Bel CantoVocal Ensemble

A History of Bel Canto

 

Bel Canto Vocal Ensemble, a mixed chamber choir based in Madison, Virginia, was founded in 2003 by former members of the Montpelier Singers, a local ensemble that had disbanded a few years prior. The group's premiere was a combined concert in November 2003 with The Madison Choral Society.

Martha Mikula, a talented musician with undergraduate and graduate degrees in music performance who had recently moved to the area was commissioned to be Bel Canto’s director. Former members of Montpelier Singers were contacted, as well as some new members. As word of the group's formation spread, other singers in the area requested to join. Since that time, Bel Canto has ranged in size from 13 to 21 members.

 

Mikula served as Bel Canto’s director, creative genius, and pianist for eight years. Her repertoire was widely varied, including classical works, contemporary selections, madrigals, sacred music, spirituals, popular songs, and Broadway tunes. Concerts featured works for piano four hands, flutes, sing-alongs, kazoos, tambourines, stuffed animals, and other assorted paraphernalia - all meant to enhance the enjoyment of the audience - and established the ensemble's culture of "from the silly to the sublime."

After the spring 2012 concert, Mikula retired from Bel Canto. Amy Coddington, a lovely, lively director from Oregon and doctoral candidate in musicology at the University of Virginia succeeded Bel Canto’s founding director in fall 2012. That same season, local pianist and organist Fay Utz began her tenure as Bel Canto’s accompanist. The ensemble was fortunate to have Coddington as director for two years before the demands of her dissertation took precedence. Coddington’s repertoire choices placed an emphasis on a cappella music and contemporary pieces as well as many of the same styles that the ensemble has performed since its founding.

Director Lauren Estes began leading the ensemble in fall 2014. Estes, a central Virginia native and music graduate of the College of William and Mary and Syracuse University, led Bel Canto in challenging music performed on themed concerts. She also expanded the geographic area in which the group performed, with concerts in Charlottesville, Culpeper, and Rappahannock County. During Estes' tenure, Bel Canto was invited to sing at Montpelier and on concerts with the Warrenton Chorale and the Blue Ridge Chorale. After the spring 2018 concert, Estes moved to California, ushering a new era under the direction of Bob Burnett.