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03/06/2017 11:00 PM“Making the Old New” features choral music selected to soar in the Gothic-style reaches of Hartford’s Trinity College Chapel
In response to its sold-out concert of early music at Trinity College Chapel in 2016, CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists), the region’s oldest all-professional choral ensemble, returns to Trinity to present “Making the Old New” on Sunday, March 19 at 4:00 PM.
In this year’s concert at Trinity College Chapel, CONCORA offers more sublime Renaissance choral music, paired with newer selections inspired by the originals. Motets and madrigals by Renaissance “top forty” composers such as Thomas Morley and Thomas Tallis will contrast with and complement choral music by renowned contemporary composers Eric Whitacre and William Hawley. The program includes Martin Sedek’s madrigal-esque Ah, Sunflower, an engaging piece that recently won the Yale Glee Club’s Emerging Composer’s Competition. The major work on the program is Eleanor Daley’s haunting Requiem, perfectly suited to this remarkable space.
“CONCORA is thrilled to return to one of the most beautiful performance spaces in Hartford,” said CONCORA’s Artistic Director Chris Shepard. “Not only is Trinity College Chapel breathtakingly beautiful to the eye, but it is one of the best and most rewarding acoustical spaces in the region, perfectly suited for the ethereal choral music that CONCORA will present on March 19. With this concert, we are on our way to forming a new tradition that builds on our very successful event at Trinity last season.”
CONCORA, the region’s oldest all-professional choral ensemble, maintains a roster of about 60 singers. For “Making the Old New,” Artistic Director Shepard selected just eighteen vocalists whose voices are particularly suited to early and contemporary music.
“One of CONCORA’s notable qualities is the versatility of its singers and their ability to produce a wide range of colors and timbres appropriate to the broad range of repertoire we perform,” said Shepard. “For this concert, the singers will perform in a variety of combinations, from a solo quartet to the full ensemble. And in the rarified acoustic of Trinity College Chapel, the voices will weave together in a rich tapestry of sound.”
“The concert opens with Gregorian chant intoned by the men of the ensemble,” Shepard added, “and from that inspiration, the remainder of the program emerges as a feast of melody and counterpoint. This will be an extraordinary acoustical and visual experience for our audience.”
The program will also offer the reprise of a new work commissioned by CONCORA that had its premiere at a sold-out concert at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in February. The commissioned work, Of Distant Skies, was written for CONCORA by highly-regarded Connecticut composer Ellen Gilson Voth.
Tickets are on sale now for “Making the Old New” on March 19 at Trinity College Chapel, 300 Summit Street, Hartford.
Last year’s edition of this concert sold out, so those who hope to attend are urged to reserve seats soon. Early-bird pricing for this concert is in effect until March 12.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Making the Old New: A concert of choral music with professional choir CONCORA
When: Sunday, March 19, 2017, 4:00 PM
Where: Trinity Chapel at Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT
Family-friendly: Yes
Accessible: Yes
Tickets: $10-$55. Tickets are on sale now and will be available at the door on the day of the concert. Early bird prices are in effect until March 12. Discounted group rates are available for general admission and senior tickets for groups of 8 or more. 2-for-1 general admission tickets are available with the Let*s Go! Arts card; contact the CONCORA office for details.
For more info or to purchase tickets: https://concoramakingtheoldnew.eventbrite.com or 860-293-0567 or contact@concora.org.
About CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) – CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) holds a unique place as the region’s first professional choir. Now in its 43rd season, the ensemble enjoys an extraordinary reputation for artistic excellence throughout New England. Under the direction of Chris Shepard, now in his second season as Artistic Director, the ensemble’s versatility is displayed in its wide range of repertoire and in the crafting of select ensembles from among the choir’s roster of singers to produce an extraordinary range of choral color and dynamic range for each program and performance space. CONCORA’s mission statement – “to perpetuate and perform with excellence choral music of the highest quality for the broadest possible audience” – represents a commitment to the Connecticut community and to artistic excellence, masterful performances, and educational enrichment. More information about CONCORA is available at www.concora.org.
About Chris Shepard – Chris Shepard has served as CONCORA’s Artistic Director since 2015, succeeding founder Richard Coffey in that role. He also serves as Music Director of the Worcester Chorus and the Masterwork Chorus of Morristown, New Jersey. With these choirs, Chris has performed a wide range of repertoire, collaborating with a number of major orchestras in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. A conductor with a particular affinity for the choral music of J.S. Bach, Chris founded the Sydneian Bach Choir in Sydney, Australia, an ensemble that has performed all of Bach’s choral cantatas as well as all of his major choral works. He has taught at the Taft School, Sydney Grammar School and Holy Cross College. A pianist and keyboard continuist, Chris holds degrees from the Hartt School and the Yale School of Music, and the University of Sydney. His PhD dissertation won the American Choral Directors Association’s 2012 Julius Herford Prize for outstanding doctoral thesis in choral music. More information about Chris Shepard may be found at www.concora.org/artistic-leadership.html.