Noteworthy News, February 26, 2021
Important upcoming dates:
Monday, March 1, 7 pm Beethoven Missa Solemnis, Virtual Masterworks Series (Zoom)
Tuesday, March 23, 7 pm Faure Requiem, Virtual Masterworks Series (Zoom)
Tuesday, April 27, 7 pm Durufle Requiem, Virtual Masterworks Series (Zoom)
Our next Masterworks experience is coming up on Monday, March 1st. Duain Wolfe will be leading us through Beethoven’s incredible Missa Solemnis. Because of the length of this work, Duain has asked that you come to this session having warmed up on your own.
Please be sure to take a moment to watch/listen to the presentation about the Beethoven. This 54 minute lecture discusses the history of the Mass and the distinct musical elements of the Missa Solemnis. We are grateful to Mr. Wolfe and Jean-Sébastien Vallée, Director of Choral Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, for sharing this presentation with us (LINK to YouTube).
Our Masterworks Series is designed as a special opportunity to work with conductors from outside the Portland area who have expertise in the work presented. These Zoom gatherings are designed to add a depth of understanding of the work while giving us the opportunity to get together (virtually) and keep singing. Later in March, the program will feature the Faure Requiem with Elena Sharkova, Artistic Director of Cantabile Youth Singers (San Francisco area). In April, we will enjoy singing the Durufle Requiem with Eugene Rogers, Director of choirs and associate professor of conducting at the University of Michigan and recently named the Artistic Director of The Washington Chorus (Washington, DC). Please note that these two sessions will be on Tuesdays (March 23 and April 27).
If you "subscribe" to the Choir's calendar, now hosted by Google, you may have noticed a new activity for Monday, April 12. More details will be announced in next week's Noteworthy News. To add our calendar to your computer (desktop, laptop, or smartphone) click on this LINK. To merely view the calendar, click on this LINK.
Oregon Music Festival recently communicated with us that they are announcing dates for their Fall 2021 Concert Season which includes the Missa Solemnis. Due to venue restrictions related to the pandemic, this concert will probably be rescheduled to 2022. We continue to communicate with our venue partners and collaborating organizations about all of our future concert dates. Due to the ever changing state of the pandemic, our plans for 2021-2022 (and onward) continue to change and evolve as new developments unfold. We will let you know as new information becomes available.