Master Chorale of South Florida will “Sing in the Season”
with the World-Renowned Empire Brass Quintet
Tis the season to be thrilled with a concert of holiday and seasonal favorites! On December 12, 13 and 14, 2008, the Master Chorale of South Florida will team with the world-renowned Empire Brass quintet and the Pine Crest School Choir in an all-new version of their popular holiday concert, “Singing in the Season.”
Performances will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 12, at First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach (“The Pink Church”); at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Miami; and at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 14, at Pine Crest School in Boca Raton.
Selections to be performed include carols from Europe (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, Ya Viene la Vieja), the U.S. (Charles Ives’ A Christmas Carol, Ding Dong Merrily on High), and the Caribbean (The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy), along with traditional Jewish songs for Hanukah (Rock of Ages, Who can Retell?). Styles will range from the 16th century (Monteverdi’s Deus in Adjutorium, Praetorius’ In Dulci Jubilo) to the contemporary (Twelve Days of Christmas South Florida Style, Conrad Susa’s A Christmas Garland).
The audience will be invited to sing with the Chorale in several selections.
Specifically for this concert, The Empire Brass has written new arrangements of some of these favorites including Jingle Bells, Angels We Have Heard on High and The Holly and the Ivy). The Brass will also be featured playing some of their most popular holiday favorite, including Sleigh Ride, O Come All Ye Faithful, and Tchaikovsky’s Danse Russe.
This concert is predicted to sell out. Don’t be left out! Tickets at $30 each can be purchased in advance through www.masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org, Master Chorale members, or by calling 954-418-6232. Any remaining tickets will be sold for $35 at the door.
About the Empire Brass
Rolf Smedvig, Trumpet
Marc Brian Reese, Trumpet
Michelle Perry, French Horn*
Alexei Doohovskoy, Trombone*
Kenneth Amis, Tuba
The Empire Brass enjoys an international reputation as North America's finest brass quintet, renowned for its brilliant virtuosity and the unparalleled diversity of its repertoire. The five musicians - all of whom have held leading positions with major American orchestras - perform more than 100 concerts a year in cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, London, Zurich and Tokyo. Their recordings have introduced a large audience worldwide to the excitement of brass music that ranges from Bach and Handel to jazz and Broadway. They are equally at home in the majestically antiphonal works that Gabrieli composed for St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice and the exuberantly show stopping tunes that Richard Rodgers and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote for Broadway. The Empire Brass is the first brass ensemble to win the prestigious Naumberg Chamber Music Award.
In addition to playing throughout the United States, the Empire Brass has toured the Far East 13 times, and performs regularly in Europe. It has played to standing-room crowds in the former Soviet Union, where its concerts were broadcast on television. The ensemble has performed with major symphony orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Zurich's Tönhalle Orchester. It regularly visits leading summer festivals including Ravinia, Tanglewood, Caramoor, Saratoga and Chautauqua.
The Empire Brass has served as Faculty Quintet-in-Residence at Boston University for 13 years, and led the Empire Brass Seminar at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute for more than 20 years. In 1991 it began an appointment as Visiting Consultants in Brass at London's Royal Academy of Music. It also leads an annual series of college clinics co-sponsored by the Selmer Company, maker of the Empire Brass' instruments.
A series of best-selling CDs on the Telarc label offers music that spans 500 years from a dozen different countries. The most recent of these are Romantic Brass, an anthology of Spanish and French music; Brass on Broadway; Class Brass - On The Edge , featuring works from Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Bernstein and Copland; and Mozart For Brass, arrangements of Mozart works by Rolf Smedvig. Passage, arrangements for brass and percussion of music from 138 B.C. to 1611 A.D., is an original concept of Rolf Smedvig, with the collaboration of the electronic percussionist Kurt Wortman. The disc includes arrangements of works by Hildegard von Bingen, Hans Weck, Francesco Landini and Carlo Gesualdo. The latest release on the Telarc label is King's Court and Celtic Fair, an enchanting collection of works exploring the two musical worlds of old Europe in new arrangements featuring the use of electronic percussion. Flavored by the proud traditions of Scotland (complete with bagpipes), the Empire Brass and friends musically capture the lighthearted merriment of a peasant Renaissance fair and give upbeat performances of court music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
* For these concerts, Gregory Miller will play in place of Michelle Perry and Alexei Doohovskoy in place of Mark Hertzler.
About the Pine Crest School Choir
Pine Crest School is a college preparatory school focusing on the development of education, character, and leadership. he choral program was started in 1989 and has been conducted since its inception by former Master Chorale of South Florida singer Larry Mellone.
The Pine Crest School Choirs have than 200 students in grades 2 through 8 from the Boca Raton campus. The students have performed at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Sunfest, University Center Auditorium, Mizner Amphitheatre and St. Gregory’s Church in Boca Raton; at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Tampa Bay Convention Center; Bruton Parrish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia; Princeton University and The Jewish Center in Princeton; the Lincoln Memorial and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and the United Nations, Battery Park and Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Concert Choir has performed for the Florida Music Educators’ Association annual conference and Florida Vocal Association Music performance assessments. The choir has performed three times with the National Children’s Choir at Carnegie Hall, serving as a featured choir during their second appearance, and has participated in competitions and workshops at the University of Miami, the University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, the College of William and Mary and Westminster Choir College.
The choirs have also performed and recorded several full length CDs on their own and with musical friends, including the Boca Pops, Klezmer Company, Avatar Brass Ensemble, Duffy Jackson Jazz Trio, flautist Milton Davila, harpist Myor Rosen, organist Dr. Ralph Kneeream, composer Robert Waxman, and the Florida Atlantic University’s Women’s Ensemble.
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The Master Chorale of South Florida is South Florida's premier classical choral ensemble. The talented singers volunteer their time for the satisfaction of performing the most challenging choral repertoire at the highest artistic level in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
The Master Chorale of South Florida was formed to ensure that world-class concerts of major choral-orchestral works remain a part of South Florida's cultural fabric. Through innovative programming, artistic passion, and superb performances of the greatest music ever written, the Master Chorale of South Florida strives to foster feelings of joy and excitement in the hearts of audiences.
For more information on the Master Chorale of South Florida and its performances, please see www.masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org.
Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, and with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
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CONTACT:
Nancy Gates-Lee
Chair, Marketing Committee
Office: 954-659-6108
Cell: 206-849-1256
Florida MCSF office: 954-545-4059
njgates@att.net
