Profiled in Twin Cities Women’s Choir Newsletter

I was profiled in the most recent newsletter of the Twin Cities Women’s Choir as the winner of the Crescendo Award. Big thanks to my interviewer, Mara. We had a great conversation and she wrangled a really nice article out of it.

MEET ERICA MAUTER, WINNER OF THE CRESCENDO AWARD!

When Erica Mauter, Alto 2, stepped up to the mic at the Illuminations concert after being awarded TCWC’s Crescendo Award, she mentioned feeling warm onstage and remarked, “I don’t know what to do with my face!” Funny words that, among other things, suggest Mauter was caught off guard. Indeed, Mauter later explained that she was “completely surprised” by the award, not least because she is a member of TCWC’s Board of Directors, the body that votes on award recipients.

TCWC’s Crescendo Award recognizes an individual who has been a choir member less than five years and contributed greatly to the choir through volunteering and taking a leadership role. In her fifth year as a TCWC member, Mauter’s involvement includes five years as a member of ENCORE!, three years of Board service, and managing TCWC’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Mauter’s above-and-beyond mentality began rather informally; upon joining the choir, she describes herself as having been “generally helpful,” following the examples she saw in her beloved Alto 2 section (to which she envisions lifetime commitment). Then, in 2008, she was invited to join the Board, and accepted the position.

Now in her third year on the Board and second as Board Vice President, Mauter describes her experience there as entirely unique from her experience as a singing member of the choir. In Pat Teiken’s words, it’s a matter of “taking off your singer hat and putting on your Board hat.” Mauter appreciates the opportunity to take a high-level organizational look at the choir, and has become a board member for two other local non-profits, the MN Fringe Festival and The Midwest Advisory Council of the Family Equality Council (formerly Rainbow Families).

Mauter also plays the role of ‘social media guru’ for TCWC. As an extension of her blogging hobby, Mauter created and manages the choir’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. With respect to Twitter, Mauter at one point said, “We should just have this.” She commented that the creation of a TCWC Facebook page spurred many TCWC members to join Facebook. Mauter regularly updates the pages with photos, concert invites, funny lines and anecdotes from rehearsals, and choir-related links.

Despite her broad involvement, Mauter insists that singing is her most valued and meaningful activity within TCWC. “I love singing. It feels good in my head and in my body.” She describes singing in the choir as “a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.” She added that she has gotten “nothing but love back” from the group.

Given this attitude, what is Mauter’s conclusion and advice to other members? Not surprisingly, it’s to “give back.” “If you leave here every Wednesday feeling like you got a lot out of your experience, then give that love back.” And, oh yeah, one more thing: “Don’t wait until the last minute to learn your music, like I do.” Point taken.

BY MARA HENNEN, SECTION LEADER, SOPRANO 2