Following years of COVID-related challenges, the staff of Berkshire Choral International (BCI) is excited to launch a full summer season of programs that pairs amateur adult singers with inspiring conductors throughout the nation and world—all while keeping their heart in Berkshire County. Their enriching and immersive work as a fantasy camp for choral musicians is supported through a nonprofit agency fund at BTCF.

“It’s really about expanding horizons,” said BCI President Steven Smith. “The average amateur singer, who may be well trained, has a limited ability to be a part of the international community of professional choral musicians. We give people a platform where they can be part of exhilarating performances, as well as travel and meet like-minded singers and artists.”

At the height of the pandemic, BCI was forced to move its classes online. They recorded workshops and hosted some live virtual events “at a time when singing was one of the most dangerous things,” Smith said. “People were really feeling the loss of their choral communities, so we tried to fill the gap. The good news is that it allowed us to reach new singers—more than 3,000 constituents joined us online that had not previously been with us.”

Smith emphasized that BCI plans to reach out to young singers who may not be familiar with their mission, and it aims to diversify its musical offerings. “We’ve added interesting programming focused on the African American musical tradition. And we’re partnering with a national organization called Chorus America to help support a new institute that they’re building for administrative leaders from historically marginalized communities,” he said.

Over the summer, more than 450 singers will participate in one of BCI’s signature singing weeks, which feature an intensive seven-day process to rehearse and perform a major work. This year’s experiences kick off on May 24 at the Tanglewood Learning Institute in Lenox, Mass., followed by events in Seattle, Wash., Blacksburg, Va., and Florence, Italy.

“Yes, it’s for amateur singers, but they really push you to operate at a professional level,” one past participant said. “To immerse yourself in music, to meet fabulous people from all over, and to work with the most brilliant, informative, inspiring conductors, that’s what I love the best,” said another. A singer summed up his experience: “It’s really special to make music with folks who have such a deep heart and love for it.”

Berkshire Choral International has strong ties to BTCF. It was founded more than 40 years ago by the late John Hoyt Stookey, who sat on BTCF’s board from 2007 to 2013. BCI opened a nonprofit agency fund with the foundation in December 2021 to receive planned giving support and utilize BTCF’s investment and administrative management, as well as its professional investment committee.

“We had previously had our endowment and reserve funds with a traditional fund manager. We were not thrilled with the rate of return, and it wasn’t giving back. It wasn’t creating value in the way that we really wanted it to,” Smith said. “When we started the conversation with Berkshire Taconic, we realized that it was a way to keep our investment in the Berkshire community. What we’re building is going to be sustained.”

BCI is also aligned with BTCF’s strategic priority of community engagement, which aims to bridge divides and create connections through arts and culture. “Choruses are a great platform for social engagement and social change. According to a national study, choral singers engage at a civic level at higher levels in almost any group—they vote more often, they volunteer more, and they engage in more empathetic behaviors,” Smith said.