Bel Canto Chorus presents Requiem/Gloria

Bel Canto Chorus (Richard Hynson, Music Director), in collaboration with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, presents Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and Francis Poulenc’s Gloria on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at 7:30 PM at Christ King Parish.
By: Bel Canto Chorus
 
MILWAUKEE - Oct. 14, 2013 - PRLog -- Milwaukee, WI - Bel Canto Chorus opens its 2013-2014 season with Maurice Duruflé’s mystical Requiem and Francis Poulenc’s jubilant, jazzy Gloria. Bel Canto Music Director Richard Hynson will lead the chorus and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in this concert inspired by the chorus’s recent tour to France.

Guest artists Kevin Bailey (organ), Gerard Sundberg (baritone), and Nicole Warner (mezzo-soprano) join the chorus and orchestra in Duruflé’s Requiem. Rebecca Whitney (soprano) is the soloist for Poulenc’s Gloria.

“This season, titled ‘Works with Friends,’ describes the thread of collaboration that runs throughout,” said Hynson. “Each concert will feature an exciting performance with another area ensemble. We’re delighted to have the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on stage with us for our opening concert.”

In the singular style of twentieth-century French sacred music, organist and composer Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem uses rich, contemporary harmonies to enhance the ancient melodies of Gregorian chant. American jazz and the cabaret style of popular music imbue Francis Poulenc’s Gloria. His Gallic, populist compositional style brings the words to vivid, playful life.

Tickets are $25 - $33 and are available at the Box Office (414) 481-8801, or online at http://www.belcanto.org.

About Richard Hynson
This season marks Richard Hynson’s 26th year as Music Director of the Bel Canto Chorus and Orchestra. In demand as a guest conductor, Hynson’s past engagements include performances with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Skylight Music Theatre, and the Racine, Sheboygan, and Waukesha Symphony Orchestras. Hynson has conducted at Carnegie Hall in New York City, leading a large national festival chorus and orchestra in Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem. He has conducted the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in one of the Concerts on the Square in Madison. In 2012, Hynson was awarded the American Prize – community choral division. The Prize committee wrote: “...Dr. Richard Hynson has transformed Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee from a venerable community chorus to a vibrant, successful arts organization respected for its artistic excellence, innovative programming, and impactful outreach…”

About Bel Canto Chorus
Founded in 1931, Bel Canto Chorus enriches the lives of its audiences and members through the presentation of fine choral music. The group has been led for more than 25 years by Richard Hynson. Bel Canto Chorus ranks in the top ten percent of choral organizations in the country in terms of budget, longevity, and repertoire. Educational outreach includes Bel Canto Senior Singers and Bel Canto Boy Choirs.

About Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Edo de Waart, has embarked upon a new era of artistic excellence and critical acclaim. Now in his fifth year with the MSO, Maestro de Waart has led sold-out concerts, elicited rave reviews, and conducted an acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall on May 11, 2012, in the Spring for Music festival. Since its inception in 1959, the MSO has become one of the finest orchestras in the nation. The MSO’s 83 full-time professional musicians perform over 130 classics, pops, family, and education concerts each season in venues throughout the state. A cornerstone of Milwaukee’s arts community, the MSO provides enrichment and education activities for audiences of every age, economic status, and background.

About Kevin Bailey
Kevin Bailey is the Director of Worship and Music at Fox Point Lutheran Church, where he is organist and choir director. He is a graduate of Augustana College (IL) and Indiana University, and is an alumnus of Westminster Choir College's summer conducting institute. He has accompanied and conducted choirs at Anderson University (IN) and served as choir director and organist at several churches in Indiana before moving to Milwaukee in 2003. Bailey remains active outside the church as an accompanist and continuo performer, performing with the Master Singers of Milwaukee, The Wisconsin Philharmonic Orchestra, Bel Canto Chorus, and the Milwaukee Chamber Choir.

About Gerard Sundberg
Gerard Sundberg has captivated audiences with his performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Recent performances include the St. John Passion in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral. He has appeared with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Shaw. Sundberg maintains an impressive presence in the Chicago area, appearing as soloist with the West Suburban Choral Union. He also has sung with the Oregon Bach Festival. Previous performances with Bel Canto include Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Finzi’s Requiem da Camera, and Mozart’s Requiem. Sundberg is a graduate of Bethel College (MN), and holds both Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Minnesota. He is presently Professor of Voice at Wheaton Conservatory of Music (IL).

About Nicole Warner
Mezzo-soprano Nicole Warner is best known for the chocolate richness of her voice and the unforgettable emotional engagement she shares with the audience. Warner last sang with Bel Canto Chorus for the 9.11.11 “United We Stand” concert in Cathedral Square Park. With skills spanning a wide variety of genres and languages, Warner was the first singer ever to present the entire Vietnamese language song-cycle Spring Reverberations by composer Tiến Cung.  Her first commercial recordings, Fly With Me, Maybe So, and Siana were released on iTunes® and CDBaby® in 2010. Other performances include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, the Fairy #2 solo in Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Mendelssohn’s Paulus, and Mozart’s Requiem.

About Rebecca Whitney
Rebecca Whitney received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and Vocal Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She has performed as a soloist in Southeastern Wisconsin, singing Handel’s Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Haydn’s The Creation, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore and Coronation Mass, Fauré’s Requiem, Richard Hynson’s Evensong, and works by Bach, Vivaldi, Vaughan Williams, and John Rutter. Whitney was named a finalist in the 2005 Bel Canto Regional Artists Competition. She also serves as Bel Canto’s Education and Outreach Manager. Whitney was soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem for Bel Canto’s 9.11.11 “United We Stand” concert in Cathedral Square Park, broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television. In June of 2013, she traveled to France with Bel Canto Chorus International as the soloist in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem.
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Source:Bel Canto Chorus
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