Chorus says farewell to director of 15 years

For 15 years, Joan Boutilier took the Sweet Adelines International (SAI) Choral-Aires Chorus to new heights; consistently winning regional competitions and ranking highly at international competitions. In January, her reign as the Choral-Aires director came to an end as she stepped down from the Chorus.

In a bittersweet good-bye, the Chorus celebrated Boutilier's accomplishments—earning the elite Master Director status with Sweet Adelines International; becoming only the second director in the history of SAI to take two choruses to back-to-back international competitions; and recently being elected to the Sweet Adelines board of directors—and began their search for a new director.

“We will miss Joan immensely,” says Chorus President Martha Anderson. “She is an incredible director, and has brought great depth to our Chorus. We are in good hands, though, with a top-notch music team and interim directors to bring us through this transition smoothly.”

A search committee for the next director is now in place. Individuals interested in leading this growing barbershop chorus of more than 100 women should contact Nancy Smith at nancystahlsmith@gmail.com, or Martha Anderson at mkarka1958@aol.com or 630.963.5620.

More than 100 women from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin sing tight harmonies a cappella (without instrumentation) with the Choral-Aires Chorus, a Sweet Adelines International medaling chorus, and the 2008 Lake Michigan Region 3 Champion. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. More information about the Chorus can be found at their website, http://choral-aires.com.