Flowers from Bostwick garden (photos by Eddie Greene)

Come to an "Open Garden" on Saturday, June 5 (yes, THIS Saturday, rain date June 6), hosted by the CAE tenor section at tenor Michael Bostwick's lovely garden at 510 Tenth Ave SW in Rochester. This event was a popular offering at our A Singing Valentine benefit in February, and Michael Bostwick is happily opening the event to more guests.

For a donation of $40 per person (payable to Choral Arts Ensemble), you can drop in anytime between 1:00 and 4:00 pm to enjoy the beautiful garden and delectable refreshments. You'll even leave with a plant from Michael's extensive perennial collection. There is no need to sign up ahead of time; donations can be received at the event.

Hansen poolside

Another fabulous and popular Singing Valentine offering is the Summer Soiree, held poolside at the home of Jolene & Alan Hansen. This elegant evening of drinks, appetizers, sweets, and jazz is offered by hosts Jolene & Alan Hansen, Elaine Case & Bill Wiktor, Muriel & Ralph Schornack, and Sheri Brandvold & Bill Volkmar, in support of CAE. DaCapo Trio will be providing the music. Some people may remember that two members of DaCapo Trio, Ralph and Muriel Schornack, also provided the music for dancing at the close of the Valentine benefit evening.

You can attend this event which begins at 6:00 pm on Saturday, July 10 (rain date Sunday July 11), for a donation of $50 per person. For a reservation, please contact the Choral Arts Ensemble office at (507) 252-8427 by July 5.

Last year's Community Sing-ers performing Rutter's Requiem.

Registrations are steadily coming in for our second annual Community Sing. Mozart's Requiem is the featured selection this year, and how wonderful it will be to sing it in beautiful Lourdes Chapel at Assisi Heights. Our Franciscan friends are very generous in sharing it with us, and we love to be able to share it with you all as well.

One really special thing we've noticed in our registrations is that entire families sign up to do it together or groups of friends do. So gather your group and head to the website for registration information. Or call us at (507) 252-8427. Music and learning cds are available for pickup in the office anytime between now and the event. Because of the nature of the music, we do request that singers be at least in 10th grade, but other than that, we have no requirements beyond love of singing and having fun.

Audience members are welcome as well! Those tickets can also be purchased at the website or by calling us.