St. Charles Singers Announces

Performances for 2009–2010



 


‘Candlelight Carols’ Will Ignite

Choir’s 26th Season Dec. 5 & 6



 


Ensemble Sets Out on Multi-Year

“Mozart Journey” January 30 & 31



 


Rutter Returns: Acclaimed British Composer

To Conduct Concerts of English Music

May 22 & 23



 


Chorus Plans Pair of Chicago Appearances



 

 


Editors: Photos and media fact sheet are available. E-mail natsilv@aol.com

 

 

ST. CHARLES, Ill., September 10, 2009 — The St. Charles Singers, an international concert and recording ensemble based in Chicago’s western suburbs, has announced details of its 2009-2010 concert season, which begins in early December with a wide-ranging Christmas program.

Highlights of the professional chamber choir’s 26th anniversary season include

The launch of its ambitious “Mozart Journey,” a multi-season initiative during which the ensemble will perform all of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s sacred choral works.

Guest-conducting appearances by Britain’s John Rutter, widely considered the most renowned living choral composer in the English-speaking world. Rutter, a fan of the St. Charles Singers, has conducted the ensemble in the past.

Two Chicago concerts, marking the St. Charles Singers’ first visits to the city since its Chicago concert debut in June 2006.

The mixed-voice choir of approximately 30 singers will present three different programs in the course of its 2009–2010 season: “Candlelight Carols” December 5 in St. Charles and December 6 in Wheaton and St. Charles; “Mozart Journey Begins” January 30 in St. Charles and January 31 in Chicago; and “An Evening of English Choral Music” May 22 in Wheaton and May 23 in Chicago.

Locations and venues will vary for each concert program. They will include Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles; St. Michael Catholic Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton; Old St. Patrick’s Church, 700 W. Adams St., Chicago; and Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut St., Chicago.

For the St. Charles Singers’ December 2009 and January 2010 concerts, single tickets are $30 adult general admission, $20 for seniors 65+, and $10 for full-time students 23 and under.

For the May 2010 concerts, single tickets are $40, $30, and $20 regardless of age and are based on seating location.

 For concert tickets and information, call (630) 513-5272; or visit http://www.stcharlessingers.com.

 

‘Candlelight Carols’ Illuminate Holidays

            The St. Charles Singers will open their concert season with a Christmas program that reaches across the centuries – and across national borders — in performances at 7:30 p.m. on December 5 and 7 p.m. on December 6 at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles; and 3 p.m. on December 6 at St. Michael Catholic Church, Wheaton.

            This season’s “Candlelight Carols” program will include songs from the Elizabethan period by Robert Parsons and William Byrd; Spanish Renaissance arrangements of traditional songs, one of them in the Incan Quechua language; works by 20th-century masters Sergei Rachmaninoff of Russia, Zoltan Kodaly of Hungary, and Francis Poulenc of France; and works by contemporary composers John Rutter and John Tavener of England, Arvo Pärt of Estonia, and Jan Sandström of Sweden, among others.

 

Mozart Momentum

            The St. Charles Singers will embark on its “Mozart Journey,” a six-season exploration of Mozart’s complete sacred choral works, at 7:30 p.m. on January 30 at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles and at 3 p.m. on January 31, at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago.

            The Mozart Journey will consist of a series of all-Mozart performances that will be a major portion of the ensemble’s regular concert seasons through January 2015.  Concerts will include instrumental chamber works by Mozart that illuminate the choral pieces or simply enlarge and enrich the listener’s experience of Mozart’s music.

“Over the years, we’ve performed Mozart’s better-known works, like the Mass in C Minor and the Requiem and also some motets and short masses,” said Jeffrey Hunt, founder and artistic director of the St. Charles Singers.  “But even I was surprised to discover how much wonderful sacred music Mozart wrote for vocal ensembles.  Our board members and other loyal supporters are giving us an enviable and most welcome opportunity for an exciting sojourn amidst Mozart’s amazing choral music.”

            The January concerts will include four of Mozart’s early choral works: the short sacred work “God is our Refuge,” K. 20; Kyrie in F Major, K. 33; Missa brevis in G Major, K. 49; and the short sacred work Inter natos mulierum, K. 72.  Instrumental works, also from early in Mozart’s career, will include the Symphony No. 1, K. 16; La Finta giardiniera Overture, K. 51; and Symphony No. 10, K. 74.

             While the first concert in the Mozart Journey focuses on music from one period in the composer’s life, future concerts will center on a variety of themes beyond the purely chronological.

 “The music of Mozart, the child prodigy, seemed a logical place to begin this grand tour,” Hunt says.

“Each program will blend familiar, cherished works with those that will be new to many listeners,” he says. “It really will be a journey of discovery for audiences and singers alike.”

Musicologist Jonathan Saylor, an associate professor of music history at Wheaton College, is advising the ensemble on repertoire selection. Saylor will also give pre-concert talks.

Saylor says Mozart’s instrumental music will include cassations, serenades, and other seldom-heard works for chamber orchestra and smaller ensembles. “These are wonderful, beautiful pieces that deserve to be performed more often than they are,” he says.

 

John Rutter: Like No Other

            The distinguished English choral composer and choir leader John Rutter will be guest conductor for the St. Charles Singers’ season-finale concerts, “An Evening of English Choral Music,” to be presented at 7:30 p.m. on May 22 at St. Michael Catholic Church in Wheaton and at 7 p.m. on May 23 at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.

            Rutter will lead the choir in works by Benjamin Britten, Robert Pearsall, Charles Stanford, and Ralph Vaughan Williams and will also conduct a set of his own folk song arrangements.

            According to an article in Grove Music Online, Rutter “has become probably the most popular and widely performed [choral] composer of his generation.”  It goes on to say, “Rutter’s particular gift is for skilled craftsmanship and memorable phrase” and that “his music typically breathes a gentle and melodious spirit.”

 

“Gloria” with the Elgin Symphony

In addition to its own concert series, the St. Charles Singers will appear as guest chorus with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in Vivaldi’sGloria on March 5, 6, and 7, 2010, at Hemmens Theater, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Tickets for those concerts are available through the Elgin Symphony box office, (847) 888- 4000; www.elginsymphony.org.

About The St. Charles Singers

Founded in 1984 by Jeffrey Hunt, artistic director, the St. Charles Singers is one of America’s preeminent choral groups.

Originally known as the Mostly Madrigal Singers, the mixed choir became the St. Charles Singers in 1998.

The ensemble of approximately 30 singers 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 praised 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 said, “It’s the chorus that makes these arrangements stand out; their bright, focused sound is invariably pleasing.”

In addition to the Copland CD, its discography also includes two commercial CDs on the Proteus label and three self-produced CDs.  “They never fail to touch the heart while pleasing the ear,” said American Record Guide in its review of the vocal ensemble’s Christmas in St. Charles CD on the Proteus label. England’s Gramophone noted their “impeccable vocal blend . . . and clear precise diction.” In a CD review, ClassicsToday.com called the St. Charles Singers “one of North America’s outstanding choirs,” citing “charisma and top-notch musicianship” that “bring character and excitement to each piece.” 

The choir has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor James Conlon at the Ravinia Festival and has toured professionally in England and France.

Jazz great George Shearing, noted Minnesota composer Charles Forsberg, and Hungary’s Gyula Fekete have written works for the St. Charles Singers, as has revered choral music educator Robert Boyd of Westmont, Ill.

The St. Charles Singers were featured on WTTW-TV’s Arts Across Illinois program in November 2008 and made their live radio debut the following month on WFMT-FM’s Live from WFMT program.

 

Attn: Calendar Editor

[Category: Performing Arts/Music/Classical Music]

St. Charles Singers, Jeffrey Hunt, artistic director: 2009-2010 Season

“Candlelight Carols”: December 5 (St. Charles) and December 6 (Wheaton & St. Charles)*

“Mozart Journey Begins”: January 30 (St. Charles) and January 31 (Chicago)*

“An Evening of English Choral Music”:  May 22 (Wheaton) and May 23 (Chicago)**

*Single tickets to these performances are $30 adult general admission, $20 for seniors 65+, and $10 for full-time students 23 and under.

** Single tickets to these performances are $40, $30, and $20 regardless of age and are based on seating location.

Tickets and information: (630) 513-5272; http://www.stcharlessingers.com.

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