Our desire is for the Appalachian Men's Ensemble to continue offering programs and performances like these that contribute to a strong sense of community right here in the Tri-Cities.
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A Letter from the Artistic Director
A Letter from the Artistic Director
Dear Friend of AMEn,
As we look forward to another season of the Appalachian Men’s Ensemble, we look back on the past year with gratitude for the singers, audience members, and other supporters who helped make our 2025-2026 season a success. Performing at the newly refurbished chapel on the Johnson City VA campus was a highlight of our fall concerts, the Christmas concerts saw one of our biggest performing rosters to date, and our spring program featured some exciting works by several of our talented local composers.
We hope you will join us this fall as we kick off our concert season with “Of Thee I Sing” in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. More than just another patriotic concert, this program will highlight the diverse cultural heritage of the United States of America, with folk songs, hymns, barbershop, jazz, rock & roll, and more. The central feature of the program will be The Testament of Freedom, written by one of the preeminent American choral composers, Randall Thompson, using lyrics written by Thomas Jefferson. Make plans to attend this concert on Friday, November 6, at Gray UMC or on Saturday afternoon, November 7, as we return to the VA chapel in Johnson City. Also, you can hear us perform The Testament of Freedom again as special guest performers with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, November 14, in the Mary B. Martin Auditorium of Seeger Memorial Chapel on the campus of Milligan University.
After our exciting fall schedule, we will return again in February with a performance at another new venue - the Jackson Theater in Jonesborough. Join us as we perform hits by Dolly, Elvis, and many more “Tennessee Titans of Music” on February 19 at the Jackson and February 20 at Central Presbyterian Church in Bristol, VA. Finally, we plan to close our season with a program titled “Fly Me to the Moon” on May 13 and 14 in Gray and Bristol.
We are pleased to continue offering programs and performances like these that contribute to a strong sense of community right here in the Tri-Cities. Perhaps just as important, however, is the camaraderie and connections that are formed among our singers during the rehearsal process. Our ensemble welcomes men from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to work together toward a common goal - bringing excellence and musical artistry to the preparation and performance of choral music. Along the way, we encourage our singers to develop their vocal and musical skills and find a sense of belonging and community in our ensemble.
Would you consider a financial gift to help us continue our mission? As a community choir, we rely on the backing of our friends and supporters to help us continue bringing high-quality choral music to communities across the Tri-Cities and to expand our educational outreach programs to inspire the next generation of musicians. Your support is essential to the continued success of the Appalachian Men's Ensemble, so please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We look forward to sharing our music with you and hope to see you at an upcoming concert.
With gratitude,
Dr. Noah DeLong
Artistic Director, Appalachian Men’s Ensemble
Suggested Donation Levels
Suggested Donation Levels
Publisher - $75
Do you enjoy the wide and varied repertoire that the Appalachian Men's Ensemble performs? You can help us expand our music library by purchasing a new song for the group. Your gift of $75 will purchase one new copy of music for each person in the choir.
Section Leader - $150
Singing can be a wonderful lifelong activity, and many of our singers got their start in music as a young person. We want to extend membership in the ensemble to interested singers in high school or college, and your gift of $150 will cover the costs for one student to participate for the entire season. That means $300 will sponsor two singers, or...
Soloist - $300
Our concerts often feature additional musicians from the local community who help take our music to the next level. In the past, we have featured vocalists, pianists, organists, violinists, handbell ringers, and even an entire string quartet! Your gift of $300 will cover the cost of a talented guest artist to join us for one of our concert cycles in the coming year.
Composer - $500
Our group loves to perform new music, and we have built relationships with several talented composers and arrangers. We would love to include some new music in our 10th anniversary year that is written specifically for our group and our community. A gift of $500 can bring that dream to life by covering the commissioning fee for a brand new piece of music.
Conductor - $1000
We enjoy presenting concerts to our community - it is the highlight of our year! As you might imagine, though, there are many costs involved in preparing a concert, from purchasing music to personnel to publicity. Your gift of $1000 will underwrite the costs of performing one concert cycle, and will help us continue our tradition of enjoyable and entertaining concerts.
Producer- $2000
As we step into our second decade, we are looking to expand the reach of the Appalachian Men's Ensemble by bringing the gift of music to new areas in our community. There are many possible avenues for us to reach out - including students, the elderly, veterans, incarcerated populations, and more. We would even love to donate the proceeds of one of our concerts to a local charitable organization each year. A gift of $2000 will enable us to broaden the impact we can have in our community by underwriting the costs of a new outreach venture that just might continue for years to come.
Season Sponsor - $5000
Looking back, it is amazing to see how the Appalachian Men's Ensemble has grown over the past 10 years. From a fledgling group of music lovers to a steady presence in our community, you can now count on us to deliver a delightful season of 6-8 performances every year. And we would not be where we are today without the generous support of our community. A donation of $5000 would underwrite the costs of an entire concert season and help build a strong foundation for future music-making in our community. Here's to another great year for the Appalachian Men's Ensemble!
As a community choir, we rely on the backing of our friends and supporters to help us achieve our goals.
Your tax-deductible donation will help us to continue bringing high-quality choral music to communities throughout the Appalachian Highlands and beyond.
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