Ellacappella
Ellacapella is from an area of Maine which is steeped in maritime history, having been explored and settled early in the 17th century by the French and British. Last summer, Ella was invited to participate in the celebration of that history. The replication of the French frigate L’Hermione, which carried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780,retraced it’s original voyage up the eastern seaboard, ending in the port of Castine, Maine. Immediately following Spring Sing 58, Ella began learning songs from the American Revolutionary War era, in addition to French and nautically themed songs. We performed dockside on July 15, 2015 in the shadow of that majestic ship, leaving us all with an unforgettable memory! Did you know that there are eight verses to Yankee Doodle? We sure didn’t! It turns out that most late 18th century songs have enumerable verses. (Lessons learned!)
In other news, Ellacappella lost not one, but two sopranos in 2015. Our darling Sabrina Rose decided to pursue a teaching degree and to devote her time to musical theater. Our irreplaceable codirector, Jessica Booth, made the decision to spend more time with her young children. We miss them both! Left with nine members and only one first soprano, our Spring Sing 59 prospects looked bleak. In late March, Ashley Terwilliger joined Ella, perfectly complementing our veteran soprano, Lisa Lesko, with her clear, bell-like voice. She has learned all eight songs in ten weeks! We are so very thankful! A word of NOTE: we are now 30% redheaded! Look out!