Gloria Musicae Presents
“Glorious Christmas”
Wednesday, December 2 First United Methodist Church
Gloria Musicae’s 37th season opens with the Gloria Musicae Singers performing Camille Saint-Saëns’ romantic “Oratorio de Noël,” Mendelssohn’s “Vom Himmel hoch,” and traditional holiday carols. The Gloria Musicae Chamber Orchestra will accompany the singers, under the direction of Dr. Joseph Holt.
(Sarasota, FL) Gloria Musicae launches its 37th season with “Glorious Christmas,” featuring the Gloria Musicae Singers and members of the Sarasota Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Joseph Holt, Wednesday, December 2, 7 p.m., at First United Methodist Church, 104 S. Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota. The concert will feature two 19th-century masterpieces: Camille Saint-Saëns’ warmly romantic “Oratorio de Noël,” and Mendelssohn’s “Vom Himmel hoch,” along with a selection of traditional holiday carols for the entire audience to sing. Tickets are $30 at the door; $25 in advance. Student tickets, available at the door with ID are $5. A four-concert season subscription is $80; a three-concert season subscription is $65. For tickets and info, visit www.gloriamusicae.org or call 941-387-6406.
“Bach’s influence on the works of Felix Mendelssohn was monumental considering that Mendelssohn resurrected the works of JS Bach in the 1830s, thus saving for generations to come the works of this remarkable Baroque composer,” says Dr. Joseph Holt, artistic director of Gloria Musicae. “Both composers represented in this concert incorporate several techniques of Bach oratorio composition, including arias, recitatives and choruses. The one unique feature that both composers utilize is the Lutheran Chorale, developed by Martin Luther and adopted by Bach in all of his choral compositions.”
The concert features the acclaimed Gloria Musicae Singers and the Gloria Musicae Chamber Orchestra. Featured performers include Johanna Fincher, soprano; Robyn Rocklein, mezzo soprano; Alix Faulhaber, alto; Adam Bielamowicz, tenor; and Christopher Holloway, baritone.
The season continues with “The Creation,” Haydn’s majestic oratorio, presented in collaboration with Sarasota Orchestra and the State College of Florida Concert Choir, February 28, 2016, 3 p.m., at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. Considered by many to be Haydn’s masterpiece, the oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis and Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” The performance will also feature nature photographs provided by the Science and Environmental Council of Southwest Florida. Holt says that the photographs are “visual representations of the Creation, which we as human beings have been entrusted as caretakers.”
Next up is the Florida premiere of “Barnum’s Bird,” composer Libby Larsen’s operatic probe into the uneasy struggle between art and entertainment, April 3, 7.p.m., at Neel Performing Arts Center at the State College of Florida, 5840 26th Street West, Bradenton, and April 5, 7 p.m., at the Venice Performing Arts Center, 1 Indian Avenue, Venice. Larsen’s eclectic and imaginative score chronicles the relationship between pioneering showman P.T. Barnum and Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, an artist and also a savvy businesswoman in her own right. The composer, Libby Larsen, will be a guest commentator for The Ringling’s “The Ringling Viewpoint,” and is also a guest for SILL’s Musical Mondays,” hosted by June LeBell and Joseph Holt.
Gloria Musicae concludes its season with a “Patriotic Spectacular,” its annual July 4th celebration of American composers and the American spirit July 4, 2016, 4:30 p.m., at First United Methodist Church in Sarasota.
The Gloria Musicae Singers will once again be partnering with the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota in a number of concerts this season, including December holiday concerts at the Historic Asolo Theater in Sarasota; and two tributes to the music of Rogers and Hammerstein, in March at the North Port Performing Arts Center and in May at the Historic Asolo Theater. For more information about Gloria Musicae, visit www.GloriaMusicae.org.
About Gloria Musicae
Gloria Musicae celebrates choral music through innovative performances. The critically acclaimed group, the Gloria Musicae Singers, under the artistic direction of Dr. Joseph Holt, performs a repertoire spanning four centuries, and includes orchestral works, intimate madrigals, church motets, folk songs, close-harmony jazz, and Broadway show music. The ensemble also specializes in premiere performances of lesser-known choral works, particularly music by living American composers. The Gloria Musicae Singers has performed premieres by René Clausen, Dick Hyman, Robert Levin, Gwyneth Walker, and James Grant, along with the premiere of a new edition of a rarely heard score by Rossini. For more information about Gloria Musicae, visit www.gloriamusicae.org.
