Some reflections from Executive Director, Jennifer Collins, on her 15 years – and counting! – with MasterVoices
Dear Friends (both new and old),
It’s hard to believe, but this month marks my 15th anniversary on the MasterVoices staff. What began as an audition for the chorus in 1998 (my first week as a New Yorker!) led to my becoming General Manager in 2005 (guided by our late Music Director, Robert Bass), and eventually Executive Director in 2007. How quickly these years have gone!
But how grateful am I! To still be here in this deeply majestic – if currently hushed – city. To still be working so closely with so many exceptional people. MasterVoices really is, and has always been, a family. Our Audiences, Artists, Patrons, Partners and Volunteers… our Board, Chorus, and Staff… all contribute something meaningful to our essence. We have labored joyfully together to make great work, especially at times (like this one) when crises required drawing on extra reserves of strength. I am grateful to each of you! What binds us together, I think, was so well said by our founder Robert Shaw: “Music must be viewed not as a luxury, but a necessity… as the persistent focus of man’s intelligence, aspiration and good-will.”
What incredible evidence we’ve seen of Mr. Shaw’s ideal in these difficult days. The claps and serenades in hospital corridors, from artists in their homes, out windows, in streets. Live concerts may have paused, but our lives are still marked by music – a Global Chorus releasing a shared breath of sorrow, hope and gratitude.
And so our work continues. We are devising new ways to make music and share it with you until it is safe to gather again. In the meantime: thank you for 15 years of concerts, discovery, and community. I’m so proud of our contributions to the art of musical storytelling – and so excited to reveal the stories to come!
In this pause, I’d like to thank you by sharing a few memories that for me, exemplify the MasterVoices spirit of collaboration, of storytelling, of believing that we can say more together than we could ever say as individuals.
With profound gratitude,
Jennifer
