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Halcyon days for Janiece Kohler May 10, 2002 By James F. Cotter, For the Times Herald-Record Janiece Kohler, a native of Trenton, Mich., came to New York in 1977 to work for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and she is still with ASCAP as a specialist in repertory research. She earned her degree in vocal music at Western Michigan University School of Music in Kalamazoo, and continued her studies at the Music Academy for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. She has studied voice, vocal pedagogy, choral conducting, organ and piano. Kohler has conducted numerous performances of Broadway shows for the New Vic Theatre and the Grand Valley State College Drama Department. The Monroe resident is best known in Orange County as founder and conductor of the Halcyon Singers and as the music director of the Orange County Classic Choral Society & Orchestra. She is also director at the First Presbyterian Church in Washingtonville and minister of music at the Blooming Grove United Church of Christ. She often appears as guest conductor for area all-state and all-county festivals. Kohler spoke of her career following a recent performance by the Choral Society of Mozart's "Requiem" in Blooming Grove. Q. As director of both the Orange County Classic Choral Society and the Halcyon Singers, you certainly lead a busy life in music. I remember one Sunday when you conducted one group in the afternoon and the other in the evening. Tell me how you became involved as a choral director. A. In 1983, I answered an ad in the Times Herald-Record for an organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Washingtonville. I did not know it at the time, but the position also involved directing the choir. The first rehearsal, I was scared to death. However, I knew the music and I could see changes that needed to be made. It took quite a few years and I am still there. I had been singing with the Choral Society when, in 1991, director Walter Latzko became ill and asked me to take over. I had already started the Halcyon Ensemble in 1988 to perform a different standard of choral literature. The Halcyon Singers are a group of 24 advanced singers. We began in the summer, but the group now sings only at Christmastime and in the spring. Beginning this summer, the Choral Society plans a year-round season of music rehearsal and performance.
Q. Over the years in my reviews, I have described your conducting as talented, dedicated, adroit, warm but firm and accomplished. How would you describe your own style? A. I have been on the other side of the podium a lot of years, so I know what to expect. At Michigan, I had an excellent teacher of choral conducting, Thomas Hardie, and his example has stayed with me through the years so that I try to put into practice everything he suggested. I do what I saw work. I was a vocal major and I know what a singer has to do physically. I have the body language and the words to assist the singers. That's where the trust comes in; they and I know it will work.
Q. What is it in particular that you are looking for? A. The blending of voices. I don't want them to all sound alike – I need 80 different voices but one vowel to sound perfect. That's the blend. Men's voices are essential, but men are harder to come by in choral groups. Perhaps they feel that it is not a man thing to do, sing in a choir.
Q. Your selection of program pieces has been quite varied, from Mozart to John Rutter. I recall you once used a tune from a Delta commercial and had it sung without words. What do you look for in your concert choices? A. I try to find music that allows the voices to be their best. At first, I chose works that I knew, until I ran out. If I find a composer I enjoy, I try to look for new works. My job at ASCAP helps a lot because I can research and discover unknown composers and even perform pieces for the first time.
Q. Is there a difference between performing new and old works? A. Definitely. A few years ago, I prepared the Halcyon Singers for the Hudson Valley Philharmonic's Mozart "Requiem." The work is so popular with singers of all ages, they have sung it and heard it performed. We had to start from scratch for this performance by the Choral Society. Forget what you know, I told them; trust me to do good things. I want the singers to rehearse; later, they will perform when there is an audience. With a new, unfamiliar piece, I do not have to correct preconceived notions.
Q. What would you say to Orange County audiences? A. People often do not realize what they have in the area. Look at the musical venues in churches. People associate the music with services of worship, and rightly so. But the churches are wonderful concert halls, many with marvelous acoustics. They provide perfect rehearsal space, and there are good staff personnel and pastors who encourage the arts. I know a lot of people think of New York City as the center for music, but we have rich local traditions to keep alive. Church worship and music go hand in hand.
Q. What would you add about the upcoming concert? A. The Halcyon Singers will perform the entire concert a cappella. The program will represent composers from Pablo Casals to Palestrina, music sacred and secular. Tom Scott's "The Creation" will feature the Rev. Skip Ferguson as narrator, and we are also doing several spirituals. Samuel Barber transcribed his "Adagio for Strings" for voices, and we will be singing that. We will offer a wide and interesting variety of seldom-heard choral music entirely unaccompanied.
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