Story & Image by Bradley Hawks Now in its fifth year, the Astoria Choir has grown to over 75 members, with voices from all over the city (but mostly from Astoria). Their spring concert, “Sacred Songs,” will take place on May 16 at 8 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Astoria. In addition to pieces by Vaughan Williams, Britten, Holst and Brahms, they will be singing two original pieces by contemporary NYC composers. For the first time, the choir put out a call for scores and ended up with an abundance of high-quality entries. Two very talented composers and their beautiful pieces were selected. They have rehearsed their pieces with the choir and will attend the concert. Reflecting on the choir’s first five years, founder and Artistic Director Adam Eggleston explains, “We’ve had some beautiful performance experiences from collaborating with orchestras (Poulenc’s “Gloria” from last winter comes to mind), to our themed choral concerts, like our “Shakespeare in Song” program a few years ago. We’ve run the genre gamut from Renaissance and Baroque pieces, to classical and modern, as well as a few premieres of new pieces. The most pleasant highlight for me, however, has been the community of the choir. Many members have become very close. This fall I’ll be even be leading a marriage ceremony for a couple who met in the choir.” When asked about the upcoming concert, Eggleston replied, “There is some stunningly gorgeous music on this program. The rich delicacy of Vaughan Williams’ “Five Mystical Songs” for baritone soloist, choir and orchestra will be paired with lively works by Holst and Britten, as well as the sublime choral music of Brahms. I would argue that one of the Brahms pieces on the program, “Geistliches Lied,” is one of the most beautiful pieces of choral music ever written. Most of the works will be performed with a professional string ensemble and pianist.” 50 | BOROMAG.COM | MAY 2015 Astoria Choir to premiere work by Pulitzer Prize nominee Regarding the original pieces being featured, he says, “One of the works, “Glistening Lily,” is a setting of a text by Hildegard von Bingen who was a sort of 12th-century religious mystic and composer. Composer Deanna Witkowski has taken Hildegard’s words and set them in a way that is both ethereal and even jazzy at times in the best possible ways.” The piece was named as a semifinalist for the American Prize in Composition—Choral Division. As a composer, Witkowski creates masterly works setting sacred texts to music and was selected for one of five coveted spots in 2015’s Composer-Librettist Studio at New Dramatists, a New York institution that supports playwrights in creating new works for the stage. “The second new work is by Pulitzer Prize nominee Roger Ames,” continues Eggleston, “who set a standard Latin text of religious praise in a boisterous tribute to the late great Leonard Bernstein. Although it wasn’t written for us, we’re very honored to be premiering this piece.” One of the stipulations in the call for pieces was that the composers had to live in or around New York City. “I would love to feature specifically Astorian composers as we go forward,” says Eggleston. “I’m certain that will happen at some point.” Those interested in joining the choir can send an email to info@ astoriachoir.org. Those hoping to audition can also check the website for audition dates, which are normally in September and January each year, although sometimes the choir has room to take members along the way. Sacred Songs • Saturday, May 16, 8 – 9:30 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church • 31-18 37th St., Astoria, NY 11103 www.astoriachoir.org THE ARTS
BM052015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above