Fairfield University’s 11th Annual Lecture in Jewish-Christian Engagement Presents Annelies with Arianna Zukerman and Mendelssohn Choir
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 3, 2017) —Fairfield University’s 11th annual Jewish-Christian Engagement Lecture series presents “Annelies:
A Choral Setting of the Diary of Anne Frank” featuring soprano, Arianna Zukerman and the Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut.
The event is on Sunday, March 26 at 3 p.m. at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public. To reserve a ticket, please call the Quick Center for the Arts at (203) 254-4010 or visit quickcenter.com.
The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut, under the baton of Dr. Carole Ann Maxwell, will perform James Whitbourn’s choral setting of words from the diary of Anne Frank, Annelies.
Whitbourn, an internationally renowned composer, has had his choral works performed in many prestigious venues, and have been presented on acclaimed recordings. Of the latest of these —Annelies (Naxos) — Gramophone writes “the greatest accomplishment here is that James Whitbourn has written some music of great beauty.” Choir and Organ added, “Whitbourn’s devastatingly beautiful and restrained treatment of the subject matter makes it all the more poignant.
Whitbourn has been commissioned to compose music to mark several notable national and international events, including music for the broadcast of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and music for Britain’s national commemoration of 9/11 at Westminster Abbey — subsequently performed in New York on the first anniversary of the attacks.
The soprano soloist for the performance will be Arianna Zukerman, who also sang the solo role on the Naxos recording. The Washington Post has said of her that she “possesses a remarkable voice that combines the range, warmth and facility of a Rossini mezzo with shimmering, round high notes and exquisite pianissimos that would make any soprano jealous.”
The Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut was founded in 1984 by alumni of the Fairfield University Chamber Singers who wished to continue their musical association with Carole Ann Maxwell, DSM, Fairfield University’s director of choral music, who conducts the Glee Club. Under Maxwell’s leadership, the Choir has performed in New England, New York and many European capitals.
The concert is co-sponsored by the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies and the Center for Catholic Studies as one of this season’s Jewish/Christian Engagement events. Reservations are requested for the lecture. Please call the Quick Center for the Arts at (203) 254-4010 or visit quickcenter.com to reserve a ticket.
Pictured: members of Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut; Credit: Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut.
#Vol. 49, No. 127
Fairfield University is a Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.
