Fouche
Nicole Fufaro and Gary Gill
Hellen and Alex Gagiu
Kurt Grote and Amy Hunn
Linda Harkness
Wier Harman and Barbara Sauermann
Beth-Anne Harvey
Gretchen Hower and Paul Pudaite
Nancy and Ashley Jefferson
Jennifer and Joshua Johnsen
Monte and Bernita Johnson
Emily Johnson
Hugh and Wendy Kendrick
Jean-Marie Kent
Naomi Knight
Amy Lansing
Evelyn Lester
Sarah W. Leung
Anne LeWarne and Michael Messinger
Vern and Yumin Linblad
Barbara and Keith Logan
Patty and Adrian Lott
Lisa and Ross Macfarlane
Emilio Marasco and Linda Harkness
Aimee Mell
Larry Murphy and Patricia Hooper
Colin Ness
Suzie Ness and Scott Pelton
Heidi Njegovan
Jessica Nutt
Tom and Karen Nychay
Cheryl and Nathaniel Papadakis
George and Christina Papadakis
Maya Ramakrishnan
Lauren and Martin Rayment
Dorothy R. Reinhart
Alexander Rhatushnyak
Jennifer Rice
Tal and Irene Basloe Saraf
Jim and Amy Schlueter
Shannon and Seth Schreiber
Bob and Jeanie Schroff
Judith Shahn and Jay Lurie
Karl and Stacie Siebrecht
Grandmother of Nicole Anneliese Smith
Darryl Smith and Andrea John-Smith
Ginger Smith
Lena Jeannette Smith
Kate, Doug, and Riley Snider
Kathryn Snider
Brien and Cynthia Stafford
Tanea, Timothy, Bettie, and Destiny Stephens
Erica and Brett Thomas
Mark Troll and Lalita Ramakrishnan
Dean and Kelly Tweeddale
Alexander Velinzon and Anait Arutunian
Mandira Virmani and Ajay Wadhawan
Anna Wald and Joel Kaufman
Colin and Elizabeth Widdison
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wilhelm
Gayle Wilson
Jacob and Jessie Winkler
Genevieve Winkler
Lora Wise
Karen Wong
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Wyant
OUR MISSION
Seattle Girls’ Choir provides a
robust education in the choral
arts, helping girls build skills to
succeed in life, and enriching the
cultural landscape of the
Pacific Northwest. ◊
From the Artistic Director
2013-14 was an amazing year for the Seattle Girls’ Choir. In addition to our continued
growth with over 150 members, our choristers took part in several local musical festivals
and events, many of which were in service of a larger cause.
Last year we said goodbye to Sarra Sharif, who had worked with Dolcine for the past five
years, and welcomed Kyra Rengstorf as our new Dolcine instructor. I don’t think we could
have made a better choice: her musicianship, instant rapport with the girls, and
commitment to the mission of SGC made her an instant part of the family.
Meanwhile, Allegra and Prime Voci kicked things off right away in September,
performing at Benaroya Hall for Seattle Symphony’s “Day of Music” event. Just a few
weeks later, Prime Voci opened the debut festival for the Greater Seattle Choral Consortium held at St. Mark’s
Cathedral, where 27 Pacific Northwest choirs performed over the course of two days. Over the holidays, the younger
choirs pleased audiences at the Seattle Center during its annual Winterfest celebration, while Cantamus and Prime
Voci joined forces again to present our annual Carmina Angelorum concerts. These concerts, centered on music for
treble voices and harp (played by longtime collaborator Juliet Stratton), were particularly breathtaking last year,
especially Prime Voci’s performance of R. Murray Schafer’s haunting “Snowforms” in the magnificent acoustics of Holy
Rosary in West Seattle.
In the Spring, Cantamus sang at Seattle First Baptist Church’s annual Social Justice Concert, featuring Karl Jenkin’s The
Peacemakers. The girls really enjoyed the added challenge of singing with an adult choir, an orchestra, and a different
conductor, and emerged from the experience as more mature, well rounded musicians. They also loved the sense of
accomplishment of being part of a concert in support of a worthy cause, something larger than the music itself. That
pride in giving back to the community was also felt when we shared our voices with local retirement centers, such as
when Cantamus visited Mt. St. Vincent’s in December, or Allegra the Norse Home in June.
In March, Prime Voci was honored to sing for choral conductors from three states at the regional American Choral
Director’s Assocation conference held in Seattle. At the end of the year Allegra, Cantamus and Prime Voci joined
forces to sing with celebrated pianist/singer Ethan Bortnick on his “The Power of Music” tour, with a portion of the
ticket sales supporting the Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation. They had a blast singing classics like “We Are the
World” and “Lean On Me,” and particularly enjoyed sharing the stage with Ethan’s special guest, Damian McGinty of
Celtic Thunder and Glee.
After the close of the regular season, Prime Voci traveled up the coast to Powell River, British Columbia, to participate
in the International Choral Kathaumixw, a prestigious international choral festival and competition. We heard some
truly spectacular choirs from around the world, especially the groups from Russia, Slovenia, and Portland. We came
home with a shiny trophy courtesy of Ottava, an octet of Prime Voci choristers who won the chamber music division
competition. More important, we came home inspired by the amazing groups we heard—excited to return in the Fall
and start all over again making great music together.
Financial Report
FY 13/14
FY 12/13
FY 11/12
FY 10/11
FY 09/10
Total Income
428,420
342,982
526,330
271,953
314,502
Total
Expenses
(366,483)
(341,942)
(466,694)
(256,057)
(299,128)
Liabilities
(20,000)
(20,000)
(20,000)
(20,000)
(20,000)
Net Income
41,937
(18,960)
39,636
(4,104)
(4,626)
Income Overview
2013-14 Income
Tui$on'
Concerts'and'Programs'
Contributed'Income'
3rd'Party'Fes$val'
2013-14 Contributed Income
Individual)Dona,ons)
Tuition
$207,312
Concerts/Camps/Program
$85,415
AF & Match
$33,015
Raffle & other fundraising
$27,421
Grants & Gifts
$3,995
Corporate Match
$8,348
All other giving
$8,623
3rd party festival
$54,321
Total Income $428,450
Raffle)2014)
Corporate)Matching)
Bouquets)&)Bou,ques)
Grants)
Other)
2013-14 Expenses
Fundraising*
Program*Related*
Instruc4on*&*Payroll*
Opera4ons*&*Other*
Final*Liability*Payment*
Expense Overview
Depreciation & other
$5,095
Concerts/Camps/Program
$61,029
Financial Aid
$7,987
Fundraising
$9,655
Operations
$74,920
Payroll
$156,250
3rd party festival
$51,547
Final Liability Payment
$20,000
Total Expenses $386,483
A Message from the President
This was a milestone year for Seattle Girls’ Choir in several ways:
In 1982, Dr. Jerome Wright founded SGC, but upon his retirement, the parents’ guild purchased
the choir from Dr. Wright, at which time the choir and the guild merged, making Seattle Girls’ Choir
a non-profit entity with 501(c)3 status. This was done to ensure that SGC could continue to serve
our community long after his retirement. This past December (2013), we paid our final payment to
Dr. Wright, and SGC celebrates now owning the Choir free and clear.
Even while paying off the purchase of the choir, we were able close the year with a surplus. This was an anticipated
surplus that occurred in part due to our decision to postpone replacing a senior administrative position. This year,
instead of immediately replacing the vacant Executive Director position, the board chose to focus our energy on
carefully re-assessing the needs of our organization, while refining some of our internal procedures and internal
policies, in order to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of this position and the effectiveness of our
organizational structure. This time of reflection and assessment has positioned us to begin our search with clarity.
Also this past year, the board created and approved the new Mission Statement you see earlier in this document. As
we carefully considered the many benefits of the Seattle Girls’ Choir experience — from singing beautiful music to
making life-long friendships, it became clear to us that people choose SGC for the quality of our music literacy
curriculum and the life skills intrinsic in excelling in this art form. Thus, the wording of this statement was chosen very
carefully by the board to be concise and true to our ideals.
Having a mission statement that reflects our value system will be a beacon to us as SGC continues to show steady
growth in numbers and greater breadth of reach in our community. We have continued to attract new families from the
area: we now have choristers from forty different ZIP codes in the Puget Sound region! All indications are that these
trends will continue. It is clear to us that many girls in our local communities want a choral experience at the highest
level, and SGC has a long history of providing just that.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish to share my gratitude for the musical and educational leadership our entire
faculty and administrative staff exhibit in making our mission a reality every day. Thank you, also, to our many donors,
volunteers, and supporters who make the work we do every day successful and deeply meaningful.
Choristers Enrolled at the end of each fiscal year
160#
155
140#
120#
116
124
131
136
100#
FY#09/10#
FY#10/11#
FY#11/12#
FY#12/13#
FY#13/14#
JOYFUL
M UASRIT CI S T R Y
TEAMWORK
CAMP
SERVICE UN
S
I
N
G
I
N
G
GIRLS
F EMORIES
RIENDSHIP
M
F
SGC