We recently connected with Janwin Overstreet-Goode and have shared our conversation below.
Janwin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?
I founded Casulana, the Women’s Choir of Houston, in the fall of 2019 with my friend and co-artistic director Neena Taylor. We had a successful first audition, and were fortunate to find willing and knowledgeable individuals to serve as board members. By our first concert in the spring of 2020, we were already established as a 501(c)3 non-profit.
That first concert was on March 1, 2020; within two weeks, the world shut down, and we worried that our fledging choir experience was over before it really started. The momentum gained from our first concert ground to a halt, as well as the board’s impetus to pursue donors and other financial resources.
We spent the next few months learning how to function in the virtual choir world – training ourselves how to use music software and editing programs, learning how Zoom worked, and figuring out how to create virtual choir presentations. Our first pandemic project was launched in summer 2020, with a traditional virtual choir presentation of one of the selections from our first concert. (The choir members submitted individual recordings which were edited with the help of a friend.)
In the fall of 2020, we held on-line auditions, followed by online rehearsals; our singers again submitted recordings which we wove together to create a Christmas concert. This was premiered on YouTube in December of 2020.
For Spring 2021, we created another virtual choir project; this performance can also be found on our YouTube channel.
We again held auditions for new members in late summer 2021 and gave our second in-person concert in November 2021. For the rehearsals and the concerts, the singers were masked at all times. Our third concert – “Women in Song”, celebrating Women’s History Month and featuring the music of women composers, was presented on March 27, 2022. The concert was in four parts: Women in Celebration; Women in History; Women in Spirit; and Women Rising. We are excited to be back in-person, and look forward to what the future holds for Casulana.
Janwin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
A life-long singer and instrumentalist, Janwin Overstreet-Goode serves as Artistic Director of Casulana, the Women’s Choir of Houston. Founded in 2019, Casulana (named for Maddalena Casulana, the first published female composer) celebrates the female voice and its power to inspire and culturally enrich the lives of audience and participants through artistic and educational programs that present high-quality choral music.
Overstreet-Goode is a secondary choral music consultant, following 36 years as a HS choral director, and is also the Coordinator of Student Teaching and Certification for the University of Houston Moores School of Music. Overstreet-Goode sings with the Houston SymphonyChorus and is a rehearsal conductor for that organization. Most recently, she prepared the chorus for the December 2021 presentation of Handel’s “Messiah”.
Choirs under her direction twice performed for the Texas Music Educators Association convention (2001, 2008). Overstreet-Goode was honored by the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Fidelity FutureStage as the 2008 Outstanding Music Educator in the Field of Choral Music. She served as Vocal Division Vice-President, President-Elect, President and Immediate Past President of TMEA from 2011-2016 and was Secretary-Treasurer of the Texas Choral Directors Association from 2007-2009. Overstreet-Goode was twice recognized for Best Musical Direction by the Houston-area Tommy Tune Awards.
She has collaborated on two choral sight-reading books published by Alliance Music Publications: SMART (Sight-Reading Made Accessible, Readable, Teachable) and SMART-Altered Tones and Modulations.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a musician is the connection between the head and the heart – understanding the background and historical significance of a piece of music engages the head, while the emotions released through the power and beauty of listening to, or performing, music speaks directly to the heart. I can think of no better career.
: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
There is much research to support the value of music, and music education, in the lives of children. Helping raise the awareness of this important fact through supporting future music educators as coordinator of student teaching at UH, and by encouraging continued participation in the arts through Casulana, drives my creative journey. Casulana also invites high school sopranos and altos to join us in one song on our spring concerts, combining both sides of the coin.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.casulana.org
- Facebook: Janwin Overstreet-Goode
- Youtube: Casulana Women’s Choir of Houston
Image Credits
Jeff Grass Photography