ABOUT ANGELICA

Angelica is a Westchester-based women’s choral ensemble that formed in 1996 by Susan Ball, who served as the group's first Artistic Director. When she and her husband went to Armenia to serve in the Peace Corps in 2005, she passed the baton to founding member Marie Caruso. Angelica presents two or more spring and winter concerts annually, performing music from the 1st through 21st centuries. The group has sung a wide range of works, including early music by Machaut, Palestrina, Dufay, Monteverdi; contemporary compositions by Lili Boulanger, Peter Maxwell Davies, Einojuhani Rautavaara, John Tavener and Julie Dolphin (special commission); and unique genres including chant, Sephardic, Balkan, American folk, and jazz.

Although specializing in a cappella music, Angelica has also presented such works as Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with harp, Stravinsky’s Four Russian Peasant Songs with French horns, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with organ, the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat and the Codex las Huelgas with lute, harp, and percussion, Sephardic songs with oud and dumbek, and Porpora’s Magnificat and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with violins, cello, and organ. The group has collaborated with such esteemed artists as lutist Paul Shipper, percussionist Rex Benincasa, organist Christopher Johnson, and harpist Lisa Tannebaum. They also occasionally accompany themselves on various instruments, including authentic early music instruments such as portative and hurdy-gurdy.

The group performs throughout the year in both Manhattan and Westchester. In addition to its regular concerts, Angelica also sings in the Downtown Music series at Grace Church in White Plains and the Croton Free Library's concert series. Angelica also sang at the 2006 International Festival of Women and Girls Choirs, hosted by Virginia Davidson and the New York Treble Singers.
Angelica has been hailed for its "perfect blend and beautiful, transcendent sound." Eugene Sirotkine, former Assistant Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, and director of the New York Metamorphoses Orchestra, describes Angelica as having a "gorgeous sound, rich sonorities, and transparent harmonies."

For more information about Angelica, including CDs and upcoming concerts, please visit www.angelicavoices.org.