REVIEW: "Peace on Earth" (12/2/2011)

MUSIC REVIEW: BLOOMINGTON CHAMBER SINGERSVaried ‘Peace on Earth’ provided a revelation

By Peter Jacobi H-T Reviewer | pjacobi@heraldt.comDecember 5, 2011
The program was titled “Peace on Earth, Music of the Season.” As given by the Bloomington Chamber Singers, it attracted a capacity crowd to the First United Methodist Church on Friday evening. And from pre-concert brass exhortations by the likes of Monteverdi, Palestrina, Praetorius and Gabrieli, all written about 400 years ago, to concert’s end, the last notes of the 20th century chorale “Friede auf Erden” (“Peace on Earth”) by Arnold Schoenberg, the music proved a revelation.The ensemble’s music director, Gerald Sousa, had pieced together a remarkably varied bill of fare that, nevertheless, as a package carried out the seasonal theme of “Peace on Earth.”As one listened to this well-trained local chorus of singers from all walks of life, a response of awe kept cropping up that 70 members, each busy with the concerns of professional and everyday existence, had devoted so much time and emotional energy to prepare this gift of music, while also getting ready for the annual “Messiah Sing” on Dec. 11 and a performance of Beethoven’s challenging “Missa Solemnis” next April.Credit their loyalty and credit Sousa, their committed leader. As a team, they once again rose to the occasion: first in more music by Praetorius, the familiar and favored “In dulci jubilo,” and Gabrieli, a soaring “O magnum mysterium” with countertenor Brennan Hall blending angelically from the balcony and, additionally, both an exultation (“Hodie Christus natus est,” “Today Christ is born”) and a benediction. The benediction, “In ecclesiis,” asked for solo contributions, here supplied by four sweetly-voiced guests from the Jacobs School: soprano Arwen Myers, tenor Asitha Tennekoon, bass-baritone Gavin Hayes, and, again, Hall.The concert’s first half concluded with one of Bach’s most admired cantatas, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” (“Awake, calls the voice to us”), a joyous work that brought well crafted and flexible sound from the chorus and notable contributions in arias and recitatives from Myers, Tennekoon and Hayes. Throughout, organist Gregory Geehern and varying combinations of instrumentalists completed scoring requirements.Geehern was particularly important in the post-intermission surprise, the “Son of God Mass,” written in 2001 by the British composer James Whitbourn, an astoundingly beautiful and intense composition that matches organ, chorus, and, of all things, soprano saxophone.The combination turned out to be magical. Supporting words of love, of happiness, of grief, of hope, the saxophone, much like a pure-voiced and passionate soprano, tonally beseeched, prayed and hauntingly raised emotional fervor. Keegan White, who makes his living as director of bands at Eastern Greene Schools, was nothing short of wonderful on his sax; his performance was flawless and penetratingly soulful.Guided by conductor Sousa, the Chamber Singers added hushes and hallelujahs reverentially and in adroit fashion.The concert ended with Schoenberg’s 1907 cry for a better world, “Friede auf Erden,” the composer’s last work shaped in the harmonic style that had suffused music for centuries. He would thereafter explore a 12-tone world. But this 10-minute cantata — close to lyrical when the focus in the text is on peace and good will, close to atonal when strife and evil hold sway — adheres, in both form and polyphony, to what for so long had been. Conductor, chorus and orchestra gave the work a sumptuous and stirring treatment.

 Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2011

Christmas in Columbus

In addition to our annual Messiah Sing, this year Bloomington Chamber Singers will be performing a free concert at 7pm on Sunday, December 18 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Columbus, IN. The concert program will include a selection of 17th-century Christmas motets, one of J.S. Bach’s most famous cantatas, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” BWV 140, and James Whitbourn’s “Son of God Mass”, featuring Keegan White, saxophonist, and Greg Geehern, organist. We'll also perform a number of carols and other traditional Christmas songs. Please join us!

Annual Community Messiah Sing

For over 20 years, this FREE Bloomington Christmas tradition draws hundreds of singers who come together to sing Part One and the “Hallelujah Chorus” of Handel's beloved oratorio, Messiah.  Conductor Gerald Sousa, now in his 23rd year as Music Director/Conductor of Bloomington Chamber Singers, will lead the combined singers and a chamber orchestra.  Admission is free, but please bring a canned good to contribute towards a local food bank donation.In addition to our annual Messiah Sing, this year Bloomington Chamber Singers will be performing a free concert at 7pm on Sunday, December 18 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Columbus, IN. The concert program will include a selection of 17th-century Christmas motets, one of J.S. Bach’s most famous cantatas, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” BWV 140, and James Whitbourn’s “Son of God Mass”, featuring Keegan White, saxophonist, and Greg Geehern, organist. We'll also perform a number of carols and other traditional Christmas songs. Please join us!

Peace On Earth: Music of the Season

In addition to our annual Messiah Sing, this year the Bloomington Chamber Singers performed Peace on Earth: Music of the Season, a concert including a selection of Christmas motets by the renowned 17th-century Italian composer Giovanni Gabrieli, one of J.S. Bach’s most famous cantatas, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” BWV 140, James Whitbourn's "Son of God Mass", and Friede auf Erden (“Peace on Earth”), Arnold Schoenberg’s remarkable setting of the passionate essay on peace written by the Swiss poet Conrad Meyer. Joining BCS for our performance of Whitbourn's "Son of God Mass" was Keegan White, saxophonist, and Greg Geehern, organist. 

Here is the review of our concert in the Bloomington Herald-Times: 

Varied ‘Peace on Earth’ provided a revelation

By Peter Jacobi H-T Reviewer | pjacobi@heraldt.com | December 5, 2011The program was titled “Peace on Earth, Music of the Season.” As given by the Bloomington Chamber Singers, it attracted a capacity crowd to the First United Methodist Church on Friday evening. And from pre-concert brass exhortations by the likes of Monteverdi, Palestrina, Praetorius and Gabrieli, all written about 400 years ago, to concert’s end, the last notes of the 20th century chorale “Friede auf Erden” (“Peace on Earth”) by Arnold Schoenberg, the music proved a revelation.The ensemble’s music director, Gerald Sousa, had pieced together a remarkably varied bill of fare that, nevertheless, as a package carried out the seasonal theme of “Peace on Earth.”As one listened to this well-trained local chorus of singers from all walks of life, a response of awe kept cropping up that 70 members, each busy with the concerns of professional and everyday existence, had devoted so much time and emotional energy to prepare this gift of music, while also getting ready for the annual “Messiah Sing” on Dec. 11 and a performance of Beethoven’s challenging “Missa Solemnis” next April.Credit their loyalty and credit Sousa, their committed leader. As a team, they once again rose to the occasion: first in more music by Praetorius, the familiar and favored “In dulci jubilo,” and Gabrieli, a soaring “O magnum mysterium” with countertenor Brennan Hall blending angelically from the balcony and, additionally, both an exultation (“Hodie Christus natus est,” “Today Christ is born”) and a benediction. The benediction, “In ecclesiis,” asked for solo contributions, here supplied by four sweetly-voiced guests from the Jacobs School: soprano Arwen Myers, tenor Asitha Tennekoon, bass-baritone Gavin Hayes, and, again, Hall.The concert’s first half concluded with one of Bach’s most admired cantatas, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” (“Awake, calls the voice to us”), a joyous work that brought well crafted and flexible sound from the chorus and notable contributions in arias and recitatives from Myers, Tennekoon and Hayes. Throughout, organist Gregory Geehern and varying combinations of instrumentalists completed scoring requirements.Geehern was particularly important in the post-intermission surprise, the “Son of God Mass,” written in 2001 by the British composer James Whitbourn, an astoundingly beautiful and intense composition that matches organ, chorus, and, of all things, soprano saxophone.The combination turned out to be magical. Supporting words of love, of happiness, of grief, of hope, the saxophone, much like a pure-voiced and passionate soprano, tonally beseeched, prayed and hauntingly raised emotional fervor. Keegan White, who makes his living as director of bands at Eastern Greene Schools, was nothing short of wonderful on his sax; his performance was flawless and penetratingly soulful.Guided by conductor Sousa, the Chamber Singers added hushes and hallelujahs reverentially and in adroit fashion.The concert ended with Schoenberg’s 1907 cry for a better world, “Friede auf Erden,” the composer’s last work shaped in the harmonic style that had suffused music for centuries. He would thereafter explore a 12-tone world. But this 10-minute cantata — close to lyrical when the focus in the text is on peace and good will, close to atonal when strife and evil hold sway — adheres, in both form and polyphony, to what for so long had been. Conductor, chorus and orchestra gave the work a sumptuous and stirring treatment.(link)

Our latest CD release:J. S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion


On April 5, 2009, Bloomington Chamber Singers performed J.S. Bach's monumental St. Matthew Passion. Some of the area's most accomplished musicians joined the Chamber Singers for a performance that Herald-Times reviewer Peter Jacobi heralded as "a revelation."After numerous requests from our patrons and supporters, we are proud to announce the release of a professionally-mastered CD recording of that performance.The 3-disc set is available for $20 plus shipping, and can be ordered by mailing this completed order form to the BCS address you will find on the form. For additional information, email bcs@chambersingers.info with "SMP order" in the subject line.The entire recording, as well as individual movements, is available on iTunes and from http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bloomingtonchambersinger.

REVIEW: Carmina Burana (4/17/ 2011)

MUSIC REVIEW: ‘CARMINA BURANA’Three musical groups team up for Orff workBy Peter Jacobi H-T Reviewer | pjacobi@heraldt.comApril 19, 2011, last update: 4/18 @ 10:28 pmWhen Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” premiered in 1937, it proved a sensation. The work’s emphasis on rhythm and simple harmonies, on attractive melodies and emotional gusto came as a pleasant surprise. Here was music that caught hold easily, so different from much of the classical music being written at the time.Orff’s “scenic cantata,” inspired by 13th century poems discovered at a Benedictine monastery in the Bavarian Alps, still has the power to evoke enthusiastic response. It certainly did so Sunday evening in the IU Auditorium when three Bloomington musical institutions — the Bloomington Chamber Singers, Camerata Orchestra and IU Children’s Choir — combined forces to give the piece a rousing, charged, let’s-give-it-all-we-got-and-then-some performance.Perhaps there was some roughness around the edges, but who could care when what one heard, under the knowing guidance of conductor Gerald Sousa, held such high levels of enthusiasm and ebullience. The poems are all about the fickleness and cruelty of fate, about springtime and desire and boozing and love from both the male and female perspective. The music blatantly echoes literary content. No one on stage seemed to forget that.The choristers, adult and young, strongly made their vocal case. The Camerata, what with two grand pianos and lots of timpani, underscored the merriment. The soloists, each in a different way, evoked theme deftly. Baritone Samuel Spade had the most to do, warbling, mooning and extolling on various matters, and doing so most effectively. Maria Izzo Walker used her delicate, sky-touching soprano with affecting purity to sing of love courtly and not so. Tenor Anthony Webb brought laughter with a vocally and theatrically unrestrained rendition of a swan being roasted on a spit and “catching sight of gnashing teeth.”As appetizer, Sousa and the Camerata played the Overture and Scherzo from incidental music Mendelssohn wrote for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The performance was quite lovely but hardly necessary considering the musical stimulation that followed.Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2011

Freely Offered, Freely Received

Assistant Conductor Gregory Geehern will lead the Bloomington Chambers Singers in a concert of works by Robert Schumann, Aaron Copland and Irving Fine. Included on the concert will be Fine's delightful cycle, “The Choral New Yorker,” based on texts selected from the pages of the venerable magazine.Bloomington Chamber Singers, a dedicated group of 70 persons currently in its 41st season, provides an opportunity for accomplished community singers to perform major choral works under the direction of a professional conductor at a high level of musical excellence.

Annual Community Messiah Sings

For over 20 years, this FREE Bloomington Christmas tradition draws hundreds of singers who come together to sing Part One and the “Hallelujah Chorus” of Handel's beloved oratorio, Messiah.  Conductor Gerald Sousa, now in his 21st year as Music Director/Conductor of Bloomington Chamber Singers, will lead the combined singers and a chamber orchestra.  Admission is free, but please bring a canned good to contribute towards a local food bank donation.

Hymnody of Earth

Bloomington Chamber Singers is pleased to announce the opening concert of their 41st consecutive season:

“Hymnody of Earth”

A choral song cycle by Malcolm Dalglish with poetry and readings by Wendell Berry

November 12, 2010, 8:00pm at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater

114 East Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN

http://themester.indiana.edu/events/hymnody.shtml

Malcolm Dalglish’s Hymnody of Earth is a song cycle based on the words of Wendell Berry, whose poetry over the past half century provides us a vision of a sustainable relationship with each other and nature. Combining voice with the haunting sounds of hammer dulcimer, frame drums and shakers, Dalglish builds on Berry’s words to create songs and soundscapes rooted in the folk styles of North America.  Since its debut over 20 years ago, Hymnody of Earth has become a growing and ever changing song cycle performed worldwide. This theatrical, new version will feature a special appearance by poet and Patten lecturer Wendell Berry and the exciting collaboration of two very different vocal groups.Bloomington Chamber Singers, conducted by Gerald Sousa, will be joined by hammer dulcimer player Malcolm Dalglish and his vocal ensemble, the Ooolites, with instrumentalists and dancers. The multimedia concert is presented with support from The Patten Foundation and Indiana University’s Themester program, a multidisciplinary initiative of IU’s College of Arts & Sciences designed to increase community awareness on issues surrounding sustainability and environmental stewardship. For more information about the Themester program, please click the image link below:Tickets are available at: the Sunrise Box Office (323-3020, adjacent to the Buskirk-Chumley Theater) on-line (www.buskirkchumley.org) or from any BCS member. Prices are: $20 general admission, $10 students.

18th Annual Messiah Sing

Our 18th annual community Messiah sing! We will sing the first section — plus the glorious “Hallelujah” chorus — of Handel’s familiar and always rewarding sacred oratorio. We sit by sections so you can sing your part in the choruses and the arias, while the recitatives will be sung by soloists from the chorus. Bring your own score, buy an inexpensive score at the door, or borrow one of the small number we have to lend.Admission is free, but in the sharing tradition of the season, we ask that you bring donations for the local food banks.

Pure Genius

Bach: Ein feste Burg, S. 80Mozart: Vesperae de dominica, K. 321Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms

March 28, 2006Singing the Singers' in the 35th yearMusic review: Bloomington Chamber SingersBy Peter Jacobi, Herald Times

Music, of course, was the most important ingredient Saturday evening when the Bloomington Chamber Singers offered their spring program of works by Bach, Mozart, Stravinsky and Samuel Barber, a program appropriately labeled "Pure Genius."

But numbers couldn't be ignored. The concert served to mark the ensemble's 35 years of existence, its 18th under current music director Gerald Sousa. It attracted an audience that came very close to filling the spacious new sanctuary of the Evangelical Community Church, meaning it must have attracted one of the choir's largest gathering of listeners ever.

On the back cover of the printed program, one read: "35 years … 167 concerts … 630 members … 2,863 donors … 1,000s of words … 1,000,000s of notes … 1 goal: Sing Great Music." And great music most certainly was sung: on this occasion by the 60 current members of the BCS, assisted by an orchestral ensemble nearly as large. Fifteen former Chamber Singers were in the audience. And to one loyal member, Austin Caswell, who died March 1, the concert was dedicated.

Conductor Sousa chose works of challenge and bracing contrast to show off the courage and achievements of his singers. In the process, he proved once more how effective a teacher he is, so capable of coaxing more than the best out of his crew, diverse individuals with varying backgrounds and talents, most of them part-timers as musicians but united by a love of song.

Sousa opened with one of Bach's most admired cantatas, No. 80, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," built on the Martin Luther hymn. The chorus sang with confidence and needed power. The orchestra played in complementary fashion. Four soloists - one, alto Julie Grindle, from within the ranks of the chorus - added to the luster of the performance. Bass Michael Weyandt, tenor Daniel Shirley and soprano Angelique Zuluaga, all now studying their craft at IU, completed the quartet, and each seemed to have the measure of Bach's sometimes dangerously embellished line.

The three from the Music School returned for further duties in Mozart's "Vesperae sollenes de Dominica," joined this time by another Chamber Singer, alto Susan Sullivan. This six-movement vesper, inspired by Psalm 109, contains gorgeous material that, in turn, seemed to inspire Sousa's collected throng. The chorus sang resolutely and resonantly. The soloists were fully up to the task. Soprano Zuluaga, in the work's "Laudate Dominum," contributed as stunning a sample of free-floating, unfettered and yet beautifully controlled vocalization as this reviewer has heard in quite a while.

A choral version of Barber's popular, gentle Adagio for Strings, using traditional words from the Agnus Dei in the mass, was performed with rapturous tones. That made transition to the contrapuntal, effusive "Symphony of Psalms" by Stravinsky even more dramatic. Saturday's reading of this bold piece, deftly balancing its distinctive choral and instrumental elements, proved nothing short of praiseworthy.

Let it be said that at 35, hurray, the BCS is in exceptionally good form.

Music of the English Church

For the opening concert of the Bloomington Chamber Singers' 35th season Saturday evening, one devoted to "Music of the Church of England," conductor Gerald Sousa – seeking a larger space – ended up using not the local house of worship representing that denomination but at least one devoted to the religious inspiration of an Englishman, John Wesley, Bloomington's First United Methodist Church.

It made for a comfortable choice and, acoustically speaking, an excellent one. The choir sounded awfully good, not only, of course, because of where the concert was performed but because leader Sousa, as one has learned to expect, had prepared the singers well. This community chorus has become a treat to hear and a treasure to cherish.  

Sousa chose music ranging from the 16th century to the 20th and found a way of including a Who's Who of British composers. What's more, there were motets to enjoy, along with anthems and hymns and carols. Determined to be inclusive, Sousa gave his opening spot to an English Catholic, William Byrd, whose "Ave verum corpus," gained a performance ever so serene and comforting.  

From the earlier periods, one also heard two works by Thomas Tallis, a radiant motet praising Jesus,"O nata lux de lumine," and the first Lamentation from his "Lamentations of Jeremiah," a dramatic sample of contrapuntal writing evocative of its text, a description of Jerusalem in ruins after the Babylonian captivity. They were both sung with intuitive sense for words and message. So, too, were Orlando Gibbons' anthem, "O clap your hands" for double chorus, a joyful item with phrases in repetition, very like a round, and a lovely "Ave Maria" by another 16th century composer, Robert Parsons. 

Sometimes singing a cappella and at others with organ (niftily supplied by Kay Greenshaw), sometimes singing in full force and at others in reduced configurations, the ensemble gave expressive life to traditional pieces like the Wexford and Coventry Carols and to later material, most notably a sweetly sung "I sat down under His shadow" by Edward Bairstow, the rousing "Jerusalem" of Sir Charles Parry, William Walton's celebratory "Jubilate Deo," and John Tavener's 1985 "Two Hymns to the Mother of God," influenced not only by the musical past of the Church of England but by the heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church, to which this Britisher has switched allegiance. 

Here was a concert that in a single hour soothed the ears and touched the heart.

Mendelssohn: Elijah

MUSIC REVIEW:
AUDIENCE SWEPT UP WITH HEAVENLY RENDITION OF ELIJAH

By Peter Jacobi
BLOOMINGTON HERALD-TIMES
MARCH 5, 2007

When the last chords of “Elijah,” Mendelssohn’s imposing oratorio, had sounded on Saturday evening at the Evangelical Community Church, a cheers-punctuated standing ovation erupted from the audience that filled the spacious venue.

It was a natural reaction to a performance by the Bloomington Chamber Singers that might have surprised even its most devoted fans. This work of epic proportions — the music, not counting intermission, spans more than two hours — is a challenge for any choir, even the most full-time and professional. These local singers are neither. They’re gifted enough to have won places in the ensemble, but their commitment comes amid other responsibilities. They’re members of a community institution, and as such, they undertake a demanding regimen of rehearsals while also handling job-and-duty schedules.

But they have an inspiring leader in Gerald Sousa, who consistently pushes his chorus and determined last year that “Elijah” was the right choice, a dramatic interpretation of Old Testament texts focused on the prophet who brings his people back to the God he loves and, as reward, is taken into heaven by a whirlwind. The music is expansive in nature, climax-laden, effusively lyrical and demanding.

Preparation began in September. By Saturday night, the singers had mastered the score, not only so that beauteous and full-bodied sounds resonated about the church, but so, also, that just as full-bodied emotions stirring in the music could be keenly felt.

In no small measure, the success of the event depended also on the soloists. These included group members portraying angels, who seemed to rejoice in their lambent harmonies, and a quartet of distinguished guests assigned to portray various Biblical characters, which they did with expected finesse.

Without doubt, Timothy Noble was the evening’s star attraction as Elijah. His baritone is a force of nature, stunningly powerful as well as resonant and radiant, a pleasure to the ears. But the bonus to a Noble performance is his ability to modulate that instrument. In moments signifying Elijah’s fury over sin and corruption, the voice raved at astounding decibel levels. In pleas for the revival of a widow’s dead son, it softened to whispers and throbs of weeping. At all times, this veteran Elijah remained totally at one with the role.

Two colleagues from IU’s music faculty, tenor Alan Bennett and mezzo Mary Ann Hart (also well attuned to their assignments and exhibiting excellence of voice), contributed significantly as they assumed other roles, these ranging from Elijah’s devoted servant Obadiah to the evil Queen Jezebel. An alumna of the Jacobs School, soprano Dawn Spaetti, returned to add her well-formed voice to the mix. As did, briefly, a charming boy soprano, Will Grindle, playing the youth asked by Elijah to look out toward the sea to determine whether the prophet’s prayers for help have been heard by God.

Conductor Sousa kept all, including an orchestra of town and gown participants, impressively coordinated and musically exalted. Good show!

Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem

SINGERS PERFORM BRAHAMS WITH PASSION

By Peter Jacobi H-T ReviewerMay 5, 2008The spacious sanctuary of the Evangelical Community Church was just about filled on Saturday evening when the Bloomington Chamber Singers offered their challenging and rewarding program, capped by a performance of Brahms' radiant expression of comfort, his "A German Requiem."Earlier, there had been more Brahms, "Schicksalslied" ("Song of Destiny"), and Samuel Barber's fragrant, nostalgic "Knoxville: Summer of 1915."On the podium for the shorter, pre-intermission pieces was the gentleman usually in charge of conducting duties, the Chamber Singers' music director, Gerald Sousa, seemingly and happily in complete control after a serious bout not awfully long ago with the heart. His period of recuperation cut enough into the rehearsal schedule to shift leadership in the Requiem from Maestro Sousa to Maestro Julie Grindle, the ensemble's assistant conductor.Let it be said that the 71 choristers sang as passionately and capably for her as they did for him, meaning they sang ever so appealingly throughout the evening, meaning also one heard not only sweetly and solidly produced sound but sound flavored with implications and meanings.A boon in Bloomington is that a call for instrumentalists to people an orchestra usually brings excellent response. And that was certainly the case on this occasion. The gathered musicians - including faces recognized from various IU and local orchestras - handled their critically important collaborative responsibilities skillfully.The Requiem also required a pair of soloists, both trained at the Jacobs School: soprano Christina Pier, an alumna who won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has forged a budding career, and baritone Austin Kness, a current master's candidate we've seen take on major roles in IU Opera Theater productions. They were up to the task. Pier's brilliant top and beauty of tone fully served Brahms' evocations of human sorrow and God's eternal promise in soaring fashion. Kness' lyrical instrument cut right through orchestral and choral textures; equally noteworthy was diction of such clarity that it honored every word.Pier was the soloist for the Barber, giving emotional voice to memories of an American past at "that time of evening when people sit on their porches, rocking gently and talking gently and watching the street."The Chamber Singers sat silently through the Barber but were kept busy the remainder of the concert. They truly did themselves proud. First, they artfully managed the inspired melodies Brahms used to reflect a poem by Friedrich Holderlin about humankind's ever present struggle with fate. With Sousa in command of "Schicksalslied," one heard in their singing an encompassing range of emotions.The "German Requiem" sets references about death and mourning, about solace and ultimate eternal peace, taken from Martin Luther's translation of the Bible. They fed Brahms' imagination, as did the passing at the time of his beloved mother. The music he wrote is glorious. The choral demands are almost nonstop. Their realization, drawn out of the Chamber Singers by conductor Grindle, was at all times befitting.

BCSlogo-transparent-hi-res.png

Bloomington Chamber Singers
bcs@chambersingers.info