WASHINGTON DOUGLASS CHORALE ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

Nolan Williams, Jr., Founding Co-Artistic Director of the Washington Douglass Chorale, has decided to step down from his role as co-artistic director of the organization. At the same time, Theodore T. Thorpe, III, another eminent conductor and musician, has agreed to join the organization as a Guest Conductor who will work alongside Founding Co-Artistic Director Scott Tucker during the upcoming season. Mr. Williams will continue to work with the organization as a member of its Board of Directors.

In announcing his decision, Mr. Williams said, “The work of building a new nonprofit organization is demanding. Over the course of our first year, it has been a challenge to keep up with the ever-increasing needs of this organization while also maintaining my commitments to running my company NEWorks Productions and furthering my other artistic projects. Given the workload that is forthcoming for me and my company, it simply is not feasible for me to continue actively in the co-artistic director role.”

Mr. Tucker commented, “It has been an honor to have worked alongside Nolan in the inaugural season of the Washington Douglass Chorale. His artistry, his innovation and his gift of story-telling through music are unparalleled, and I have been inspired by him on countless occasions. I will miss him as Co-Artistic Director, but he will always be the Co-Founder of this ensemble and I am grateful that he will remain on the board where his insight and his leadership will continue to bring the Washington Douglass Chorale to its full potential.”

Mr. Thorpe, who will be a Guest Conductor at least through the end of this calendar year, has been and continues to serve as an Artistic Director for the Washington Performing Arts Society, Music Director at the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, and Director of Choral Activities at Alexandria City High School (formerly TC Williams High School). Speaking about Mr. Thorpe, Mr. Tucker said: “He and I have collaborated on many occasions in our roles directing the Men and Women of the Gospel and the Choral Arts Society of Washington, respectively. I know him to be a consummate musician and I am greatly looking forward to working with him as he joins us this fall as Guest Conductor.”

On behalf of the Washington Douglass Chorale, its President, Rob Vogel, said: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work under the guest direction of Theodore Thorpe, an outstanding conductor whom many of us have worked with in the past. At the same time, we are forever grateful for the immense contributions Nolan has made in bringing our group to life. He is the one who gave us our name, an extension of his civic commitment to our great city and the hope that its citizens will one day be treated as equal participants in our American democracy. In our first year, he brought us innovative programming and original music, including our first commissioned work. He is a visionary and has been an inspiring leader for all of us, and although he is stepping aside from his role as Co-Artistic Director, we are grateful that he will continue providing us with his guidance as a member of our Board.”