Surviving as a classical ensemble in today’s cultural climate is no easy job. Against a backdrop of vocal groups that come and go, La Serenata seems determined to stay.
What is it that enables a vocal group to survive and succeed? Could it be repertoire? Talent? Management or promotion? Perhaps it’s a little of each—achieving success means all these elements need to be in play. La Serenata, however, also boasts an “X factor,” an advantage that is an integral part of who its members are.
From an administrative standpoint, the group’s artistic director and artistic advisor have a grasp of the necessary groundwork involved in launching a musical ensemble. Still, La Serenata has something more: the human factor, that inner barometer that helps these singers sense the needs of their varying audiences. In short, they are willing to go the distance to ensure that they entertain their audiences. They go to great lengths to ponder who their audiences are, where the group will be performing, the time of year for the performance, and most importantly, to discover what particular musical language will speak to a particular group of people.
Herbert Winters Johnson, the group’s founder, was not aware of any classical singing groups in New York whose repertoire could be considered “crossover.” Seeing an opportunity in the making, Johnson realized that a group such as La Serenata could create its own niche by bringing together highly trained opera singers and expanding the scope of the repertoire they performed. This realization became the impetus for forming La Serenata.
La Serenata features both ensemble and solo repertoire. Johnson and Kara Zaremska are the artistic director and artistic advisor respectively; Joan Krueger serves as both pianist and music director. Johnson also sings tenor in the group, and Zaremska sings soprano. Other members of the ensemble include sopranos Maria Ciccaglione and Kristi Kelly, mezzo-soprano Leslie Middlebrook, tenors Alejandro Olmedo and Christian Sebek, and baritones Richard Hobson and Alessandro Magno. Most concerts involve six of the performers. To carry off programs as diverse as the ones the group presents, all of the members were selected for their dramatic ability and artistic range.
La Serenata’s performances feature multiple styles—from grand opera, operetta, and salon, to Broadway and Tin Pan Alley—and perhaps the singers’ greatest artistic challenge is making sense of it all in the context of a concert. Lee Moore, a veteran stage and screen actor who is currently appearing as the character Ned Truman on One Life to Live, manages to assist skillfully in this regard: one part witty emcee, one part narrator. He provides the thread that ties the pieces together and engages the audience.
“I was fascinated with the challenge,” says Moore, “of weaving poetry and a story line through the fabric of an evening comprised of such diverse music.”
The excitement the group generates inspires members of the ensemble to roll up their sleeves and participate in the task of getting performances together. Middlebrook, for example, has devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort to help the group advance, including helping to secure concerts and finding venues for the group’s performances. She has also drawn on her experience as founder of the Professional Women Singers Association, a not-for-profit organization. Despite all the time and effort involved, Middlebrook says it’s well worth the effort.
“I enjoyed meeting new singers and seeing old friends at our first meetings, and being in on the germination of a new company. I have taken great pleasure in the camaraderie at performances and rehearsals, and in seeing La Serenata develop over time. The enthusiasm of the various audiences is particularly gratifying.”
Singing with the group is also helping Middlebrook’s career. “Someone in our last audience has hired me for an upcoming job,” she explains.
Kristi Kelly, whose career credits include numerous operatic as well as symphonic appearances, agrees that La Serenata is a valuable experience.
“Being a part of La Serenata since its formation has been quite an adventure,” she said. “When we first started we were looking mostly for the opportunity to keep our operatic standards fresh and try out new repertoire, while hopefully earning some extra income. So far, I’ve done three concerts with La Serenata, in addition to one small private party program—some operatic arias and ensembles, as well as crossover repertoire—which is fun, as I don’t get a chance to do musical theatre very often.
“It’s been a really good opportunity to work with some wonderful people and make music. Herbert and Kara have put in an immense amount of work—starting these things takes time, especially because many people have day jobs. It would be great for La Serenata to get some really great concert bookings. So far, it’s been a nice opportunity to keep singing in concert, and to network with other talented singers.”
La Serenata’s people-first approach helped the group recognize an opportunity to serve people in need and continue to grow as a performing ensemble. The group agreed to organize a relief concert, in tandem with Habitat for Humanity, to support victims of Hurricane Katrina. La Serenata performed the successful concert in June. Supporting the victims of a public disaster as huge as Hurricane Katrina was an important way for the singers to make a contribution, and have their voices heard in the process. Connecting to the needs of the people is a good way to find an audience, but most importantly, all of the members of the ensemble said they felt a personal desire to help the victims of Katrina.
Giving a concert sanctioned by Habitat for Humanity is no small feat, considering the amount of detail and accountability involved in dealing with such an established charitable organization. Habitat For Humanity required a recording of the group to determine if La Serenata was a viable candidate to use the charity’s name, and whether the group could present a concert that would raise money for relief efforts. Teaming up with Habitat for Humanity meant total accountability on all moneys collected, and precise wording on all promotional marketing documents to fit Habitat’s policies and procedures. In addition, La Serenata had to raise a certain amount of money, a goal the group ultimately surpassed by raising 160 percent of its target.
La Serenata also cultivated a supportive relationship with other organizations and sponsors that contributed goods and services, including Whole Foods Market-Columbus Circle and the catering company Great Performances. Perhaps most impressive, the singers rolled up their sleeves and gave many hours of their own time, writing personal invitations to more than 300 people, and taking a personal role in seeing to the overall success of the concert.
Both Johnson and Zaremska have built La Serenata using lessons they have learned from every aspect of their lives.
As an aspiring singer, Johnson says he was profoundly moved by the sounds of Leontyne Price, whose voice he compared to the voice of an angel. Singing in the Chicago Symphony Chorus under Sir George Solti provided further musical inspiration. His background in the food service industry and as a union representative honed his people skills and ability to negotiate. Entertaining Fortune 500 companies afforded Johnson an exposure to marketing at its highest levels of presentation and professionalism. With these kinds of experiences, he could begin to steer the practical aspects of his musical dream, and attract talented singers in the process.
For Zaremska, a veteran performer on Broadway and in operatic roles, working with La Serenata gave the artist a chance to bring all her abilities to bear. While studying singing, she also pursued degrees in art history and archaeology, which explains her in-depth exploration of programming for the group.
“The programming must be fresh,” says Zaremska, “unconstrained by typical presentation models, which go chronologically from the earliest to the most contemporary music. Instead [we work] to present the music in groupings that reflect the season, venue, and client or audience.”
Zaremska’s background assisting top entertainment professionals left its own valuable imprint on her. The work ethic of Herbert A. Granath, for example, founder of the Arts & Entertainment Channel among many others, particularly impressed Zaremska. Granath taught her how to achieve the polish expected in marketing strategies and presentation materials, as well as the kinds of organizing involved in creating a sound administrative foundation an organization needs to work well.
Another practical lesson both Zaremska and Johnson learned is the importance of “branding” when it comes to logo and overall style. Before sending out a single press kit to impresarios and agents, La Serenata went to meticulous lengths to prepare a package. Over time, and with the assistance of marketing experts, the group honed its materials. Its stylistic logo, designed by Zaremska, is distinct and consistent, and carries over to the group’s website.
Combining their practical abilities with a willingness to thoroughly entertain an audience, Johnson and Zaremska have used their backgrounds to create a group that is beginning to have some traction. The two seem to understand that regardless of how professional and polished a group may be from a marketing and administrative standpoint, it means nothing if the group doesn’t take into account and honor the needs of its audiences.
La Serenata is growing a dream—through careful, detailed planning, and by making a sincere desire to entertain audiences its compass. That might just be a valuable template for other aspiring artists.
For more information, visit La Serenata’s website at www.laserenata.net.The group’s next performance, “A Heralding of Autumn Gala Concert,” will be Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Players in New York City. The benefit concert, featuring Kitty Carlisle Hart as honored celebrity guest, is the second of two concerts with Habitat for Humanity to aid Hurricane Katrina survivors.
