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Home > Press FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: September 3, 2007 CHICAGO A CAPPELLA UNVEILS BEAUTIFUL AND DIVERSE PROGRAM OF JEWISH MUSIC AT ITS EVOCATIVE SEASON OPENER Chicago, IL — Chicago a cappella will unveil the riches of the a cappella Jewish tradition as the group opens its fifteenth season in October with Days of Awe and Rejoicing: Hidden Gems of Jewish Music. The acclaimed nine-voice ensemble will sing rarely heard chant melodies, music by Renaissance composer Salamone Rossi, and superb settings by Chicago’s legendary Max Janowski, as well as contemporary works by Paul Schoenfield, Robert Applebaum, and Pulitzer Prize winner Shulamit Ran. The group will also kick off its 15th Anniversary Commissioning Series with a new tour-de-force “Hava Nagila” by acclaimed composer Stacy Garrop. A moving and evocative concert experience, Days of Awe and Rejoicing will reflect the solemnity, humor, and richness of this wide-ranging music. Days of Awe and Rejoicing: Hidden Gems of Jewish Music will take place Thursday, October 11, 2007, at 7:30 pm, at Anne and Howard Gottlieb Hall at Merit School of Music, 38 S. Peoria St. in Chicago; Saturday, Oct. 13, at 8:00 pm, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake Street in Oak Park, IL; and Sunday, Oct. 14, at 4:00 pm, at the Music Institute of Chicago, 1490 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, IL. For tickets, subscriptions, free audio samples and more information, visit www.chicagoacappella.org or call Chicago a cappella at (773) 755-1628. An Evocative Concert Experience Chicago a cappella Founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Miller has appointed Patrick Sinozich to serve as Music Director for three of Chicago a cappella's 2007-08 concert programs, and Days of Awe and Rejoicing: Hidden Gems of Jewish Music will reflect Sinozich’s theatricality and sense of occasion. Miller’s musical selections for the program will be presented in a framework that evokes ritualistic formality as well as visual and musical contrasts. The concert includes solo chant, solo quartets, cantorial solos with choral accompaniment, antiphonal double choir, and full-group performances. Sinozich has served as Chicago a cappella’s occasional rehearsal coach and music directed last season's Songs for Lovers. An acclaimed choral conductor, pianist, vocal coach, and chamber musician, he is in his 11th season as Artistic Director of the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus. New Voices of Jewish Music Days of Awe and Rejoicing: Hidden Gems of Jewish Music will feature the world premiere of a new work by Chicago composer Stacy Garrop as Chicago a cappella kicks off its 15th Anniversary Commissioning Series. Garrop, a recipient of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s First Hearing Composition Competition and the inaugural winner of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award, has created a virtuosic “Hava Nagila” that moves from “solemn, reverent” to “feverishly dancing” in less than four minutes. Other new works on the program will include Robert Applebaum’s introspective “Im Ein Ani Li” (“If I Am Not for Myself”) from 2001; Paul Schoenfield’s lamenting Four Motets (1995); Shulamit Ran’s four Shirim L’Yom Tov (Four Festive Songs, 2004 & 2006), written for her sons’ bar mitzvahs; and Chicago a cappella Artistic Director Jonathan Miller’s rollicking take on the holiday blessing “Shehecheyanu.” Pre-Concert Discussions, Post-Concert Receptions Chicago a cappella’s Founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Miller will hold free pre-concert discussions before each performance. His guests will be Rabbi Elliot Gertel and Cantor Deborah Bard (Oct. 11 in Chicago), Rabbi Gary Gerson and Rabbi Elliot Gertel (Oct. 13 in Oak Park), and composer Stacy Garrop (Oct. 14 in Evanston). Discussions begin 30 minutes before each performance. The singers of the ensemble will greet audience members at a free reception after each concert. Chicago a cappella Chicago a cappella has become known as one of the area’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Spanning a repertoire from Gregorian chant to the Beatles and beyond, the group is acclaimed for its superb ensemble singing, fascinating programs, and intimate, engaging performances under founder and artistic director Jonathan Miller. Since 1993, Chicago a cappella has presented over 100 concerts in the Chicago area in addition to appearances in ten states and in Mexico. The ensemble has recorded six CDs, and its 2005 release, Eclectric, was hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “an overflowing cornucopia of choral delights…a testament to Chicago's rich musical life.” The American Organist recently praised the group’s “breathtaking ensemble and control [and] stylistic elegance... Chicago a cappella is a jewel in the crown of Chicago's musical life.”
Calendar Editors, Please Note: Chicago a
cappella: Days of Awe and Rejoicing: Hidden Gems of Jewish Music # #
# Chicago a cappella is partially supported by The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; a CityArts Program 2 grant from the City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council; the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Villages of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. ### |
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