The Choral Arts Society of Washington Announces its 2012-2013 Season

[Guest EdPalmedo]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2012

 

Choral Arts welcomes new Artistic Director, Scott Tucker

 

 

Washington, DC – For its 48^th season – which introduces Artistic Director Scott Tucker – the Choral Arts Society moves in new directions with six concert programs at the Kennedy Center and other DC venues. During the early weeks of autumn, Maestro Tucker will be preparing the chorus for performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, considered one the composer’s most masterful achievements. Because of the technical demands placed on all the performing forces, the Missa is less frequently performed than other major works by Beethoven. The Choral Arts Chorus joins a stellar cast of soloists and the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of NSO Music Director Christoph Eschenbach on November 1 and 3 for these concerts.

 

The Choral Arts Christmas traditions continue under Tucker’s direction with performances of An Enchanted Christmas in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in December. Living the Dream … Singing the Dream: The 25^th Annual Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. takes place during Black History Month in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall with Tucker and Stanley Thurston, music director of WPAS’ Men, Women and Children of the Gospel Choirs, leading the singers in this highly popular community event, a co-presentation with the Washington Performing Arts Society. In his program in April, Brass, Brahms and Britten, Tucker conducts antiphonal works by Gabrieli, Britten, Brahms and other masters at The National Presbyterian Church. The season concludes with Broadway’s Show-Stoppers, a revue of musical theater classics featuring Broadway sensation Brian Stokes Mitchell in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Mother’s Day.

 

Introducing new repertoire and expanding its audiences have long been hallmarks of Choral Arts programming. In October, Choral Arts’ former associate music director, Dr. Joseph Holt, will lead Choral Arts singers and a Latino ensemble of vocalists and instrumentalists in La Musica Latina, a fiery fiesta of music from South of the Border at The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium. Holt returns with Santa, Frosty and Rudolph in December for Choral Arts’ Family Christmas Concert in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Featuring the chorus and a cast of actors in a heartwarming story set to music, the performance is especially developed for our youngest audience members and their families.

 

Pricing Single Tickets $15-$85. Season ticket packages are now available and single tickets go on sale on September 6.

 

2012-2013 Season Details

Programs: La Musica Latina; An Enchanted Christmas; A Family Christmas; Living the Dream…Singing the Dream: 25^th Annual Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Brass, Brahms and Britten; Broadway’s Show-Stoppers with Brian Stokes Mitchell; Rhythm: The Heart and Soul of Latin American Music (Student Concert); Living the Dream…Singing the Dream (Student Concert). With the National Symphony Orchestra: Ludwig van Beethoven: Missa Solemnis

Composers: Beethoven, Gabrieli, Brahms, Britten, Nystedt, Piazzola, Cole Porter, and others

Conductors: Artistic Director Scott Tucker; National Symphony Orchestra Music Director Christoph Eschenbach; Choral Arts’ former Associate Music Director Joseph Holt (now Artistic Director of Sarasota’s Gloria Musicae); Stanley J. Thurston, Artistic Director, Washington Performing Arts Society’s Men, Women and Children of the Gospel Choirs; Michele Fowlin, Director, WPAS Children of the Gospel Choir

Soloists: Brian Stokes Mitchell (Broadway’s Show-Stoppers); Anne Schwanewilms, Iris Vermillion, Richard Croft, Kwangchul Youn (Missa Solemnis); Luis Garay, Pablo Talamante, Carmen de Vicente, Michael Bard, Deborah Benner (La Musica Latina)

Collaborators and Ensembles: National Symphony Orchestra; Washington Performing Arts Society; WPAS’ Men, Women, and Children of the Gospel Choirs; Catherine Flye, playwright/director

Venues: Kennedy Center Concert Hall, The National Presbyterian Church, The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium

Season Concert Details

 

La Musica Latina | The George Washington University Lisner Auditorium

Sunday, October 21, 2012 | 7:00pm

La Musica Latina celebrates the sizzle and passion of a musical heritage that stretches from Mexico to Argentina. Guest vocalists and instrumentalists join a Choral Arts Chamber Choir to highlight the variety of styles and rhythms that make this repertoire so popular. The program features the choir singing folk songs such as “El Grillo,” “Libertango” and “Cielito Lindo” along with American favorites influenced by Latino musical styles (including Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine” and “Hernando’s Hideaway” from The Pajama Game). Vibrant rhythms and colorful melodies will fill the evening as soloists, choir and audience sing and sway to the sounds of Latin America.

 

A Family Christmas: “Through Children’s Eyes” | Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Saturday, December 16, 2012 | 1:00pm

Our popular “show within a show” features a new and unique holiday story each year, enhanced by special appearances from Santa, Frosty and Rudolph and carol sing-alongs. This year’s collaboration between conductor Joseph Holt and playwright Catherine Flye tells the story of a boy who discovers that his grandmother’s world can be full of fun and surprises, especially at Christmas. The Choral Arts singers join a talented troupe of actors in this year’s production of “Through Children’s Eyes.”

 

An Enchanted Christmas | Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Monday, December 17, 2012 | 7:00pm ║ Monday, December 24, 2012 | 1:00pm

A perennial holiday favorite in the nation’s capital, the Choral Arts Christmas concerts, opening with the singers’ processional down the aisles of the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, present classic holiday repertoire and carols for all to sing. Following the concert on Monday, December 17, the 32^nd annual Holiday Gala and Silent Auction will take place in the Kennedy Center South Gallery Atrium and Foyer, festively decorated for this beautiful event.

 

Living the Dream…Singing the Dream: 25th Annual Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Sunday, February 10, 2013 | 7:00pm

This Choral Arts concert tradition began in 1969, a year after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and was re-established in 1989 when the national holiday was created. The tribute observes its 25^th anniversary this season. Performers of diverse artistic backgrounds and styles come together to give eloquent musical expression to Dr. King’s timeless message of peace, justice and unity. For the third year, the Choral Arts Chorus is joined by the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Men, Women, and Children of the Gospel Choirs, led by Maestro Stanley J. Thurston and Michele Fowlin.

 

Brass, Brahms and Britten | The National Presbyterian Church

Sunday, April 14, 2013 | 5:00pm

Scott Tucker’s first full-length classical concert with Choral Arts includes antiphonal works for brass, organ and chorus by some of the maestro’s favorite composers. Tucker’s program highlights the acoustic interaction between the music, the performers, the sanctuary space and its magnificent 7,000-pipe organ. The chorus will present polychoral pieces for brass and chorus by Giovanni Gabrieli, originally written as a response to the architecture of Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Other works on the program include Brahms’ “Let Nothing Ever Grieve Thee” and Benjamin Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb.” A reception for all at the church with Maestro Tucker will follow the concert.

 

Broadway’s Show-Stoppers with Brian Stokes Mitchell | Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Sunday, May 12, 2013 | 5:00 pm

Brian Stokes Mitchell joins the Choral Arts Chorus in a song revue of the best of Broadway. The concert will take our Mother’s Day audience along the Great White Way of timeless classics and new hits. Mitchell was most recently seen on Glee and has also starred on Broadway in Kiss Me, Kate; Man of La Mancha; Ragtime; Kiss of the Spider Woman and other hit shows.

 

 

Guest Appearance Details

 

Ludwig van Beethoven: Missa Solemnis | Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Thursday, November 1, 2012 | 7:00pm ║ Saturday, November 3, 2012 | 8:00pm

Choral Arts will join the National Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Christoph Eschenbach for this thrilling, yet rarely performed work. Presented by the NSO as the third part of a three-year exploration of Beethoven’s music. Anne Schwanewilms, soprano; Iris Vermillion, mezzo-soprano; Richard Croft, tenor; Kwanchul Youn, bass.