Teams of Employee Choirs from Top Companies Help Celebrate the Arts, Raise Awareness

Cincinnati, OH (April 9, 2015)– Last night on April 8, ArtsWave hosted its second annual CincySings event at Cincinnati Music Hall.  Hosted by artist Drew Lachey, the high-energy evening featured amazing performances by 11 employee choirs from top regional companies for a cheering crowd of more than 1,600.  Judges Evans Mirages, Kathy Wade, Sara Mackie, and Rodger Pille reviewed the performances and provided commentary throughout the show.

Eleven local companies sent their top choirs to CincySings: American Modern Insurance, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Duke Energy, Fifth Third Bank, GE Aviation, Great American Insurance Group, Horseshoe Casino, Macy’s Credit and Customer Services, P&G, TriHealth, and the University of Cincinnati. Several of the teams worked with a vocal coach provided by ArtsWave from one of the city’s many vocal music and arts organizations including Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Men’s Chorus, Cincinnati Boychoir, Queen City Chamber Opera, the Young Professional’s Choral Collective, and Know Theatre of Cincinnati.

All of the company champions succeeded in bringing amazing performances to the stage. After intense discussion, Macy’s All Stars from Macy’s Credit and Customer Services narrowly took the runner-up spot and Full House from Great American Insurance Group was declared the winner. Full House will sing the national anthem at the Cincinnati Reds game on August 23, and with the Cincinnati Pops at Riverbend on June 6. The judges also gave special recognition to the teams from University of Cincinnati, Fifth Third Bank, TriHealth, and GE Aviation.

Audience members voted for their Fan Favorite team with contributions after the show. University of Cincinnati’s team of nurses, The Healing Melodies, won the Fan Favorite vote, and will be invited to sing at Macy’s Kids, Cultures, Critters and Craft Festival at the Cincinnati Zoo, along with the top two teams. All three teams will also have the opportunity to sing the national anthem at a University of Cincinnati game in the coming season.

For several years, both P&G and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center have run “sing-off” events as part of their ArtsWave workplace giving campaigns, encouraging employees to create small choral groups and take the stage in support of ArtsWave. Last year, Melanie Healey, Group President – P&G North America and Chair of the 2014 ArtsWave Community Campaign, suggested expanding the concept to encourage other top regional companies to run internal competitions and then send their winning choirs to face-off in a friendly showdown. This year, CincySings expanded to include more companies and more teams, with a Semi-Finals event in March and a tough Wild Card competition hosted by Cincinnati.com.

“CincySings is a wonderful example of how the arts bring people together,” said Alecia Kintner, President & CEO of ArtsWave. “Co-workers, who might not have known each other well before, are now teammates sharing a chance to express their creative side.  Their enthusiasm is contagious and extends to all within their workplaces.”

As the nation’s first and largest arts fundraising drive, the ArtsWave campaign supports the work and impact of over 100 arts and cultural organizations with grants and services. More than 400 companies and 40,000 donors contribute to the effort each year, many through workplace giving campaigns.

For more information on CincySings, visit www.theartswave.org/cincysings and follow @ArtsWave and #CincySings on Twitter.