The Fredösphere

Bella Voce is a professional chamber choir in Chicago.  They are calling it quits:

In the light of the previously-announced retirement of Anne Heider, one of Bella Voce's founding singers and artistic director of the internationally acclaimed a cappella choral ensemble, the Bella Voce Board of Directors has determined that this will be the last concert season for the ensemble and that the search for a new artistic director will be cancelled. This will draw to a close a 22-year journey for Bella Voce, one of Chicago's finest performing ensembles.

The Board's action comes at a time when many arts organizations are struggling to survive.  All classical arts organizations (including the well-established institutions) are being affected by dwindling audiences caused by economic hardships and/or competition from other media for entertainment time and dollars.  Bella Voce came to the painful realization that it didn't have the resources to effectively counteract these pressures.

Could there be more to this story?  Are they really crying "uncle" without finding out if a new director could make a go of it?  I find this hard to understand.  Are there conflicts among the board?  Is there a competing choir that they expect will siphon off all their talent?  Is a virus of extraterrestrial origin somehow to blame?  Google isn't dishing the dirt. 

Nor is the A Cappella News (which only repeats what we already know).  On the other hand, they do have another article on an a cappella group that covers a classic rock album.  Before, it was Dark Side of the Moon; this time it's The Who Sell Out.