HISTORY
The Southern Connecticut Camerata (SCC) continues the remarkable and enduring tradition of the Westport Madrigal Singers, founded by Jeanne D. Kimball in 1955. The choral chamber singers were originally composed of a few women who met weekly with Mrs. Kimball to sing madrigals, canzonets, and other a cappella music. By the end of 1956, they had formed a sextet to share this music in public performances. The following year they added men to the ensemble and doubled in size. Performing in Elizabethan costumes made by the members, the fledgling group was awarded the Judges’ Prize for musical excellence at the 1957 Fairfield County Choral Festival in Norwalk, before an audience of 800.
By 1959, the Westport Madrigal Singers had grown to twenty members. Under Mrs. Kimball’s direction, for several years the group’s spring concert performances were for the benefit of the Westport Unitarian Church’s building fund. In the 1960s they served as strolling minstrels at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, sang for the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Bridgeport, and performed for local school children. In the 1970s and 1980s they performed at Wave Hill and St. Stephen’s Church in New York City, Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks, Music Mountain in the Litchfield Hills, Friends of Music in Westport, Five Mile River Recital Series in Rowayton, as well as Connecticut Public Television. Since 1988, under various conductors, the group has performed at the Arcady Music Festival in Maine and the South Norwalk and Westport First Night Festivals. The group has also been featured on Paragon and Time Warner Cable television broadcasts.
Continuing its tradition of commitment to quality performance, the group changed its name to Southern Connecticut Camerata in 2009. Although specializing in early a cappella chamber choral music, SCC's repertoire spans the past four centuries, including compositions and arrangements from recent periods, some of which is performed with instrumental accompaniment. SCC performed for the first time with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra in 2011.
The group continues to perform, often collaborating with talented local soloists and instrumentalists, in Norwalk and beyond.
DIRECTOR
David J. Recca, Southern Connecticut Camerata's Artistic Director and Conductor, is known for his commitment and passion for historically informed performance of music written before 1750. He is currently a lecturer at the Conservatory of Music of Purchase College, SUNY, where he directs the Purchase Chorus and Purchase Chamber Singers, is a frequent guest conductor of the Purchase Symphony Orchestra, and teaches a variety of undergraduate courses including music history, music theory, ear training, and conducting. He is the newly appointed Artistic Director of the New York City Master Chorale, and the Assistant Music Director of the New Amsterdam Singers, both fixtures in Manhattan’s choral scene.
He has served as assistant conductor to Mercury Opera Rochester, principal assistant conductor to the Yale Camerata, and artistic director to Madrigalia Via, whose performances were hailed as “sinfully blissful” by the Wall Street Journal. He has prepared choirs for conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, David Hill, Masaaki Suzuki, Simon Carrington, Erwin Ortner, and Sir Gilbert Levine.
He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from the Yale School of Music, a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music, and a Performer’s Certificate in Vocal Coaching and a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from Purchase College.
BOARD MEMBERS
Russ Robbins, President
Don Sileo, Vice President
Steven Freije, Treasurer
Courtney Cronin, Publicist
Glyn Ziemacki, Secretary