Central City Chorus, directed by Phillip Cheah, proudly kicks off its 36th season with “Food of Love”, a program of musical settings of Shakespeare to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death. The performance will be held on Saturday, December 10, at 7:00 pm at the historic Church of St. Luke in the Fields (487 Hudson Street) in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.
Harpsonnets* — James Bassi
The Food Of Love, Book 1† — Gary Carpenter
“Spring” from The Food Of Love, Book 2† — Gary Carpenter
“When Daffodils Begin to Peer” from The Food Of Love, Book 3† — Gary Carpenter
When time is broke‡ — Cecilia McDowall
“Fear no more” from The Frogs — Stephen Sondheim (arr. David Wordsworth)
Serenade to Music — Ralph Vaughan Williams
* Commissioned and premièred by Central City Chorus in 2004
† U.S. première
‡ New York première
Rita Costanzi, harp
Elizabeth Derham, violin
Miles Fellenberg, piano
The title of the concert is a reference to the Bard’s quote about music from “Twelfth Night” as well as an eponymous reference to three pieces by Gary Carpenter (“The Food of Love”, Book 1 and excerpts from Books 2 and 3) which will be receiving their U.S. première at the concert. These pieces were specially commissioned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, as part of the Singing Shakespeare project which commemorates the quadricentennial of Shakespeare’s passing. Also on the program is the New York première of Cecilia McDowall’s “When time is broke”, a cycle of three Shakespeare choral songs. Central City Chorus is also very proud to reprise New York-based composer James Bassi’s “Harpsonnets” which was commissioned and premièred by the Chorus in 2004 and has since become a new staple of the choral repertory.
Tickets are $30 ($25 student/seniors) at the door and $25 in advance (available online at foodoflove.brownpapertickets.com).
For more information, please visit www.centralcitychorus.org.
Central City Chorus, one of the premier mid-sized choruses in New York City, is now enjoying its 36th Season. Currently in residence at St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church in Manhattan, the Chorus performs music of all periods, from a cappella compositions to works for chorus and orchestra, from countries around the world. The Chorus’s repertoire includes performances of the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, J.S. Bach’s Messe in h-moll, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and the rarely-heard Requiem by Frederick Delius. In recent years, the Chorus has collaborated with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Riverside Church, with the Astoria Symphony in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and with the Empire State Youth Orchestra in a performance of William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. Central City Chorus is a strong advocate for contemporary music, and enjoys an active and successful commissioning program. Commissioned composers include James Bassi, whose work, Harpsonnets, was given its world première by the Chorus in 2004. Harpsonnets was accepted for publication by Oxford University Press in 2006. Other commissioned composers include Elliot Z. Levine, Kristin Kuster, Jonathan David, and Frank J. Oteri. Additionally, the Chorus has given several New York City premières, including Emma Lou Diemer’s cantata, A Feast for Christmas (“a major addition to the choral repertoire” Choral Journal), Steve Heitzig’s choral suite, Leaf Songs, based on the poetry of the American poet Wendell Berry, Carol Barnett’s The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, David Matthews’ Psalm 23, and Benjamin Britten’s The Company of Heaven.
Hailed by The New York Times for the “warm tone and carefully calibrated blend” elicited from his choirs, Phillip Cheah is in his seventh season as the Music Director of Central City Chorus and directs Guildsingers, an early music consort of voices. A regular guest conductor at various New York Summer Sings, he is also the co-founder of C4 Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, a New York-based new music choral ensemble. He was the assistant conductor and répétiteur at the Amato Opera for three seasons and also served as the music director for several musical theatre productions at The Brearley School, Acting Manitou, the Dwight-Englewood School, Bloomington Music Works, and the 13th Street Repertory Company. (full biography at www.centralcitychorus.org/musicdirector.html)
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