Time to spotlight…a FLOATER!
What’s that, you ask? Well, in order to facilitate balance in our sound for certain pieces, sometimes Bonnie asks a singer of one part to cover another nearby part—higher or lower—and sometimes bounce from part to part in the same piece! That, or she likes to drive us crazy, or the person in question needs to be punished. Those of us who float often have to highlight our notes across multiple lines in a piece of music. It makes for a startlingly artistic looking score sometimes!
Our first floater is Chris Donley. Chris was a middle school choral teacher and church music director in Maine for ten years after studying under Bonnie at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He returned to the classroom as a student to obtain a Masters of Choral Conducting at the University of Maine where he composed and presented a Latin oratorio in the Baroque style using Medusa has his subject. Currently, Chris is the program manager of the Game Loft in Belfast, Maine, an after-school Positive Youth Development program utilizing face-to-face board, card, and role-playing games. He also subs in at a local church as organist and cantor from time to time, and slices deli meat in the local grocery store on the side. Chris sings mostly Tenor II in NAVE but sometimes covers Baritone or even Bass.
NAVE is the perfect opportunity for me to work with amazingly talented people from all over the country, travel, sing in fantastic venues, and perform outstanding choral literature from all periods and genres. It’s also a great excuse to cut loose with old and new friends who share a love of the choral art. I am proud and honored to be a part of such a great ensemble. Even if, as a floater, some of my scores look like electrocardiogram readouts.