Waukesha Choral Union - Putting Together a Community of Singers
The Waukesha Choral Union (WCU) is pleased to announce its 2009-2010 season of concerts, “Putting Together a Community of Singers.” Ernest “Ernie” Brusubardis, III returns as music director for the four programs in this jigsaw puzzle-themed collaborative season.
• In October’s “Ah, Youth,” WCU shares the stage with Muskego and Waukesha South High School choirs.
• “Magnificat, Magnificat” in December assembles and explores several unique treatments of the biblical text of Mary discovering she is carrying Jesus, anchored by Vivaldi’s masterful setting.
• In March, the community at large becomes a piece of the puzzle in the annual tradition of inviting interested singers to join the WCU onstage for Haydn’s “Creation,”
• May completes the big picture with a rare presentation of Verdi’s “Requiem,”
“The Waukesha Choral Union continues a long tradition of collaborating with other musicians and groups, putting together pieces of the very colorful and diverse arts community in which we live,” said Brusubardis. “I invite everyone to take part in our season of exciting live music performed in great venues by our community’s great ensembles.”
“AH, YOUTH”
Sunday, October 25, 2009 - 3:00 p.m. Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University, Waukesha
Songs of love and youth. Muskego High School choir, directed by Matthew Wanner, and Waukesha South High School choir, directed by Jason Brinker. Waukesha Choral Union performs Eric Whitacre’s charming “Five Hebrew Love Songs” paired with excerpts from Brahms’ “Liebeslieder Walzer,” then all groups combine, a la puzzle pieces, for the big finale, Copland’s “The Promise of Living.”
Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, $2 children 11 and under.
“MAGNIFICAT, MAGNIFICAT”
Friday, December 11, 2009 - 8:00 p.m. St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Waukesha
Sunday, December 13, 2009 - 3:00 p.m. St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, Oconomowoc
A perfect occasion for your family to piece together the Holidays. Experience Luke's gospel text set by composers from three different eras. "My Soul Magnifies the Lord" was the profession of Mary upon learning she would bear the Savior. WCU performs Italian Antonio Vivaldi's "Magnificat"
Tickets are $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, $2 children 11 and under.
“A GIFT TO THE COMMUNITY: HAYDN’S CREATION”
Sunday, March 28, 2010 - 3:00 p.m. Shattuck Auditorium, Carroll University, Waukesha
A 30 year-old tradition for the Waukesha Choral Union, this free concert commemorates the 200th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn, whose works best epitomize the aims and achievements of the Classical era. Here’s where you become a piece of this season’s puzzle. Any singer who wishes to participate is welcome to take part in the weeklong preparation for this annual choral event. The concert is free to the public with all costs, including orchestra and soloists, covered completely by contributions from the business community, individuals, and foundations.
“VERDI’S REQUIEM”
Sunday, May 16, 2010 - 3:00 p.m. Oconomowoc Arts Center, Oconomowoc
Waukesha Choral Union’s biggest collaboration ever! With Bel Canto Chorus, Milwaukee Choristers, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The story of this major work is a puzzle in itself. It begins with the death of fellow composer, Gioachino Rossini in 1868. Giuseppe Verdi proposed a memorial mass, in which leading Italian composers would each contribute one section. The project was poorly organized, and while the music was eventually written, it was never performed. Five years later, the Italian writer and humanist Alessandro Manzoni died, a man whom Verdi had met in 1868 and admired all his adult life. Verdi resolved to complete the earlier work, this time entirely of his own writing. The “Requiem” was first performed the following May in Milan, on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. Verdi himself conducted. In the following year, it was given all over Italy, in Paris, London, Vienna, and even America. The “Requiem” has become one of Verdi's most popular compositions.
Tickets are $28 for adults, $23 for seniors and students with school ID.
Season ticket packages, with savings of up to twenty percent over regular prices, are available prior to October 25, 2009 online at http://www.ChoralUnion.org or by phone at 414-297-9310.
As the premiere vocal group in the area, the Waukesha Choral Union has been musically active in the community for over 50 years. Originally a combination of the Carroll College student chorus and community singers known as the Waukesha Choral Society in 1949, the group became the Town and Gown in 1961 and the Waukesha Choral Union in 1974, taking its present form as an auditioned choir in 1978.
Waukesha Choral Union is supported in part by grants from the Arts Alliance of Waukesha
County and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment of the Arts.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
