June 2011 |
A Sacred Celebration
Guest artist Lily Arbisser, the Eribeth Chamber Players and a stage full of percussionists gathered with Ars Choralis to present a remarkable program of sacred music at the national treasured Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, NY.. The program included J.S. Bach’s
Cantate BWV 84, Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla, the area premiere of Lynn Kurtz’ Sacred Celebration and smaller pieces by Le Jeune, Swider, Weerbecke, Mozart and others. |
March 2011 |
Dettingin Te Deum
Ars Choralis with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra
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June 2010 |
Spellbound on the Solstice
The monumental Opus 40, where melodies resonating from stone echo across the remarkable sculpture, was the perfect setting for a spellbinding solstice concert. The hundreds of people seated in the amphitheater, on the hillside and the plateau above were in unanimous agreement. The multi-faceted concert drew upon four centuries of music and myriad moods to close simply with Pete Seeger’s words, “Guard well our human chain. Watch well and keep it strong . . .”.
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March 2010 |
Eine Kleine Mozart in March
Ars Choralis and the Eribeth Chamber Players joined forces to bring both the famous Eine Kleine Nacht Music and less famous Dir, Seele Des Weltalls works of the great composer to life. Three unknown motets and the popular “Regina Coeli in B-Flat completed the program
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December 2010 |
Welcome Yule: Go Tell it On the Mountain
A concert laced with the sparkling rhythms, wonderment and joy of Hispanic Appalachian and African American carols tied together by the remarkable saxophone styling of Robert Shaut and joyous voices of the Hudson Valley Youth Chorale, all summed up in a spirit of unity and goodwill expressed in the words of Maya Angelou’s poem Amazing Peace.
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June, 2009
review article |
All-Brahms
A German Requiem, OP. 45 The Original London Version with Piano Four-Hands and String Sextet number 2 in G MAJOR, OP. 36 |
March and April, 2009 |
Music In Desperate Times
Third series of performances at Cathedral Church of Saint John The Divine, Manhattan and in Berlin Germany. |
December 2009 |
Welcome Yule from the Misty Isles
Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols opened the concert, perfectly blending the archaic Old English language with a contemporary musical setting. Through the magic of Dylan Thomas’s poetry, A Children’s Christmas in Wales, glimpses of holidays past were brought to life and illuminated by the songs of Ars Choralis’ and tunes of guest artist’s Celtic Crossing.
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December, 2008 |
Welcome Yule: Through a Stained Glass Window
Musical portraits of Christmas scenes through the ages.The concert
featured ancient carols performed by The Catskill Mountain Renaissance
Consort, the Medieval Liturgical Drama of The Three Kings, Early American
Shapenote songs and music of Samuel Barber, Morton Lauridson and others. |
| June, 2008
view postcard |
In a Green Cathedral
Inspired by the magic of the Maverick woods, and the imminence of the summer solstice, the concert included music of Faure (Pavane and Madrigal), Copland (Simple Gifts and The Promise of Living), Corigliano (Forever Young), among others. |
| March, 2008 |
The Long Road Home
In this concert, the members of Ars Choralis honored the people of the Mississippi Delta and celebrated the rich contribution they have made to our American musical heritage. Nashville soul-singer Jonell Mosser added her magic to the concert composed of spirituals, gospel and Faure’s Requiem. |
| December, 2007 |
Welcome Yule: Christmas in a Quiet Place
Guided by the texts, and based on the song, Quiet Place byJohn Hall, Johanna Hall and Jonell Mosser, this concert blended sacred and secular, classical and popular, familiar and unfamiliar music, fragments and whole pieces, into one seamless musical expression. |
April, 2007 |
Music In Desperate Times repeated by popular demand in April 2007 at
SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge NY and Woodstock Jewish Congregation, Woodstock NY |
| March, 2006 |
Music in Desperate Times: Remembering the Women’s Orchestra of Birchenau
A choral concert set in the Holocaust featuring a small reconstruction of the Women’s Orchestra that played in the Camp at Birchenau during WWII. Their story was told with readings from their memoirs and histories, along with representative orchestral selections and choral commentary. |
| June, 2005
poster |
Eight Cellos and a Guitar
A concert of music derived from Spanish and Portuguese musical heritages, featuring Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras and music of Fernando Sor, MichaelD.Mendoze, Jean Berger and others.
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| March, 2005 |
Handel’s Messiah Parts II and III with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra.
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| December, 2004 |
Welcome Yule: Reveling in the Season
A rich tapestry of carols, drama, poetry and dances woven into a holiday delight. Based on Christmas Revel Concerts across the country and abroad, Ars Choralis sang of snow-covered mountains and horse-drawn sleighs, presented the traditional boar’s-head, danced in the aisles and acted out a Mummer’s Play.
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June, 2004
poster |
A Renaissance Feast of Songs
Concert-goers reveled in Renaissance music and the beauty of Fite's feat, on June 11th, 12th and 13th of 2004, at Opus 40 in Saugerties, NY. The 35-member chorus was joined by the Catskill Mountains Renaissance Consort, composed of recorders, krumhorn, bass viol, percussion and guitar. Audiences picnicked on the grass, enjoying the tunes of Morley, Campion, Gibbons,Henry VIII and others. Dressed in period costumes and singing in full ensemble, double chorus and small groups, Ars Choralis moved about the monument, exploring the many resonances of the rocks. |
| March, 2004 |
Quietude
In sharp contrast to the preceding holiday concert, Ars Choralis turned its attention to music of reflection and beauty enhanced with poetry and interpretive dance.
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| June, 2003 |
Mysterium Solares (The Mystery of the Sun)
Celebrating the return of the sun, set in the majestic art stonescape, Opus 40, the chorus moved from stone to lawn, voices echoing around the monument. |
| March, 2003 |
JS Bach and Sons
The master and all of his sons came together for this concert of instrumental and choral works of J.S. Bach (Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and Lobet den Hern), J.C. Bach’s Kryie in D, movements from C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat in D and harpsichord music of J.C. Bach (Sonata in F for Two Harpsichords). |
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Welcome Winter, Welcome Yule 2003 featured Ars Choralis in the world premiere of "Miracle In Bethlehem", a new musical setting of the Christmas story by Barbara Pickhardt and Johanna Hall. The Hudson Valley Youth Chorale, fresh from their appearances in Austria and Hungary, performed songs of the season. The 75 children created the holiday mood when they skipped in singing, tossing peppermints to the crowd. Bar Scott premiered a new a capella piece, “Snow”. |
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Composer and Woodstock resident Peter Schickele and renowned pianist Justin Kolb are long time friends of Ars Choralis. Peter¹s remarkable Concerto for Piano and Chorus: The Twelve Months² is the perfect vehicle to bring composer, pianist and chorus together. Ars Choralis enjoyed its conversion into an orchestral voice supporting Kolb¹s brilliant piano pyrotechnics. The sylvan setting of historic Maverick Hall brought the performance to perfection. |
March, 2002 |
Mozart’s Solemn Vespers with Woodstock Chamber Orchestra |
December, 2002 |
Welcome Yule 2002: Magnificent Magnificats & More at Redeemer Lutheran Church, was the vocal ensemble¹s seventh annual Welcome Yule. It featured three groups from the Hudson Valley Youth Chorale. Ars Choralis set a mystical tone with four settings of the familiar Magnificat (song of Mary): Antiphonal master works by Renaissance composers Giovanni Gabrieli and Orlando Gibbons, Antonin Tuma¹s classically styled Magnificat in C, and "Mary in the Garden" by Johanna Hall and Barbara Pickhardt. |
June, 2001
poster |
Soul of America
A concert designed to bring uniquely American music to audiences in Hungary and Austria. Included on the program were works by William Schuman, Samuel Barber, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Brian Wilson and P.D.Q. Bach, among others. |
June, 2001 |
Messengers of Peace
A mix of music and spoken words, expressing the yearning for peace, this concert was first performed on the eve of the millennium in Kingston NY, repeated in Woodstock, NY on September 11th 2002, and in Budapest and Vienna on the chorus’ summer 2001 tour. |
June, 2000
article & pictures |
Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Hudson Valley art stonescape, Opus 40 |
June, 1999 |
From the Baltic to Bernstein
This concert featured Bernsteins’s Chichester Psalms, and music written by composers living behind the iron curtain during the latter part of the 20th century. |
June, 1998
article |
Honoring the Dream: A Tribute to MLK Jr.
With Alice Parker’s Sermon from the Mountain, Ars Choralis reached across the racial divide to include the gospel choir from Riverview Baptist Church, Kingston, New York with then-pastor, Willie Harden reading words of MLK in the first half. The Riverview Baptist Choir rocked the Maverick in the second half with their own gospel testimony. |
