Jan Clayton – Resounding Achord Productions

Season of Celebration

Join us for Season of Celebration, a vibrant concert where music from diverse cultures fills the air with joy! Resounding Achord Productions invites you to experience the harmonious performances of our three incredible choirs: Chromatic Convergence, Pariter Vocal Ensemble, and Resounding Achord.

This concert features captivating pieces, including a modern arrangement of “Gaudete” by Michael Englehart, the lively “Kanaval” by Sydney Guillaume, and the enchanting “Solstice” by Taylor Scott Davis. Come celebrate the holidays with us and let the music lift up your spirits!

Date: December 15, 2024, 4:00 pm
Location: St. Francis Episcopal Church, 1205 Pine Ave, San Jose, CA 95125
Prices:
    Adult: $25 online, $30 at the door;
    College Students: $10
    18 and under: Free

Befana: A Christmas Fable

Jan Clayton Concerts, Performances

Resounding Achord is pleased to join Nova Vista Symphony and guest artists Vivace Youth Chorus to present Befana: a Christmas Fable by Kirke Mechem. This beautiful concert opera for orchestra, adult choir, youth chorus, and soloists tells the tale of an old Italian woman, who through her own personal sadness, misses the opportunity to visit the newborn Christ Child along with the Magi and Shepherds. When she realizes her mistake, she gathers gifts for the baby, but her searches are in vain. Even today she still visits children with gifts on the eve of Epiphany, honoring the holy child in all of them.

The concert also features works by Fauré, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Tchaikovsky, and a stunning finale with a newly-orchestrated version of David Maddux’s “Christmas Goes Classical.”

Date: Sunday, December 8th at 7:30 pm

Location: Church of the Ascension, 12033 Miller Avenue, Saratoga, CA

Ticket Prices:

Adult: $25 online, $30 at the door
Senior: $20
College Student: $10
18 and under: Free

Summer Conducting Lab Choir

Jan Clayton Outreach

Need a place to sing when your choir is off for the summer?
We have the perfect gig for you.

The Summer Conducting Lab gives conductors-in-training an opportunity to work with a choir in a rehearsal setting, gaining valuable podium time and real-time feedback. During the 2-hour sessions, 3-5 conductors work with the all-volunteer choir, made up of singers from all over the Silicon Valley. Master teachers provide feedback to the conductors both during the session and afterward in private communication.

For summer 2024, the program will look slightly different with two regular sessions on July 8 and 10. Then, participants will have the opportunity the following week to rehearse and sing the choral movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which is celebrating 200 years since its original premiere. If you are interested in conducting on either July 8 or 10, please contact Kristina Nakagawa directly: artistic@resoundingachord.org.

What else is great about the Summer Conducting Lab?

No audition.
No practicing.
No cost.
No pressure.
No commitment.

Just show up, sing, and have fun.

Resounding Achord provides music for all participants. About 20 pieces are selected each year that represent different styles, musical eras, and difficulties. About 25-30% of the music changes each year so that there is sufficient variety for returning singers and conductors. It is a perfect opportunity to practice your sight-reading skills.

Session Dates for 2024

Monday and Wednesday nights, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
July 8, 10
at St. Francis Episcopal Church
1205 Pine Ave, San José, CA

Special sessions for Beethoven 9th Symphony
July 15, 17, 19, 7:30-9:30 pm
SJSU Music Building
More information to come!

What do the lab choir singers like best?
“I loved getting to learn more about the insides of conducting!”
“Making great music.”
“I loved being a part of a group of extremely skilled musicians; both the singers and directors!”
“The feedback given by Dr. Benson and Kristina Nakagawa and their effect on the conductor/choir were eye- (and ear-) opening for me as a singer.”

History of the Conducting Lab

We started the conducting lab in 2014 in conjunction with San Jose State University (SJSU) as part of their Three Summer Master’s Program in Music Education. The summer masters students are music educators, and many are conductors of community or school ensembles. The SJSU program offers advanced conducting instruction as part of its program; however, because the residency is held during the summer, there are no ensembles at SJSU for the students to conduct. Our lab provides a live conducting opportunity for the students.
Each year the program follows a basic framework:

There are typically six evening sessions — two evening sessions per week for a 3-week period.
Conductors sign up for one or more 20–40 minute conducting time slots and arrive prepared to conduct 1–3 pieces.
The conductors can either be members of SJSU’s Three Summer Master’s Program, regular-term students at SJSU, or community members who are seeking an opportunity to sharpen their conducting skills.
There is no participation fee for conductors or singers, and all music is on loan to the conductors and singers for the program.
We invite and welcome singers of any age and any level to be part of the choir. They don’t have to make a commitment to show up for all or even most of the sessions, and singers do not need to practice.
Dr. Jeffrey Benson and Kristina Nakagawa give instruction and written feedback to the conductors.

“The Summer Lab Choir partnership between SJSU and Resounding Achord provides a tremendous opportunity for our SJSU Summer Masters students to gain much-needed experience in front of a choir. Thank you to RA for the amazing leadership in our field.” — Dr. Jeffrey Benson, SJSU

Summer	# Student Conductors	# Singers Signed Up	Average # Participants Each Night
2015	16	52	26
2016	15	85	35
2017	13	92	44
2018	14	104	51
2019	15	102	49
2020	—	—	—
2021	14	40	28
2022	15	65	35

Concert Program Ads

Jan Clayton Uncategorized

Advertise your company, concert, or event in one or a whole season of Resounding Achord Production concert programs. Let our community know about your products, services, or events. You can even put a personal message into our program. If you need help, we can help you create the artwork based on your requirements for $25.

We typically have over 250 people who attend each of our concerts. These people live throughout Silicon Valley and are of ages from 20s to 80s. Your advertising donation is tax deductible and supports our concerts and outreach programs.

Add Sizes and Prices

Ads can be black and white or full color in any of the following file formats: .pdf, .jpg, .psd, .tiff, .doc(x). There is no additional charge for color.

Payment can be made via PayPal, credit card, or by check.

Get more information or submit your artwork via email to contact@resoundingachord.org. We will get back to you with more information.

2024 Spring Choral Exchange

Jan Clayton Uncategorized

Resounding Achord Productions is pleased to present our Spring Choral Exchange concert, which will feature Resounding Achord, the Pariter Vocal Ensemble, and our friends, Mixed Chorus Kakehashi, conducted by Yumi Shiraiwa.

In case you missed Resounding Achord’s send-off performance on March 3rd, Resounding Achord will perform their stunning set from the ACDA Western Region Conference once more. If you haven’t seen it you don’t want to miss it. Pariter will perform all-new repertoire with works by Andrea Ramsey and a Beatles medley in the barbershop style. Mixed Chorus Kakehashi’s program will feature two Japanese children’s songs and a piece from the “Xenoblade” video game.

This concert will be a lovely way to start the Spring season. Please join us.

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024 4:00 pm
Location: Campbell United Methodist Church, 1675 Winchester Blvd., Campbell, CA

Ticket prices: Adults $20; Collect Students $10; Kids (18 years and younger) are always free

Glad Tidings

Jan Clayton Archived Concerts

Looking for the perfect way to start out your holiday season? Join Resounding Achord Productions for a festive celebration with all three of our choirs: Chromatic Convergence, Pariter Vocal Ensemble, and Resounding Achord. Works include pieces for Chanukah, a trio of songs for the solstice inspired by Hindustani Raags, and a rousing holiday finale sung by all three choirs together.

Date: Sunday, December 3, 2023 3:00 pm

Location: St. Francis Episcopal Episcopal Church, 1205 Pine Avenue, San Jose CA 94022

Ticket Prices:
    Adult: $25 online sales, $30 at the door
    College Student: $10 online and at the door
    Kids: Always Free

2024 ACDA Western Regional Conference Sendoff Concert

Jan Clayton Archived Concerts

Resounding Achord is honored and overjoyed to have been selected to perform at the 2024 ACDA Western Region Conference in Pasadena!

Our program, titled, “Living the Dream,” takes the audience through the life journey of a living soul. Their birth is celebrated, and they start out with youthful exuberance and joy. As they grow into adolescence and adulthood, they long for the simplicity of youth, when comfort was as simple as the touch of their mother’s hand. In adulthood, they struggle to find belonging, feeling like a wanderer, a stranger in their own community, but they cling to the dream of home. They soon learn that home can mean many things, but above all, it is a place where they can love and be loved. The final piece celebrates that realization and challenges the singers and audience members to do their utmost to take care of one other because “we belong to each other.” (Ffe Mwe, Mwe Ffe, Joan Szymko)

For our local audiences, we are excited to join with Ragazzi Boys Chorus, also selected to perform at the conference, for a special send-off concert on March 3 in Portola Valley. Don’t miss your opportunity to see this very special program!

Date: Sunday, March 3, 2024 4:00 pm
Location: Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Rd, Portola Valley, CA 94028

Music In Bloom

Jan Clayton Archived Concerts

Spring has sprung! Chromatic Convergence, Pariter Vocal Ensemble, and Resounding Achord come together to celebrate the end of Resounding Achord Productions’ 2023-2024 season.

This concert honors the beauty of spring and welcomes the warmth of summer. Highlights include Resounding Achord’s presentation of a world premiere revoicing of Saunder Choi’s “Bahay Kubo” and three movements from Fanny Mendelssohn’s Gartenlieder; Singer’s Unlimited’s dynamic arrangement of “The Entertainer” and “Satellite” by Harry Styles from Chromatic Convergence; and Pariter will perform a lovely arrangement of “Arirang” by South Korean composer Hyo-Won Woo and barbershop medley of Beatles tunes that celebrates the sunshine.

Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024 7:30 pm

Location: Campbell United Methodist Church, 1675 Winchester Blvd., Campbell

Ticket Prices:

Adult: $25 presales, $30 at the door
College Student: $10 presales and at the door
18 and under: Always free

What’s Streaming

Jan Clayton Archived Concerts

Resounding Achord Productions is proud to present Chromatic Convergence in their first concert as an official RAP choir. “What’s Streaming” is filled with fan-favorites from social media, TV Shows, movies, and musicals, including songs from Ice Age, Austin Powers, Coco, and many more.

Join us as we travel down Memory Lane enjoying classic tunes from the past 60 years of media.

Date: October 6th, 2023, 8:00 pm

Location: Stone Church, 1937 Lincoln Ave, San Jose CA 95125

Cost: $20 for adults; $10 for college students; Kids are always free

2023 SVCreates Grant Photos

Jan Clayton Uncategorized

Enclosed are a few photos from our 2022 Summer Conducting Lab. The lab consisted of six 2-hour sessions in July 2022. Fifteen conductors-in-training and approximately 70 singers participated in the program last summer. Extremely experienced conducting instructors work directly with the conductors-in-training. This program is produced by Resounding Achord Productions in partnership with San José State University and their Three Summer Master’s Program in Music Education.