December 2, 2014
A reflection on the beginnings of the Chicago Chamber Choir, and Timm Adams' legacy
Once inside my apartment, and greeted by my husband, Dave, and shown in to my tiny cupboard sized “music room”, this movie star looks even more out of place. I double check that he is actually in the right place – “You're sure you're here for the Cantabile choir audition?” My heart sinks. Yes he is. He doesn't realize this is just my humble, fledgling little choir, scratched together from 10 singers who came with me on a journey from a previous choir. I'm trying to build it up to 24 singers, but it's a struggle, and I'm having to do all the advertising, coordinating, business management and music direction by myself. (With support and help from my husband).
I check his name again – Timm Adams. The double “m” - do I dare ask about that? Nope. He smiles confidently – gleaming with professionalism and expertise. I sheepishly ask about his musical experience and background and jot down a few notes – "10 years in musical theater directing", mm hmm, "several Masters degrees in vocal performance, etc." Right. OK. It's been a while since I've felt intimidated in someone's presence – I experienced it a lot in Cambridge, among the professors and famous people there. But, hey, I'm an accomplished musician in my own right, I remind myself – a performer, composer, conductor and actor. I know how to handle my nerves and appear calm as a millpond. So I conduct the audition as I've conducted all the others, going through the motions of being in charge, while swallowing my embarrassment for making him sing things that are obviously painfully easy for him to sing.
I can hardly believe his enthusiasm when we're done, and his genuine kindness. He really wants to join Cantabile - my choir? “Are you sure?” I ask him. I tell him honestly about its humble status and flaws and lack of funding, etc. (What, am I trying to put him off? Nah, I just don't want him to be disappointed). But no, he seems genuinely keen, for whatever reason! And so, I hire him.
Timm's presence, as one of my basses – an instant star of Cantabile – keeps me on my toes as the Artistic Director, and makes me strive even harder to make this choir not just good, but excellent. I soon see him as an ally and supporter, someone who is keen not only to sing, but to help me build this choir up, in number of singers, reputation, finances and quality. Soon, he joins my fledgling Board of Directors. Very soon after that, I promote him to “Executive Director”. A few meetings, dinners, drinks and parties later, and he becomes a real friend. My husband and I are invited over to his place for dinner with his friend, Ronnie, who we both take an instant liking to. The 4 of us become very good friends.
Just a few months before Timm Adams joined my choir, another life-changing event had occurred in my life (but pre-Facebook, I couldn't post about it!!) I had discovered I was pregnant. It was a shock; not an entirely unwelcome shock, but still – my husband and I were not prepared. We'd been married so young; we wanted to wait to have children – wait at least until we were in our 30s! I was just 28 and in the height of my music career, running this new choir. My husband was still a student, doing his PhD (in Pure Math). We had hardly any money – barely enough to pay our rent! What little extra we did have, we poured into my choir to keep it running. How on earth were we going to afford a child? How on earth was I going to have time to run this choir with a baby? (And no resources for daycare or nannies, and no family living nearby!) It wasn't long before we realized that I was going to have to give up my choir and step down as its leader. I was bitterly disappointed. It was bad timing. But I tried to focus on the positive. Having a child was going to be an amazing thing, I told myself. I embraced it as best I could at the time (and of course, in retrospect? It was obviously “meant to be”).
I also scrambled to think of a good plan to ensure the continuity of my choir. I wanted to hand it over to someone I really trusted, someone who would be good enough, experienced enough and dedicated enough to take it on. Bingo! Timm Adams. Yes! That was it. That's why he came to my door that day! I felt bad when he first auditioned, as I couldn't offer him a very exciting position at first, as a singer in my little unheard-of choir. But now I could. Now I could offer him something potentially worthy of his talents, qualifications and experience. (Provided this "unheard-of choir" actually went places!) I felt sure he would at least be pleased to be asked, if nothing else. Would he agree to it? I didn't know, but I had a good feeling about it.
I composed a letter to him, offering him the position of Artistic Director. Little did I imagine that this would be the beginning of a whole new path in his career, and the beginning of a whole new organization soon to be known as the CCC. We met for lunch soon after that, with my husband and the President of the Board of Directors to discuss my letter. All I remember about that lunch was that Timm said “Yes”! And with no hesitations, doubts, “ifs, ands or buts”! He was in. I was amazed. Relieved. Ecstatic.
We kept it all under our hats for a little while. No one else in the choir knew I was even pregnant, let alone stepping down and handing over the baton to Timm. During this time, we planned, we discussed, we prepared for the transition. I wrote a “Conductor's Handbook” for Timm - logging everything I'd learned about leading this group, in the year I'd been directing. Soon enough, I announced it to the choir, keeping the emphasis on the positive: – the succession of the new director. I gradually began handing over parts of the rehearsal to Timm and gave him a piece or two to direct in the Christmas 1999 concert. It was at this Christmas concert that I announced the news publicly, to the audience, introducing the world to Timm Adams.
It was also at this time – Christmas 1999 – that we (the Board of Directors) voted to change the name of the choir from Cantabile to The Chicago Chamber Choir. It would better serve our interests and promote us as a choir affiliated with this great city. All our members lived or worked in Chicago, and we performed in Chicago. The term “Chamber Choir” represented the traditional form of our group – an ensemble of 24 singers; men and women, with roughly 6 singers per part (SATB). It also represented the quality and professionalism of our group: – historically “Chamber Choirs” are made up of the crème-de-la-crème – a small group of the best musicians at the King's Court. So, tradition, quality and professionalism, associated with Chicago = Perfect.
At that Christmas concert 1999, therefore, I also publicly announced the name change, introducing the world to “The Chicago Chamber Choir”.
The early months of 2000 were a bit of a blur for me – It was the beginning of Timm Adam's new role as Artistic Director of the Chicago Chamber Choir! I continued on as a singer, but, I was also getting near the end of my pregnancy and the birth of my first child in April. I sang right up until a week before my son was born. And then, for the next year or so – life with a newborn baby boy took over.
About two years later, I was honored to be made the CCC's “Composer-in-Residence”, having already composed several choral works (before Timm Adams came along) and having a desire to compose more. This role suited me perfectly. As a mother with a young son, I could compose in my spare time, on my own schedule. (By this time, we could just about afford a babysitter to enable me to work!) I also returned as a singer and occasional flutist and pianist, on and off, and helped with the making of the CCC's first Christmas CD in 2005.
And the rest is history. I've taken on various roles with the CCC since 2000, as Composer in Residence, Board Secretary, Assistant to the Conductor, occasional singer, flutist, pianist, and general supporter and volunteer. And of course, Dave and I have continued as good friends with Timm and Ronnie ever since.
As Timm knows, I am deeply grateful to him for agreeing to take my choir on, and then for dedicating his life to it, for longer, and in more ways that I could possibly have imagined! He took my "baby" and raised it to the fine, mature, adult choir that it is now, with its impressive reputation. I honestly don't think I could have done the same, even if circumstances had been different and I'd been able to continue as the director. I'm not sure that I would have had the tenacity, courage and strength to endure this long and build it up this far. Mind you, I don't regret a single moment of my decision and the outcome - it was clearly "meant to be".
Timm deserves to feel nothing buy joy, pride and satisfaction in the 15 years that he has dedicated to the CCC, first briefly as a singer, and then as its Artistic Director. He has sailed this ship around the world and back and collected many fine treasures and memories along the way, and touched countless lives; the lives of the singers, their family members and the hundreds of audience members.
My daughter, (my second child, born in 2003 and now a singer in the Pro Musica Youth Chorus), looks up to Timm and the CCC with awe and a desire to join it one day, She is just one of many many examples of the legacy of CCC under Timm's leadership, showing how much he has done to shape the future of choral music in Chicago, and ensure the CCC's continued success and shining reputation among Chicago choirs.
How humbling and thrilling that Dr. Doreen Rao has now chosen to come back to Chicago to take on the role of Artistic Director of CCC. It goes to show how impressive the CCC's reputation must be, thanks to Timm, that it can attract the likes of such a choral figure to come its helm!
Sometimes, we as singers / supporters of CCC, have taken Timm, the director, for granted, because he has always seemed so confident, capable and masterly. We have often forgotten to tell him what a great job he's doing, assuming that he must know it already. But I know how lonely, isolating, and thankless a job it can be sometimes, even during my brief tenure as leader. Even though I had a lot of support at the time, I sometimes felt that no-one really understood just how hard it was: - not the music side of it, but the leadership side of it: - the politics, the arguments, the drama, the difficult decisions, etc. So, knowing just how challenging it can be, I heartily congratulate Timm. He has done an absolutely amazing job, and one he can be infinitely proud of, forever!
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