Cathedral News posted Monday, October 31, 2011
Cathedral's Director of Music Honored
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral Director of Music Thomas Lloyd has been recognized as one of seventy-six Creative Connectors in the Philadelphia region selected from over 3,000 nominations received by Leadership Philadelphia, the region’s premier community leadership organization. With support from the Knight Foundation and WHYY, Leadership Philadelphia seeks to identify leaders in the community who “get things done below the radar…who use art, culture, and design to build community and economic vitality.”
Lloyd, along with his fellow Creative Connectors, is profiled on the WHYY Newsworks website, including a recent video conversation with Stanford Thompson, the director of an orchestral training program in West Philadelphia modeled on “El Sistema” in Venezuela. The pair soon discovered that Thompson had played as an “extra” in a Haverford/Bryn Mawr Chorale performance of Verdi’s Requiem under Lloyd’s direction when Thompson was a student at Curtis.
Lloyd was cited by Leadership Philadelphia for being "a key figure in a number of musically rooted institutions. His goal is to enrich the community through the choral arts experience. He has assembled choirs and led nine international tours involving collaborative performances with local ensembles in cultures as diverse as Turkey, Ghana, Poland, Russia, and Venezuela. Lloyd also founded, “Singing for Seniors,” a nationally recognized program that brings together senior choirs across Buck County."
A long-time believer in the power and value of collaborative musical effort, Lloyd has played significant roles in developing meaningful collaborations between his singing groups (the Haverford/Bryn Mawr Chorale and Chamber Singers, the Bucks County Chorale Society, and the Philadelphia Cathedral Singers) and groups from other regions, countries, demographics, and musical styles. Lloyd recently arranged a pair of shared concerts between his suburban Bucks County Choral Society and the acclaimed choirs of the St. Thomas African Episcopal Church that took place in both Doylestown and Philadelphia. This collaboration led to performances last weekend in Philadelphia and Lansdale featuring newly commissioned works of sacred jazz by Philadelphia and nationally recognized composers.
Notable for being one of only six “connectors” working in the field of classical music (and the only choral musician), Lloyd’s fellow Creative Connectors comprise a cross section of area arts leaders, including Glen Knapp (Philadelphia Young Playwrights), Catherine Cahill (Mann Center for the Performing Arts), David Devan (Opera Company of Philadelphia), Varissa McMickens (ArtsRising), Hal Real (World Café), Jane Golden (Philadelphia Mural Arts Program), Craig Petersen (Philly Fringe), Karen Davis (Arts & Business Council), Andrew Simonet & Amy Smith (Headlong Dance Theater), and many more.
“Our list of the top 76 Creative Connectors is made up of members of the local arts and culture community who are the glue that binds it together,” says Leadership Philadelphia president Liz Dow. “These are the folks who seem to know everyone, connect for the common good, and get things done without worrying about getting credit for it. That’s leadership.” – Creative Connectors Press Release
