Connor: Singing in Spain

above: Connor singing in duet with Alan Dornak, countertenor


EDIT: The campaign has finished! However, any support you can give to our choir would be greatly appreciated to cover costs of transporting instruments to Spain or other unexpected fees in case of emergency. If you are willing to support this additional cause, please contact me or the Music Department at Wagner College!

THE FINAL YEAR: SPAIN
Friends, family, and others, my name is Connor Gibbs, and I am currently a senior music major at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. This is my fourth and final year at Wagner, and the perfect way to remember my college years is a trip to Spain! But it's not quite a vacation: the Wagner College Choir performs overseas approximately every 4 years. The choir toured Germany and Austria 4 years ago, and this season the destination is Spain, where our choir will perform 5 concerts and travel to cities including Madrid, Seville, and Granada, and others.

A Special Choir
As a music major, I have delved in composition, conducting, and of course, classical performance. The video above is a taste of my musicianship, but by no means a summation. I began my music studies as a new tenor in the Wagner College Choir in the fall of 2013, and if I had not been in this choir, I may have left the college and missed an incredible number of opportunities; homesickness and feeling "unfit" for the program almost brought me back to Western Massachusetts, where I am from.

Being a member of this choir, and growing as a musician alongside several other gifted friends, kept me in school at Wagner, which became my second home.

Currently, I sing in the College Choir and two smaller ensembles, the Chamber Singers and Stretto/Espresso Jazz Ensemble. Outside of Wagner, I sing with Voyces , a choir which specializes in early music (e.g. Baroque and Renaissance, among other styles).

Click here to hear past work that the Wagner College Choir has done!

I Need Your Help!
The trip to Spain will cost me $1500, an amount far lower than the initial $3500 pricetag which has been lowered by contributions to the choir from the college and various sponsors. There are 3 payment deadlines to be met, and due to tuition and other expenses, it is difficult to find some extra cash to make these deadlines.

Any help at all would be so greatly appreciated, I cannot exaggerate such a fact.

Payment 1: $500 by October 25th ($500)
Payment 2: Additional $500 by November 23rd ($1000)
Payment 3: Additional $500 by January 23rd, 2017 ($1500)

The trip will take place from March 9-19, 2017, and will be a dream come true: to travel abroad and to sing incredible music in places I would never expect to see. If you can help allow such a fantasy of music-making to be a reality, I will forever be grateful.

Thank You For Your Consideration,

Connor Gibbs
Wagner College, Class of 2017, Music
Omicron Delta Kappa