By Alison Zeidman PHILADELPHIA — On November 22nd, twenty-two young boys donned newly-fitted red blazers and officially joined the ranks of the prestigious Philadelphia Boys Choir during a performance and ceremony for proud friends and family members. Between songs from the evening’s patriotic repertoire (a medley of American classics like “America the Beautiful” and “The […]
News and Notices
John Gardner, 1917-2011, composer of “Dancing Day”
John Gardner was born on 2nd March 1917 and died on 12th December 2011. He is best known for his setting of Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, but with a professional career which began in 1951 with the success of his First Symphony under Barbirolli at the Cheltenham Festival, he has a catalogue of 249 […]
Choir that banishes fear of war for soldiers’ families
YORKSHIRE, UK — IT started as just two voices from the windswept Army base of Catterick Garrison. Last year, Nicky Clarke and Caroline Jopp, both spouses of serving soldiers, decided to set up a choir at the North Yorkshire garrison to provide some respite to families of 4th Mechanised Brigade, while their loved ones fought on […]
Choral performance at USF nominated for Grammy
By Kim Wilmath TAMPA — On cue, the nearly 50 booming voices stopped, leaving several seconds of absolute, eerie silence. Then came the downbeat, another cue, and up they roared again, filling the University of South Florida concert hall with song — Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, to be exact. The performance, recorded […]
UH Moores Opera Center to Receive Honors for Production of ‘Il Postino’
A few months after Daniel Catán debuted opera “Il Postino” in Los Angeles (starring Placido Domingo), the composer selected the University of Houston as its next stop. In April, UH’s Moores Opera Center delivered the second production of Catán’s acclaimed adaptation of the award-winning film and book of the same title. Audiences responded enthusiastically, and […]
Choir memories: Head held high, toes to the floor
By Harris Blackwood GAINESVILLE, GA — I’ve been singing in somebody’s choir for most of my life. It all began when I was four at Beecher Hills Baptist Church in Atlanta. We wore fluffy little choir robes with a little bow on the front. For a child of 4, I looked rather angelic. This is […]