Cal Poly Pomona Administrator's Nonprofit Recognized for Contributions to Choral Music
The nonprofit women’s chorus VOX Femina Los Angeles, founded and led by Cal Poly Pomona Dean Emerita Iris S. Levine, is the recipient of the prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Organizational and Artistic Achievement. The honor is conferred by Chorus America, which will celebrate 2024 recipients of its awards program at the 2024 Chorus America Conference in Atlanta, Georgia June 6-8.
Highly recognized for innovative concert programming and her extensive knowledge of women’s choral literature, Levine is a sought-after guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician. Since 1997, VOX Femina has performed in more than 400 concerts in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“I am extraordinarily proud that we have received Chorus America’s 2024 Margaret Hillis Award,” said Levine. “Many years ago, I had the distinct privilege of studying with Ms. Hillis, a trailblazer for women in the choral arts, and having VOX connected to her name and legacy is a tremendous honor. VOX Femina is truly grateful to Chorus America for this wonderful recognition.”
Levine currently serves as a special assistant to the interim provost in the university’s Office of Academic Affairs. She was previously dean of the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences; interim dean of the College of Education and Integrative Studies; and professor and chair of the Department of Music. Levine is the editor for the Iris S. Levine Treble Choral Series with Pavane Publishing. She authored the chapter on “Working with the Women’s Community Choir” in “Conducting Women’s Choirs: Strategies for Success” (2012) and she is a contributing author in Choral Reflections: Insights from American Choral Conductor-Teachers (2022). Levine is a member of the American Choral Directors Association and Chorus America.
The Margaret Hillis Award — named after the first woman to conduct the Chicago Symphony and the Grammy Award-winning founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus — recognizes adult volunteer choruses that demonstrate both artistic achievement and a strong organizational structure with financial stability, as well as a commitment to access, diversity, equity, and inclusion, community engagement, and education.
Now in its 27th season led by Levine, its founding artistic director, VOX Femina Los Angeles is committed to giving women voice and to centering its messaging and programming on issues of social and racial justice. The organization’s dedication to commissioning new works for SSAA voices (a choir composed of two distinct soprano sections and two distinct alto sections) resulted in more than 50 commissions, many of them collaborations with composers from under-represented communities, as well as active participation in commissioning consortiums that expand the canon of women’s choral music. Its music education programs serve over 2,000 students annually with a variety of offerings, including a Justice Choir community singing program offered to schools with little or no existing music education and a High School Choir Festival. These expanding programs are supported by a growing staff and board, as well as robust revenue-generating and fundraising efforts.
Chorus America is the advocacy, research and leadership organization advancing the choral field, with a membership of more than 6,000 choruses, individuals, businesses, and organizations.
