Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory are among the choral field’s most popular composers.  Their work has earned a beloved stature in the standard choral repertoire, often performed and recorded by the world’s finest ensembles.  Their music has been telecast on PBS and A&E and performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.  They have been commissioned by the Crescent City Choral Festival in New Orleans, the Children in Harmony Festival at Walt Disney World, the Sing A Mile High Choral Festival in Denver and ACDA Southern Division.  In one way or another, their music has been featured at every national conference of ACDA for over a decade.  In the past four years, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded three different commissioning projects allowing them to create new works for American choruses.

Paul is Artistic Director of the Youth Choral Theater of Chicago.  In recognition of his work in this capacity, he and his chorus were awarded the 2006 Chorus America/ASCAP prize for Adventurous Programming. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Chorus America.  In this capacity, he chairs Chorus America’s Committee on Programs and Education and serves on the organization’s Executive Committee.  He was honored for his contribution to the choral community nationwide at the 2008 National Performing Arts Conference when he was selected as the recipient of Chorus America’s Michael J. Korn Founders Award for Philanthropic Contribution to the Arts.  His recent guest conducting engagements include the Jr. High Honor Choir for ACDA Southern Division and the Festival Vocalizze in Portugal.

Sean directs the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, an affiliate organization of the Grand Rapids Symphony.  The ensemble maintains a heavy schedule of appearances with the orchestra (Carmina Burana, On the Transmigration of Souls) in addition to its independent concert series.  Sean is also the choral director at Forest Hills Central High School and an affiliate artist with the Youth Choral Theater of Chicago.  He lives in Grand Rapids (MI) with his wife Leah and their children, Emma, Samuel and Meredith.

Composer/Conductors Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory lead a festival chorus of singers from North America and Costa Rica through an unprecedented exploration of music from diverse cultures world wide.  Nearly twenty years ago, Caldwell and Ivory’s Hope for Resolution was one of the pieces which ignited the world music movement in the choral field.  Today, the world seems smaller.  But the choral landscape is bigger and broader.  Experience it in person with Caldwell and Ivory, the choral field’s most dynamic world music team.  The event includes improvisatory collaborations with Costa Rican instrumentalists, clinics for individual choruses, festival rehearsals and a final concert in one of San José’s world-class venues.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

• Arrival
• Welcome dinner and celebration
• Evening rehearsal

Thursday, June 13

• Morning excursion
• Afternoon rehearsal
• Evening dinner and rehearsal

Friday, June 14

• Morning excursion
• Afternoon rehearsal
• Dinner
• Attend evening concert by local musicians

Saturday, June 15

• Morning dress rehearsal
• Afternoon concert
• Evening dinner and closing ceremonies

Costa Rica is one of the world’s favorite tourist destinations. Known for its amazing biodiversity packed into its small size, Costa Rica offers a richness of plants and animals, cities and beaches, volcanoes and rainforests that you won’t find anywhere else on the planet. It is the home of the canopy tour, a must-do activity invented here, that lets you soar through the jungle for a view previously reserved for monkeys and macaws. Easy day trips from Costa Rica’s colonial capital San José include white-water rafting, coffee plantation tours, volcanoes, waterfalls and more. And we won’t let you leave without a glimpse of some of the country’s birds, butterflies, monkeys, sloths, snakes, frogs and jaguars.

The people of Costa Rica (known as Ticos) are friendly, polite and helpful.  Their warm welcome will surely be one of the most memorable parts of your visit!  Ticos are extremely family oriented and love music and dance.  You’ll hear music everywhere and all the time.  The country is home to an opera company, one of the first professional choirs in Central America, a state-subsidized youth orchestra, and several well-known children’s chorales.

The festival schedule includes half-day outings to explore the wild side of Costa Rica.

You’ll be able to choose adventures such as:

• Hiking to the top of an active volcano
• Touring a coffee plantation with demonstrations of traditional farming methods
• Visiting a wildlife refuge to see native species
• Cooling off in the spray of La Paz Waterfalls

Additional excursions a bit further afield are options for extending your tour before or after the festival.

These are designed specifically for your group and could include:

• Zip-lining through the rainforest canopy
• Tortuguero National Park – named for its endangered sea turtles, also home to manatees, crocodiles, jaguars, three-toed sloths, monkeys, lizards, poisonous frogs, along with 375 species of birds, including kingfishers, toucans, blue herons, peacocks, and parrots
• Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park – listed by Forbes among the world’s 12 most beautiful national parks, offers excellent beaches and hikes to explore the abundant biodiversity
• Monteverde – a small town, but a major ecotourism destination will include visits to the cloud forest and Arenal volcano and its glowing orange lava flows
• Additional concert opportunities for your group throughout

If you would like more information or a festival brochure, please contact us at 800-GO-WITTE or complete this form.

Thank you for your interest!

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