Fourth Coast Ensemble

Description

Fourth Coast Ensemble is a classical vocal quartet specializing in the unique style and repertoire of vocal chamber music. Celebrated for "doing everything an organization can to sustain the viability of art song in Chicago" (Vocal Arts Chicago), Fourth Coast embraces a repertoire that spans the history of the genre, from Schubert and Brahms to composers of the present day, including Stacy Garrop, Lori Laitman, and Shawn Okpebholo. The quartet is committed to performing programs of creative and accessible vocal chamber music. The goal at each performance is to communicate an atmosphere of warmth, variety, and genuine expression, creating a dialogue that invites each audience member to feel comfortable, as though they were listening to music in their own living room surrounded by friends."‹
Fourth Coast Ensemble has cultivated a loyal and growing audience through imaginative programming and intimate performances, and earned a reputation of excellence "built on the quality of its small roster of artists"; soprano Sarah van der Ploeg, mezzo-soprano Bridget Skaggs, tenor Ace Gangoso, and bass-baritone David Govertsen. They each perform regularly with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Chicago Opera Theater and are highly sought soloists and vocal pedagogues throughout Chicagoland and beyond.

Work Sample

The following is a reel of performances our quartet has programmed over the past two years:

Bayan Ko, from one of our livestreamed-concerts on March 20, 2021, featuring our tenor, Ace Gangoso, (and pianist, Yasuko Oura); this is an example of the soloistic singing offered by quartet members on concert programs, which tend to run approximately 90 mins.

The Pleasures of Friendship, a virtually-produced excerpt from Fourth Coast's first, original commission by Chicago composer Wayland Rogers; the full piece premiered in May of 2018 and is approximately 30 mins long.

The Circle of Peace, an excerpt from the world premiere performance of Fourth Coast's second original commission, A Brush with our Time by composer Andrea Clearfield. This work premiered alongside a selection of excerpts from Bernstein's Mass at Newberry Library on September 19, 2021 and is approximately 45 mins long.

An arrangement of The Solitude of Stars by Chicago composer Stacy Garrop, premiered at Fourth Coast's Third Annual songSLAM competition on April 3, 2022. The piece is approximately 5 mins long.

A clip from our final concert of 2022; Laughterreise, a comedy art song revue (80 mins). Featuring Fourth Coast Ensemble alongside composer Robbie Ellis and a cast of comedians.

On June 21, 2021, Fourth Coast Ensemble sang outdoors on the Chicago River (via Water Taxi) and in Ping Tom Park as a headlining ensemble at Make Music Chicago Day, an annual city-wide celebration of music. Make Music Chicago is an annual event that "brings together Chicagoans to celebrate their ability to make music, regardless of age, ability or preferred musical style." The quartet offered an eclectic program over the course of two hours- from classical vocal chamber music repertoire to more widely recognizable pieces inspired by the theme of "˜water'. The event was free and open to the public, and the quartet's performance was generously sponsored by the event organizers.

Fourth Coast Ensemble's most common "˜runout event' outside of our organizationally-produced, mainstage performance season is, undoubtedly, caroling. We've performed seasonal favorites all over Chicagoland and beyond; in the homes and offices of our audience members, for religious events, and for community centers- most recently, for a family-day at Hyde Park Arts Center (December 2022).

We perform updated arrangements of classic wintry repertoire with a chamber musician approach-to-detail, and we design our programs with something for everyone- from the classic Christmas carols and secular songs, to pieces by classical composers, to Hannukah songs. We offered this 12-minute "Tiny Office Concert" (linked in full to this application) on Christmas Eve 2021 as a surprise gift to our sponsors during a Covid-19 surge that again prevented us from caroling indoors. The pieces featured here are Silver Bells (Jay Livingston and Ray Evans), Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain (Claude Debussy), and The Christmas Song (Robert Wells and Mel Torme). The event was hosted by Gretchen Eng- our Communications Director. Our classic caroling offering that we perform live consists of nine pieces lasting approximately 30 mins, but we can easily tailor this sort of programming to be occasion-specific.

The three work samples submitted here reflect a handful of performances that are as dynamic as the performers in Fourth Coast Ensemble and the wide and varied contexts in which we perform. We've sung in such historic venues as Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park and the Newberry Library in Chicago and also in pubs, coffee shops, and the parlors of private homes. During the pandemic, we pivoted towards producing highly polished, virtually-streaming events- as you'll see reflected in some of the footage submitted. We've also performed outdoors; caroling, in Chicago public parks, and even on Water Taxis- but our favorite venue for singing is in a recital setting where the intimacy of vocal chamber music can be shared with an audience of both classical music fans and those who simply enjoy fine singing. We love to highlight emerging composers and challenge audiences' perception of what constitutes "˜art song'. The footage in our work samples showcases a widely ranging repertoire performed with the musical precision of Chicago's most dynamic classical singers, whether it be a familiar Christmas carol or a harmonically complex piece of challenging vocal chamber repertoire.

History

Founded in 2013 and granted non-profit status in 2015, Fourth Coast Ensemble is a classical vocal quartet celebrated for "doing everything an organization can to sustain the viability of art song in Chicago" (Vocal Arts Chicago). In 2019, Fourth Coast became the first and exclusive Chicago presenter of songSLAM, an annual competition for new art song featuring the works of up-and-coming Chicagoland composer/performer teams. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FCE adapted their programming by investing in livestream technology that brought their music into the homes of long-standing patrons and new viewers alike. Through a series of critically-acclaimed HD concerts, the quartet shared the intimacy of the vocal chamber music genre while maintaining a sense of community with audiences, composers, and musicians in Chicagoland and beyond.

FCE returned to in-person performance in September 2021 with the premiere of an original commission, A Brush with our Time, also featured on their solo studio album debut, Human to Human: New Works for Vocal Quartet (2021). Over the past two years, the quartet has partnered with venues across the city and artists such as sketch comedians, folk musicians, and visual artists to present collaborative programming that innovates the classical vocal concert experience.

Artistic Vision

Fourth Coast Ensemble is a vocal chamber quartet committed to performing programs of creative and accessible vocal chamber music. With a repertoire spanning Romantic to Contemporary, Fourth Coast Ensemble presents salon-style performances in venues ranging from parlor to concert hall. The goal at each performance is to communicate an atmosphere of warmth, variety, and genuine expression. Fourth Coast Ensemble creates a dialogue that invites each audience member to feel comfortable, as though they were listening to music in their own living room surrounded by friends."‹

The quartet embraces repertoire spanning the history of art song and vocal chamber music genres while presenting these forms as highly relevant and ever-evolving. The ensemble is further committed to programming concerts featuring a majority of works by composers who identify as women and gender-non-conforming, LGBTQIA+, and people of color, thereby shedding light upon artistry largely ignored by the institutions of classical music. The majority of our commissions are from Chicagoland area composers such as Robbie Ellis, Stacy Garrop, Shawn Okpebholo, and Wayland Rogers.

Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise

We program our events with an eye towards attracting a general audience of music lovers who are curious to learn more about the stories behind the pieces performed. That said, each of our quartet members are musical pedagogues who have a special knack for instilling a love of art song and vocal chamber music in aspiring singers. The quartet has performed in concert presentation series at universities and colleges and offered lessons, masterclasses, and workshops for emerging performers interested in widening their repertoire.

Traditional Folk/Ethnic Artform Statement

Chicago served as a migratory destination in the 20th century and created a haven for those that have richly informed our repertoire as we know it today- from renowned black composers such as Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, to visionary experimentalists such as Ruth Crawford Seeger, to genre-defining artists like Ned Rorem. It is against this backdrop that Fourth Coast has been able to thrive for nearly a decade and derive our identity as an ensemble. We even named our quartet to reflect our city's unique geographic position; Fourth Coast refers to the coastline of the Great Lakes, as much a hotbed for creative activity as the East, West, and Gulf Coasts of our country.

Though we perform music from many and varied different cultural traditions, we recently presented a program of American Folk Music that is dear to our hearts and especially well-received. We would be honored to continue offering this program as a celebration of the pieces and people that have shaped American Folk Music for generations- from Old Time ballads, to the Seeger family legacy, to modern works by Chicagoland musicians that encompass an inclusive representation of our country's musical heritage.