Meet Eric Nelson and Jim Verrecchia of Atlanta Master Chorale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Nelson and Jim Verrecchia.

Eric and Jim, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Atlanta Master Chorale (AMC) has crafted one of America’s finest choral sounds, bringing singers and audiences to the place where music touches spirit. As a result, the choir was honored with Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence in 2013 and the 2014 Prudential Board Leadership Award from BoardSource. Capitalizing on the momentum of these accolades, the choir was awarded a coveted performance spot at the 2017 American Choral Directors Association’s National Conference in Minneapolis, performing for nearly 4,000 of the country’s most dedicated choral professionals. In 2018, the Chorale was selected to receive a Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) Program Grant for 2018-20 as well as the recipient of a 2018-19 Leadership DeKalb (Business Leaders) Organization Consulting Project.

Begun in 1985 as Gwinnett Festival Singers, the group gained momentum well beyond its initial suburban reach, drawing singers and audiences from throughout metropolitan Atlanta. With the addition of Dr. Eric Nelson as Artistic Director in 2000, the Board formalized this expanding sphere of influence and Dr. Nelson’s artistic vision under the name Atlanta Sacred Chorale. Dr. Nelson’s exceptional leadership and field-leading conducting skills have propelled the professionally trained but always volunteer group to national recognition as a refined and dedicated community choir. In 2013, the group took another step toward leadership in choral artistry by settling into the designation, challenge, and vision-driven name of Atlanta Master Chorale.

We are teachers, students, executives, parents, professors, attorneys, scientists, and church musicians. Together, our combined musical influence reaches an estimated 14,000 people inside and outside of Atlanta each week.

Throughout its nearly four decades of development, Atlanta Master Chorale has consistently celebrated material drawn from a broad spectrum of choral music. Atlanta Master Chorale audiences enjoy nearly 100 different pieces over five concerts each season, featuring music from nearly every period and genre, including historic and newly commissioned a cappella songs as well as major and minor accompanied works. The ensemble’s choral series, published by MorningStar/E.C. Schirmer captures new repertoire premiered by Atlanta Master Chorale, helping to add vibrant new music to the choral field. With a dedicated board, staff, and roster of volunteer choristers, Atlanta Master Chorale will continue its mission to “lift the spirit through choral artistry” for many years to come.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with any organization, the road always has some bumps and seeming obstacles. Hindsight allows us to see these touch moments as times of growth and development. Leadership transitions and name changes can always impact the momentary spirit and cause anxiety and discomfort. Choristers, like all people, have attachments and feelings of comfort. All of the struggles have allowed the Chorale to blossom in a way that always amazes everyone, including our members and Board. The chorus continues its path and enjoys a local, regional, national and international reputation.

Atlanta Master Chorale (AMC) – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I am currently the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Master Chorale and Director of Choral Studies at Emory University, Atlanta. I am often sought out as a music clinician at all choral levels and often appear as an adjudicator, lecturer, and guest conductor for honor choirs, conventions, symposiums, workshops, churches, and all-state choral festivals. I also compose and arrange choral music and many of my compositions are sung by ensembles throughout the United States and across the globe.

I have had the privilege of having my college and community choirs perform in many corners of the world, including London, Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Moscow, Seoul, and been the guest conductor at such famous venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Sydney Opera House, Australia. I have also enjoyed and had the privilege of performing at numerous local concert venues and churches, most notably the Piccolo Spoleto Festival (South Carolina) and Spivey Hall (south of Atlanta). Over the years I have conducted choirs at eight American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conferences, including a real high-point when Atlanta Master Chorale performed at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis for the National (ACDA) Conference in March 2017, and the Emory Concert Choir’s performance at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall for the National (ACDA) Conference in 2011. In the summer of 2016, I had a very different and unique experience that astonished many who know me, when I appeared with Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones at Bobby Dodd Stadium (Georgia Tech Campus), leading the Concert Choir in the classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Despite all of the many performances and achievements in the music world and the impact and enrichment on the Arts and Culture locally, nationally, and internationally. I still find my extreme fulfillment and joy in mentoring and training new generations of young aspiring musicians and choral conductors. Atlanta Master Chorale has become one of the premier volunteer choruses nationally and internationally. The talent of the singers and their dedication has crafted one of America’s finest choral sounds. As was once stated, the chorale sings with “spot-on clarity…and delivered with exquisite control and stained-glass vocal colors.” It is all achieved by singers who sing, “shoulder to shoulder, voice to voice, one voice lost in another, each agreeing upon something beyond themselves.”

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There have been so many proud moments and each is unique in its own way. With Atlanta Master Chorale, the proudest moment was its performance a the National Convention of the American Choral Director’s Association in 2017. The accolades and the awards associated are truly amazing. The degree and major expansion of our awareness and impact have soared and our artistic excellence continues to reach new levels year after year. Being the Chorale’s artistic director has and is one of the great musical experiences of my career.

Pricing:

• Concert tickets average $30

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.AtlantaMasterChorale.org
• Phone: 404-915-4541
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/atlantamasterchorale
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/atlantamasterchorale
• Other: http://youtube.com/atlantamasterchorale

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