Group led by NVCC professor performs with Kenny Loggins

The Richard Gard Singers, led by NVCC Professor Richard Gard, provided back-up for Kenny Loggins in Wallingford on Dec. 2.)

WATERBURY (Dec. 3, 2006) — The Richard Gard Singers, a professional singing group led by a Nauguatuck Valley Community College professor, provided back-up for pop star Kenny Loggins on Dec. 2 at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford before an audience of more than 5,000 people.

Once a member of the hit duo Loggins & Messina, Kenny Loggins has seen 12 of his albums go platinum and beyond over the past three decades. His many hits include: Footloose, This is It, Whenever I Call You Friend, Don’t Fight It and House at Pooh Corner,

Eleven members of the Richard Gard Singers performed with Loggins. In addition to Gard, who is also director of the NVCC Choir, they included:

• Three NVCC students (Lisa Cobham of New Haven, Jason Alderuccio of Waterbury, and Rachel Parker of Waterbury);
• Two members of the NVCC faculty (AnDrea James of New Haven and Rebekah Chamberlain of East Haven); and,
• Three “music mentors” from the NVCC Choir (Evelyn Gard of Beacon Falls, Kathy Guarini of Prospect, and Joe Martin of Naugatuck).

Gard was referred to Loggins because he has performed several times at the Chevrolet Theatre, formerly the Oakdale Theatre.

Just as most college faculty members are expected to publish professionally, fine arts faculty are expected to perform professionally. Toward that end, Gard founded The Richard Gard Singers in 2000. Today it has up to 20 members and is one of Gard’s two professional singing groups. The other is the Yale Bruckner Choir, affiliated with his alma mater. Gard also has ties with New York and Los Angeles professional groups.

Located off exit 18 on Interstate 84, NVCC has one of the most comprehensive two-year music programs in the state. It is the only two-year college in Connecticut that offers a complete course catalog for a music major, including four semesters of music theory, four semesters of ear training, conducting, chorus, gospel choir, concert band, jazz ensemble and guitar ensemble.

In June, NVCC and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury became the first two public schools in Connecticut to announce an agreement that made it possible for music students at NVCC to transfer all their credits to the WestConn music education program to complete a bachelor’s degree without losing any credits.