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 Pelham Manor, NY - Concerts at Christ Church, a community outreach of historic Christ Church in Pelham Manor, New York, announced that it will present the Christ Church Senior Choir and Friends in a program entitled My Soul, There is a Country: American and English Songs and Anthems of Heaven on Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 4:00 pm.
The program includes soloists Anneliese von Goerken, soprano; Tracy Bidleman, mezzo-soprano; Jerrod Sanders, tenor; Simon Cram, bass-baritone and Neal Campbell, organ, and is conducted by Jeffrey Hoffman.
Tickets for this performance are available for the cost of $20 per person, with student tickets available for $10 per person.
The program will feature traditional American shape-note hymnody arranged for chorus by Mack Wilberg and Jeffrey Hoffman, African-American spirituals, selections from Charles Hubert Hastings Parry's Six Songs of Farewell (1918) -- the great Victorian composer's last works, written during his final illness -- selections from Charles Villiers Stanford's Three Motets, Op. 38, British nonagenarian (and retired Organist of York Minster) Francis Jackson's anthem Gaudeamus, Op. 74, rounded out by Herbert Howells's haunting Requiem, composed as a response to the death of his young son Michael from meningitis in 1935 but not released for publication until 1981. This requiem served as a compositional sketch for Howells' Hymnus Paradisi.
Jeffrey Hoffman, Artistic Director of the Concerts at Christ Church series, said "The ladies and gentlemen of the semi-professional Christ Church Senior Choir are a group of talented and dedicated volunteers led by our four outstanding section leaders, who also serve as our soloists for this performance. The commitment to fine music-making exemplified by this ensemble will be showcased throughout the concert. From the shape-note hymnody of early America to the African-American spirituals; from the beloved Victorian choral masterpieces (by the composer of the hymn-tune Jerusalem, which was featured in the movie Chariots of Fire) to an anthem by the esteemed living composer Francis Jackson, and, of course, Herbert Howells's gorgeous Requiem, with its stunning jazz-inflected harmonies and very personal settings of favorite psalms, there will be something on this concert for everyone."
For more information, visit www.ChristChurchPelham.org/Concerts.html, e-mail
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or call the Music Office of Christ Church on 914-738-5515, extension 102.
About Concerts at Christ Church:
A community outreach of historic Christ Church in Pelham Manor, Concerts at Christ Church brings affordable, high-quality choral and classical music performances to the warm and rich acoustical environment of the Gothic Revival church located in Pelham Manor, New York, and serves appreciative audiences from throughout the greater New York City metropolitan area. Under the artistic direction of Jeffrey Hoffman, Concerts at Christ Church is expanding its role in the Pelham community, bringing exceptional international artists throughout each season to enrich the cultural life of the community. This outstanding concert series falls outside the purview of the parish's regular budget and relies on the financial support of music lovers in the community whose tax deductible contributions help fund these concerts for the public's enjoyment.
About the Artists:
"A voice of shimmering richness and unusual beauty, she is a tireless, inquisitive and dedicated artist" (Charles Riecker - Metropolitan Opera of New York) Anneliese von Goerken had tremendous presence as the Countess" (Bernard Holland - New York Times
Known for her versatility and impeccable musicianship, soprano Anneliese von Goerken's vast repertoire encompasses the bel canto heroines through the lyric soprano literature. A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Anneliese made her debut with Arizona Opera as Madame Goldentrill in Mozart's The Impresario. A show-stopping appearance as Queen of the Night led to engagements as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor. Her interest in contemporary classical music has led Ms. von Goerken to solo engagements that include the U.S. premieres of Five Bells and Poèmes d'Amour d'apres Guillaume Apollinaire by Grammy award-winning composer Christopher Lyndon-Gee and performances of works by composers Joanne Metcalf, 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winner Paul Moravec, and others. Recent engagements include recitals in Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Orleans, and a new recording of J.aromir Weinberger's The Way to Emmaus (to be released in 2009).
Heard in concert in both the United States and in England, Ms. von Goerken was featured on national television in a PBS production of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Other performances of this season showcased Ms. von Goerken in her popular and well-received original program, Memories of Home: my heart to my soul; Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus; Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro; featured artist at the National Convention of the Organ Historical Society; and a performance of Richard Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder with the Adelphi Orchestra.
Mezzo-soprano Tracy Bidleman has delighted audiences with her portrayals of such diverse characters as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, the Mother in Hansel und Gretel, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and a recent turn in the role of the Witch in Into the Woods. Ms. Bidleman has performed with the symphony orchestras of Seattle, Phoenix, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Wyoming and Harrisburg, as well as the Boulder Philharmonic, the Martinu Philharmonic, the Pacific Northwest Chamber Orchestra and the Women's Philharmonic in San Fransisco. Since her arrival to New York, she has sung as a soloist in Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall. She has worked with esteemed conductors such as Janos Acs, Jacques Delacote, Julius Rudel, Emerson Buckley, Anton Gaudagno, Nan Washburn, JoAnn Faletta, Stuart Malina, David Lockington and Jack Herriman. She was a regional winner for both the Metropolitan Opera and San Fransisco Opera competitions.
A native of North Carolina, tenor Jerrod Sanders performed the role of Mingo in the Metropolitan Opera's first production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for two seasons. Mr. Sanders made His New York operatic debut with Opera Ebony as Mr. Angel in Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor. Other performances with Opera Ebony include Goro in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, which led to the Metropolitan Opera's interest in him. He has reprised his performance in the role of Mingo in Porgy and Bess at the Bregenzer Festpiele in Austria, the Sydney, Australia Opera production, and on tour with Living Arts of New York City to Israel and Canada. Oratorio performances include two staged versions of Bach's Herkules am Scheidewege and the Kaffé-Kantate at Teatro Communale in Florence, Italy. Other oratorio appearances have included a performance of Mozart's Requiem at the Iglesia de la Conception in Marbella, Spain and Bach's Magnificat in D at the Parroquia de Santa Cruz in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Sanders sang as a member of the Octet in the premiere of Phillip Glass's The Civil Wars at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mr. Sanders is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has also done graduate study in Music Therapy at New York University. While a student, he won the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs Male Voice Competition and the National Association of Teachers of Singing District and Regional Vocal Competitions.
Bass-baritone Simon Cram sang extensively in the Pacific Northwest before coming to New York. He has sung the roles of Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah and the title role in Don Giovanni with Opera Indeed, Bartolo in the Barber of Seville with Bremerton Opera, Ceprano in Rigoletto with Tacoma Opera, and Mefistofeles in Faust with the Seattle Opera. As an oratorio soloist, Simon Cram has performed extensively with Sinfonia Celestis on Staten Island's Music at Saint Alban's series. Prior to joining Christ Church's music program, Mr. Cram sang in the professional choirs of Holy Family Church and the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. He has been soloist for both the St. Matthew and St. John Passions of J.S. Bach, numerous Bach cantatas, the Requia of Fauré, Mozart, Brahms and Duruflé and in masses by Haydn, Schubert, Mozart, Stravinsky and Amy Beach. Mr. Cram was a winner in the Jack Straw Young Artist Competition in Seattle.
Since 2006, Neal Campbell has been the Director of Music and Organist of St. Luke's Church in Darien, Connecticut. Prior to that appointment he was for twenty-one years the Organist and Choirmaster of St. Stephen's Church, Richmond, Virginia and served on the faculty of the University of Richmond. At St. Stephen's, he conducted the American premiere of Francis Jackson's Concerto for Organ, Strings, Timpani, and Celesta, conducted a revival of several works for organ and orchestra by Leo Sowerby on the centennial of Sowerby's birth, and directed the restoration of the church's noted Aeolian-Skinner organ. Under his direction, the St. Stephen's choir made three professional recordings, including a CD of the works of Harold Friedell, for the Pro Organo label. Dr. Campbell is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Frederick Swann, John Walker, James Litton, and McNeil Robinson, and where his DMA dissertation dealt with the life and works of New York organist and composer Harold Friedell. His research interests on the history of organ and sacred music in New York are ongoing. From 2000-2006 he served as Region III Councilor on the American Guild of Organists National Council, and he has held leadership positions in the Philadelphia and Richmond Chapters of the AGO.
The Senior Choir at Christ Church sings for principal liturgies at Christ Church and leads the congregation in musical worship in the Anglican tradition. From mid-September through mid-June, the choir sings each Sunday morning at the ten o'clock Eucharist and for occasional Choral Evensong services and choral concerts. Each season, the choir sings repertoire ranging from the Medieval and Renaissance periods through the Classical and Romantic eras, as well as music of the twentieth century and of our own time, emphasizing liturgically and musically significant works by great composers. The choir sings in nearly every Western language and is comprised of a core group of dedicated volunteers led by a Schola Cantorum of four professional singers.
A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Jeffrey Hoffman is the Organist and Choirmaster for Christ Church and Artistic Director of Concerts at Christ Church. He is a New York City-based composer, conductor and organist, and the founding conductor of Sinfonia Celestis. His nearly two decades' work in Anglo-Catholic church music is widely known. For seven years, Mr. Hoffman served as Organist and Choirmaster for Saint Alban's Episcopal Church on Staten Island, where he built the critically-acclaimed Music at Saint Alban's concert series of affordable classical music concerts by international artists. Mr. Hoffman has led numerous choral, symphonic and theatre performances at such venus as Liederkranz, downtown Manhattan's Access Theatre, Symphony Space and Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires. He is an alumnus of Manhattan School of Music, where he studied composition with Giampaolo Bracali, organ with Alec Wyton and conducting with Maestro Bracali, Amy Kaiser and David Gilbert. Locally, Mr. Hoffman is also music director for the Pelham Larks.
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