BOSTON, MA--Two-hundred voices strong, Greater Boston’s Mystic Chorale will pack a whallop of a choral sound into Converse Hall at Tremont Temple [88 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108] on Saturday, November 21 at 8:00 pm and again on Sunday, November 22 at 3:30 pm when Choral Director Nick Page and Special Guest Dr, Ysaye Maria Barnwell take the stage to lead a program entitled “Inspiration.”
Mystic Chorale is a non-profit, volunteer-run community chorus based in Arlington, Massachusetts. The Chorale was founded in 1989 by Boston-based composer, conductor, author and song leader Nick Page who was inspired by his experience of working with the world renowned musician, actress and educator, Dr. Ysaye Maria Barnwell, of the legendary a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock. Twenty years later, it is only fitting that the great Dr. Barnwell be a part of the initial concert celebrating twenty years of singing.
The “Inspiration”
The concept of the Mystic Chorale is to make music a participatory experience by creating a dynamic collaboration among the bold and the shy, the untrained and the trained, the audience with the performers, challenging all to enjoy the experience of singing and making music.
The Chorale seeks to promote singing as an act of compassion--believing that when we create harmony, we make the world a more beautiful place and in so doing become a healing voice for our communities and ourselves.
The Chorale also seeks to explore [through song] the musically rich and diverse cultures that abound in the world.
A member of the African American female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock, Ysaye M. Barnwell, Ph.D. MSPH, is a commissioned composer, arranger, author and actress. She is a vocalist with a range of over three octaves and appears on more than twenty-five recordings with Sweet Honey as well as other artists. Trained as a violinist for 15 years beginning at the age of 2½, she holds degrees in speech pathology (BS, MSEd), cranio-facial studies (Ph.D.) and public health (MSPH). She was a professor at Howard University College of Dentistry for over a decade, and over the following 8 years developed training programs in Child Protection at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center, and administered community-based health programs at Gallaudet University, all in Washington D.C. For twenty years, Barnwell has led the workshop Building a Vocal Community - Singing In the African American Tradition, which utilizes oral tradition, an African world view and African American history, values, cultural and vocal traditions to build communities of song among singers and non-singers alike. Her pedagogy is highly respected among musicians, educators, health workers, activists, organizers, and members of the corporate and non-profit sectors.
Conductor, composer and song leader Nick Page founded The Mystic Chorale in Boston, Massachusetts in 1990. The two hundred-plus-
In 2006, Nick Page received the Outstanding Choral Musician of the Year award, an honor bestowed on him by the Massachusetts Choral Directors Association.
