Because of Halloween weekend, not so many choral concerts going on, but still enough to fill your dance card!
Friday: On Friday, take a little hike down to Providence to hear Zefiro, a group of eight Renaissance singers. They will be stretching their repertoire with a program called "Meditations," which will include Arvo Pärt's Prayer after the Canon, as well as a cappella works by Parry, Brahms, and more. If you don't want to trek down to Providence to hear them on Friday at 8 pm at St. Stephen's Church, check them out at 8 pm on Saturday closer to home, at the Nave Gallery in Somerville.
Saturday: Or on Saturday, you could also check out the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum and Radcliffe Choral Society as they present a program called "Exuberance and Elegance," featuring classics of Tudor England and new America. This concert is a big deal, as it is the debut of Andrew Clark, the newly appointed Director of Choral Activities at Harvard. Sanders Theatre, 8 pm!
Sunday: The Boston Camerata will team up with the choral fellows of the Harvard University Choir to present works by Dufay, Josquin, Marenzio, and Monteverdi. At Memorial Church on the Harvard campus, 4 pm.
Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Weekend Concert Calendar, 10/21/10
How ironic that I write this entry with earplugs in my ears to blog out the music from my upstairs neighbor, who apparently only ever listens to one piece. Or at least music with one exactly-the-same bass beat. Anyways, moving on. What should you be listening to this weekend?
Friday: Of course on Friday I choose myself! Come to the Schola Cantorum concert tomorrow night (today, by the time you read this) at 8 pm at St. John's on Bowdoin St. in Boston. We will be doing a pile of English Tudor music, including Byrd's Mass for 4 Voices. And I have a solo on one of the Tomkins pieces! We are repeating this concert in Rhode Island on Saturday and Sunday; see the website for details.
Saturday: Since both were gracious enough to give away tickets on this blog, obviously Saturday is a tie between Musica Sacra (Rutter's Requiem! Schütz's Musikalisches Exequien!) and the Boston Cecilia (Mendelssohn! Schubert!) Musica Sacra is at 8 pm at the First Congregational Church in Cambridge, and the Boston Cecilia is at 8 pm at All Saints Parish in Brookline.
Also on Saturday: Power Sing with Nick Page, Brandeis University Chorus.
Sunday: On Sunday, go see Simon Carrington direct Canto Armonico and members of the Harvard Baroque Orchestra in a performance of a new critical edition of CPE Bach's Magnificat at 3 pm at First Lutheran Church in Boston.
Did I forget anything? Leave it in the comments!
Friday: Of course on Friday I choose myself! Come to the Schola Cantorum concert tomorrow night (today, by the time you read this) at 8 pm at St. John's on Bowdoin St. in Boston. We will be doing a pile of English Tudor music, including Byrd's Mass for 4 Voices. And I have a solo on one of the Tomkins pieces! We are repeating this concert in Rhode Island on Saturday and Sunday; see the website for details.
Saturday: Since both were gracious enough to give away tickets on this blog, obviously Saturday is a tie between Musica Sacra (Rutter's Requiem! Schütz's Musikalisches Exequien!) and the Boston Cecilia (Mendelssohn! Schubert!) Musica Sacra is at 8 pm at the First Congregational Church in Cambridge, and the Boston Cecilia is at 8 pm at All Saints Parish in Brookline.
Also on Saturday: Power Sing with Nick Page, Brandeis University Chorus.
Sunday: On Sunday, go see Simon Carrington direct Canto Armonico and members of the Harvard Baroque Orchestra in a performance of a new critical edition of CPE Bach's Magnificat at 3 pm at First Lutheran Church in Boston.
Did I forget anything? Leave it in the comments!
Ticket winners!
I'm happy to announce the winners of the ticket giveaway. Shannon Rose is going to the Boston Cecilia concert, and Curious Patient is going to the Musica Sacra concert. Curious Patient, could you please e-mail me your real name? Otherwise you will have to go to will-call and ask for the tickets being held under Curious Patient. For real, I'm telling their manager that tomorrow morning!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Ticket giveaway!
This is a very special week, as we have TWO ticket giveaways for concerts this weekend! They are on the same day, but life is full of tough choices.
The first concert is Musica Sacra, who have paired two great works together for what will no doubt be a very intense evening. They will be performing John Rutter's 20th century Requiem with the 17th century Musikalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz. This concert is this coming Saturday, 10/23, at 8 pm, at the First Congregational Church in Cambridge (close to Harvard Square.)
The second concert is The Boston Cecilia, who are going Romantic with a program of Mendelssohn and Schubert. Tenor William Hite will be featured on the program, as well as pianist Barbara Bruns and up-and-coming mezzo-soprano Eileen Christiansen. (Please note: even if you don't win this pair of tickets, you can still get a two-for-one deal deal on the Boston Cecilia website if you use the code OCT50.) This concert will also be this coming Saturday, 10/23, at 8 pm at All Saints Parish in Brookline.
If you want a pair of free tickets to either of these concerts, leave a comment on this post before Wednesday at 6 pm, and tell me which concert you would want to go to, and what the last choral concert you attended was. I will choose one comment at random for each of the free pair of tickets. (Although if you truthfully tell me you have never been to a choral concert, I am throwing the random thing out the window and you are definitely getting one of the pairs!)
The first concert is Musica Sacra, who have paired two great works together for what will no doubt be a very intense evening. They will be performing John Rutter's 20th century Requiem with the 17th century Musikalische Exequien by Heinrich Schütz. This concert is this coming Saturday, 10/23, at 8 pm, at the First Congregational Church in Cambridge (close to Harvard Square.)
The second concert is The Boston Cecilia, who are going Romantic with a program of Mendelssohn and Schubert. Tenor William Hite will be featured on the program, as well as pianist Barbara Bruns and up-and-coming mezzo-soprano Eileen Christiansen. (Please note: even if you don't win this pair of tickets, you can still get a two-for-one deal deal on the Boston Cecilia website if you use the code OCT50.) This concert will also be this coming Saturday, 10/23, at 8 pm at All Saints Parish in Brookline.
If you want a pair of free tickets to either of these concerts, leave a comment on this post before Wednesday at 6 pm, and tell me which concert you would want to go to, and what the last choral concert you attended was. I will choose one comment at random for each of the free pair of tickets. (Although if you truthfully tell me you have never been to a choral concert, I am throwing the random thing out the window and you are definitely getting one of the pairs!)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday link
You may have heard by now of the "It Gets Better" project. Started by always NSFW sex advice columnist Dan Savage and in honor of Billy Lucas, a queer teen who committed suicide in September, this project asks LGBTQ folk to make a video talking to younger LGBTQ people who may be threatened, harassed, bullied, depressed, or otherwise going through tough times, to encourage them, tell them they are not alone, and assure them that their lives will get better. Many, many folks have contributed wonderful videos already, including both celebrities like Tim Gunn and my own friends.
Here is NYC's Youth Pride Chorus and their contribution to the It Gets Better Project.
Here is NYC's Youth Pride Chorus and their contribution to the It Gets Better Project.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday cat post!
Let's check in with Oomi, shall we? What's she been up to?
Well, as you may remember, she is now a sometimes-outdoor kitty! Time for a game of Where'sWaldo Oomi?
Well, as you may remember, she is now a sometimes-outdoor kitty! Time for a game of Where's
But she's not outdoors all the time.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Weekend Concert Calendar, 10/14/10
It has BEGUN. In my opinion, at least. The choruses, they are rolling out their first concerts, and the season is off to a good start! This is also the first week I will be challenged to stick to my new format, where I recommend only one concert per day. I know it's going to be good for getting a decent amount of sleep on Thursday nights, but it's hard to choose!
Friday: I think I have to pick the concert I'm going to, right? Probably the only concert I will get to this month that I am not performing in. BEMF presents Stile Antico, a Renaissance choir from Britain. Publicity folks make a big deal of the fact that they have no conductor and are self-directed, but with a dozen Renaissance singers having no conductor is pretty much the only right way to do it in my opinion (somebody up there conducting music with no bar lines only gets in the way); more exciting to me is the fact that they are supposed to be truly excellent.
Also on Friday: the Orpheus Singers.
Saturday: This is a good weekend for Renaissance music! If you go to Stile Antico on Friday, then you can go to the Blue Heron concert on Saturday and see how the home team holds up against them furriners! They will be singing music by Ludford and Aston from the Peterhouse Partbooks. Blue Heron are hot stuff; if you love early music and you have never been to one of their concerts, then you should be ashamed of yourself! And fix that this weekend.
Also on Saturday: the Orpheus Singers, Lorelei Ensemble, Boston Conservatory Combined Choruses.
Sunday: My pick for Sunday is "Halleluyah" at Emmanuel Church. Boston Jewish Spirit and Emmanuel are presenting an interfaith concert, featuring the Zamir Chorale under Joshua Jacobson, the Orpheus Singers under James Olesen (who are also giving two other concerts this weekend, see above) and the Spectrum Singers under John Ehrlich. This concert is a program of choral music celebrating the sesquicentennial of Emmanuel Church and the fifth anniversary of Boston Jewish Spirit. All three of these groups are great; all of them together should be fantastic!
Also on Sunday: King's Chapel Choir and Soloists, the Seraphim Singers, Belmont Open Sings, Music Arts Alive, Vox Lucens, Harvard University Choir, Cappella Clausura.
Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!
Friday: I think I have to pick the concert I'm going to, right? Probably the only concert I will get to this month that I am not performing in. BEMF presents Stile Antico, a Renaissance choir from Britain. Publicity folks make a big deal of the fact that they have no conductor and are self-directed, but with a dozen Renaissance singers having no conductor is pretty much the only right way to do it in my opinion (somebody up there conducting music with no bar lines only gets in the way); more exciting to me is the fact that they are supposed to be truly excellent.
Also on Friday: the Orpheus Singers.
Saturday: This is a good weekend for Renaissance music! If you go to Stile Antico on Friday, then you can go to the Blue Heron concert on Saturday and see how the home team holds up against them furriners! They will be singing music by Ludford and Aston from the Peterhouse Partbooks. Blue Heron are hot stuff; if you love early music and you have never been to one of their concerts, then you should be ashamed of yourself! And fix that this weekend.
Also on Saturday: the Orpheus Singers, Lorelei Ensemble, Boston Conservatory Combined Choruses.
Sunday: My pick for Sunday is "Halleluyah" at Emmanuel Church. Boston Jewish Spirit and Emmanuel are presenting an interfaith concert, featuring the Zamir Chorale under Joshua Jacobson, the Orpheus Singers under James Olesen (who are also giving two other concerts this weekend, see above) and the Spectrum Singers under John Ehrlich. This concert is a program of choral music celebrating the sesquicentennial of Emmanuel Church and the fifth anniversary of Boston Jewish Spirit. All three of these groups are great; all of them together should be fantastic!
Also on Sunday: King's Chapel Choir and Soloists, the Seraphim Singers, Belmont Open Sings, Music Arts Alive, Vox Lucens, Harvard University Choir, Cappella Clausura.
Did I miss anything? Leave it in the comments!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Weekend Concert Calendar, 10/7/10
It's Columbus Day weekend, so concerts are still a little thin on the ground (didn't find any choral concerts on Friday night) but next week things really get rolling!
Saturday: Check out the BSO's performance of Mahler's 2nd, "The Resurrection Symphony" at 8 pm. Levine is back on the podium, and everyone is all a-flutter! (Also next Tuesday.)
Sunday: Exsultemus performs the Italian madrigals of Palestrina at 3 pm. (Also Saturday at 8 pm.) This is their core repertoire; it should be exquisite.
Also on Sunday: the monthly Boston Sacred Harp sing.
Saturday: Check out the BSO's performance of Mahler's 2nd, "The Resurrection Symphony" at 8 pm. Levine is back on the podium, and everyone is all a-flutter! (Also next Tuesday.)
Sunday: Exsultemus performs the Italian madrigals of Palestrina at 3 pm. (Also Saturday at 8 pm.) This is their core repertoire; it should be exquisite.
Also on Sunday: the monthly Boston Sacred Harp sing.
Monday, October 04, 2010
Monday link
It's not choral, but it sure is fun! The comedy troupe Axis of Awesome explains the Four Chord Song. NSFW! (Stand-up comedy, you know.)
(I'm not sure this is a fair critique of pop songs of the last 40 years, since it completely leaves out any variation that might exist in the bridge, for one thing, but it's still hilarious.)
(I'm not sure this is a fair critique of pop songs of the last 40 years, since it completely leaves out any variation that might exist in the bridge, for one thing, but it's still hilarious.)
Friday, October 01, 2010
Friday cat post!
So, I am sadly aware that I have missed the last two Friday cat posts. And you all must be wondering how Samson is. (Or, y'know, not.) Samson is fine...the dirty truth is that it turns out I am terrible at taking pictures of him. I mean, really. They are not good pictures.
To fix this, I think we should have WAY MORE guest spots on this blog. Do you have a cat? Want your cat to have its 15 minutes of fame? (Er, "fame"?) Drop me a comment, and we'll tawk.
In the meantime, here is an example of why I need photographic help. This is Samson trying to scratch his face on my feet. I mean, it's cute, but really, it's not an aesthetically pleasing photograph.
In other cat news, I was introduced to the funniest cat-related website ever by my new organist. (That deserves a whole excited entry of its own!) It is a website called "Simon's Cat" and features wonderful animated films about a very, er, personality-filled cat. The first one is a classic. Samson behaves quite a lot like this in the morning, although luckily without the denouement, and happily for me only when he perceives that I am waking up anyways. I also recommend this one for my mother in particular, who may recall a similar incident.
To fix this, I think we should have WAY MORE guest spots on this blog. Do you have a cat? Want your cat to have its 15 minutes of fame? (Er, "fame"?) Drop me a comment, and we'll tawk.
In the meantime, here is an example of why I need photographic help. This is Samson trying to scratch his face on my feet. I mean, it's cute, but really, it's not an aesthetically pleasing photograph.
In other cat news, I was introduced to the funniest cat-related website ever by my new organist. (That deserves a whole excited entry of its own!) It is a website called "Simon's Cat" and features wonderful animated films about a very, er, personality-filled cat. The first one is a classic. Samson behaves quite a lot like this in the morning, although luckily without the denouement, and happily for me only when he perceives that I am waking up anyways. I also recommend this one for my mother in particular, who may recall a similar incident.
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