Professional choir awaits ’metamorphosis’
Laura Marble August 22, 2007
Three
years ago, Tucson had fully professional opera, theater and orchestral
groups. A brand-new choral group, Tucson Chamber Artists, wanted to add
a choir to the mix.
Last year, the choir drew 800 people to its
performance of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor at ticket prices competitive
with other fine arts entertainment in Southern Arizona.
Now in
its fourth season, the choir is seeking nothing short of metamorphosis.
That concept, in fact, is the theme of its upcoming series.
“We
feel we’ve been building this momentum,” said Eric Holtan, the group’s
musical director. “We’ve had these successes, we’ve seen our support in
terms of attendance and donations rise, and we’re ready to sort of
jettison into a level of broader community awareness as one of the big
four arts organizations in town.”
The five-part series will
musically illustrate the stages often involved in metamorphosis:
dreaming of something new, awaiting its arrival, celebrating its
arrival, wanting still more, and finally experiencing true change.
The
first concert, to be held at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church
and Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church on Aug. 25 and 26 respectively,
will deal with hopes and dreams.
The concert will feature “Hymn
to St. Cecilia,” by Benjamin Britten, which captures professional
musicians’ heartfelt hopes. St. Cecilia is the patron saint of
musicians, and the hymn’s refrain, taken from the work of W.H. Auden,
reads, “Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions to all musicians. Appear and
inspire.”
“We hope we are metamorphosizing into something that would have greater awareness and inspire more people,” Holtan said.
Also
featured in the August concert are American folk songs and African
American spirituals. The former embody the hope of
“turn-of-the-19th-century pioneers traveling west and looking for a
better life,” Holtan said, while the latter embody hope for a reality
better than slavery.
As part of this year’s metamorphosis,
Tucson Chamber Artists is launching the Young Composers Competition - a
program that will give burgeoning composers a chance to hear their
works performed by a choir of professional vocalists.
In honor
of the launch, the choir will include on its August concert program a
piece by University of Arizona doctoral student Casey Cook, who also
serves as assistant conductor of the choir.
His piece,
“Remember,” uses text from a sonnet about a grieving man who has hope
that he will be able to overcome his remorse about losing a loved one
and carry on.
Cook said he’s eager for the group of professional, paid singers to rehearse and perform his music.
“I can’t wait to hear it myself,” he said.
In
addition to showcasing young composers, the choir intends to use its
fourth season to start commissioning the established ones.
Composer
Paul Crabtree, whose arrangements of African American spirituals are
part of the August concert, is writing a piece for the last concert in
the series based on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.”
If “metamorphosis”
is a big word for the evolution of a choir, Holtan believes that his
group has cause to dream big. Each year its budget has doubled, and
attendance has also shot up dramatically.
“It’s because of this explosive support we’ve been able to reach the point where we are now,” Holtan said.
For more information about where the group is going, visit www.TucsonChamberArtists.org.
Concert notes
What: Tucson Chamber Artists concert.
When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave.; 3 p.m. Aug. 26 at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 7570 N. Thornydale Road. Program highlights: “Hymn to St. Cecilia” (Benjamin Britten), American folk songs, African-American spirituals, “Remember” (Casey Cook).
Cost: $18
Phone: 401-2651
Online: www.TucsonChamberArtists.org
Note:
The choir’s fourth season continues with concerts Oct. 27-28 and Nov.
4, Dec. 15-16, Feb. 2-3 and April 12-13. See Web site for more
information.
http://explorernews.com/article/show/19637