The St. Charles Singers    Media Fact Sheet
19 Fifth St.     October 2008
St. Charles, Ill. 60174   
Tickets & info: (630) 513-5272                         
Business office:  (630) 584-4251
www.stcharlessingers.com


25TH Anniversary Season, 2008-2009

“They never fail to touch the heart while pleasing the ear.” — American Record Guide
   

Who Are the St. Charles Singers:

Now in its 25th season, the St. Charles Singers is a professional chamber choir whose repertoire spans the centuries from the Renaissance to the present day. A suburban Chicago-based ensemble with an international reputation, the mixed choir of 30-plus voices performs all styles of a cappella music and choral music scored for small-scale instrumental accompaniment.

Its repertoire includes motets and anthems, secular works and part songs, cantatas, and other chamber choir works, as well as several vocal jazz compositions. The only works the ensemble does not stage on its own are those for large-scale vocal and instrumental forces, though it does appear as guest chorus with symphony orchestras.

Its concert season runs from December to June. Its principal venue is Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles, Ill.  During its 2008-2009 concert season, the ensemble will also perform its programs at St. Michael Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton.

The St. Charles Singers was founded in 1984 in St. Charles by Jeffrey S. Hunt, artistic director. The group was originally known as the Mostly Madrigal Singers.


What Makes the St. Charles Singers Noteworthy:

•    The ensemble made its major-label recording debut in 2008 on the internationally-distributed Naxos label, performing Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs on an all-Copland disc with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Hanson. American Record Guide’s CD review praises the St. Charles Singers’ “warmth and commitment. Neither conductor nor singers condescend to the music, but simply present the songs as the simple, tuneful, enjoyable works they are.” England’s MusicWeb International says, “It’s the chorus that makes these arrangements stand out; their bright, focused sound is invariably pleasing.”

•    In a concert review of the St. Charles Singers’ 2007 performance of Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Tribune critic John von Rhein praised the ensemble’s “winning warmth and charm.”

•    The ensemble has forged a close relationship with England’s John Rutter, considered by many as the world’s leading contemporary choral composer and conductor. Rutter conducted the St. Charles singers on six occasions from 1990 to 1999.

•    George Shearing, the great jazz pianist and composer, and Charles Forsberg, noted Minnesota composer, have each written works for the St. Charles Singers.

•    The vocal ensemble has made two acclaimed CDs for the Proteus label. American Record Guide said, “They never fail to touch the heart while pleasing the ear.”  ClassicsToday.com called them “one of North America’s outstanding choirs.”  England’s Gramophone praised their “impeccable vocal blend.”

•    The ensemble has undertaken several professional concert tours in Europe. In June 2006, the singers traveled to France to perform a program of baroque and twentieth-century music in cathedrals in Paris and the Loire Valley.

•    The choir has performed with the Dale Warland Singers, the Apollo Chorus, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductor James Conlon, in a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 2002 Ravinia Music Festival.


Concert Schedule for 2007-08 (24th Season)

•    "Candlelight Carols, with Special Guest Michelle Areyzaga." December 6, 7:30 p.m., and December 7, 7:00 p.m., Baker Memorial Church, St. Charles, Illinois;  December 7, 3:00 p.m., St. Michael Church, Wheaton.

•    "Brilliant Baroque Magnificats: Works by Bach and Telemann." March 14, 7:30 p.m., Baker Memorial Church, St. Charles, Illinois;  March 15, 4:00 p.m., St. Michael Church, Wheaton.

•    "A Perfectly Fitting Finale: Works Written for the St. Charles Singers." June 6, 7:30 p.m., Baker Memorial Church, St. Charles, Illinois;  June 7, 4:00 p.m., St. Michael Church, Wheaton.


Jeffrey S. Hunt, Artistic Director:

Jeff Hunt received music degrees from Taylor University and Northwestern University.  In 1984 he founded and became director of the choral ensemble now known as the St. Charles Singers.  In 1985 he was appointed Director of Music at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles, Illinois. Baker Memorial is also the church where he received much of his childhood music education.  Hunt is currently an adjunct instructor at Elgin Community College in the music department.  In addition to conducting and teaching, Jeff has an active voice studio. Under his direction, the St. Charles Singers has made several recordings, presents an annual subscription concert series, and undertakes European tours. 
 

Ensemble Artists (2008-2009 Season):

  Recordings:

•    Copland: Old American Songs I and II, arranged for chorus. (Naxos)
•    Christmas in St. Charles. (Proteus Entertainment)
•    I Know Where I’m Going. (Proteus Entertainment)
•    Live Performance at St. Clare College (self-produced)
•    The St. Charles Singers Candlelight Carols (self-produced)
•    Christmas (self-produced)

Major Financial Supporters:

•    Illinois Arts Council
•    City of St. Charles

Interesting Tidbits:

•    The St. Charles Singers has developed an enviable relationship with famed English choral composer-director John Rutter. How did it start?  With a telephone call from artistic director Jeff Hunt. Rutter was intrigued that Hunt was inviting him to conduct the choir in Mozart’s Requiem. After listening to the ensemble’s recordings, he accepted Hunt’s invitation.

•    Jeff Hunt is a former high school and college wrestler who nowadays “wrestles” with artists and repertoire. As a teacher at Wauconda High School in suburban Chicago in the 1980s, he assembled a formidable freshman boys wrestling team from rowdy members of the choir. He challenged disruptive student singers to “take their differences to the mat” after school. They did, and thus began the freshman wrestling team.

Press    Nat Silverman, Nathan J. Silverman Co. PR, 1830 Sherman Ave., Suite 401,
Contact:    Evanston, IL 60201-3773; phone 847-328-4292; fax 847-328-4317; E-mail: natsilv@aol.com

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