Long musical road comes to an end for O'Hara's Craig Cannon

O’Hara musician Craig Cannon is moving into his next, possibly best, chapter.

The man synonymous with music across the Lower Allegheny Valley is hanging up his vocal hat, or at least the daily grind of it all.

Cannon, who retired as choral director in 2013 from the Fox Chapel Area School District after 34 years, is stepping down from his second act as artistic director of Belle Voci, a multigenerational women’s choir he founded 11 years ago.

“I will miss the opportunity to make music on a weekly basis with so many talented adults,” Cannon said. “I have been granted an opportunity to create musical art for more than a decade beyond my career as an educator, and I have loved it. I will miss the friendships.”

Belle Voci, which means beautiful voices, was launched with the mission to “connect song and community.” It features women of all ages, races and skill levels who perform an eclectic repertoire. Cannon said the group is committed to fostering diversity, accessibility and inclusion and that he believes music promotes a healthy community.

He bid farewell during a May 13 concert at Calvary United Methodist Church on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Entitled “Loving the Stranger”. The event was performed in two parts — a multimedia production of Linda Tutas Haugen’s “Anne Frank: A Living Voice” and “Signal Songs of the Underground Railroad”, bringing to light issues that are near and dear to Cannon.

“I will most fondly remember the organization Belle Voci has become,” Cannon said.

In the beginning, he was simply looking to create an opportunity to conduct a choir after retiring from public school teaching.

Over the past 11 years, the choir has become an integral and respected part of the musical landscape of Pittsburgh’s arts scene. Belle Voci now operates as a nonprofit with a 12-member board of directors and has achieved recognition as a component of Allegheny County’s Regional Asset District.

“Our mission has helped to succeed in taking musical performances to populations throughout the region that would not normally have the opportunity to experience high-quality programming,” he said. “This is especially true when it comes to our efforts at presenting to populations with special needs through our sensory friendly performances.”

Since its inception, Belle Voci has been in residence at Faith United Methodist Church along West Chapel Ridge Road in Fox Chapel. Cannon has served as choir director at the church for seven years.

“Craig originally agreed to serve in an interim capacity and to stay through Christmas while we filled the position,” Pastor Scott Shaffer said. “Seven years later, Craig will be going directly from interim to emeritus choir director.”

Shaffer said the choir has become a vital part of the church ministry.

“It’s a great way to use our facilities to serve the community,” Shaffer said. “Craig’s legacy will continue as both Belle Voci and the FUMC music program thrive into the future.”

Cannon, who also is a retired adjunct professor of music education at Duquesne University, said he founded Belle Voci with the intention to stay 10 years and then move on.

When the pandemic hit, he decided to help the group navigate it and get safely to the other side, he said.

“As it turned out, our ninth season was completely wiped out and our 10th anniversary season was not the celebration we had anticipated,” he said. “It was more like limping to recovery.”

But they made it, and he decided to stay on one more year at full strength to make sure the organization was healthy and ready to hand over to a new director.

Lorraine Milovac will take the reins as artistic director June 1. She serves as director of Upper St. Clair’s choral program and the University of Pittsburgh’s Treble Choral Ensemble and as assistant director of music at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair.

Belle Voci singer and board Chair Doris Zurawka said the search committee received applications from several highly qualified candidates.

“Lorraine brings a wealth of talent and expertise that will help us to continue to connect song and community,” Zurawka said.

Though he will remain president of Belle Voci, Cannon said it will be difficult to step down after having performed so long with friends, many of whom are former students from his time at Fox Chapel Area and Duquesne.

“These folks are not just my choir members, they are friends with whom I have been spending over 100 hours a year making music,” he said.

Jenna Bowman, a choir member for seven years, was a student of Cannon’s in high school and college.

“We continued our mentorship and friendship into the choir, and I wouldn’t be the musician I am without him,” Bowman said.

With his scheduled cleared, Cannon said he plans to travel with his wife, who has been waiting patiently for this day.

“When I retired from academia, my wife also retired from her job. However, during the 11 years that have followed, I was still living on a school-type schedule, September through May,” Cannon said. “Now I’ll begin to do the things that she has been waiting for me to do with her, like traveling at times other than in June, July and August exclusively.

“I also have a granddaughter who is 2 years old and she consumes more and more of our free time, and we love it.

“This is a new chapter — grandpap and world traveler.”