MUSIC

The internationally acclaimed Houston Chamber Choir announces its 14th concert season and the release of its new CD, Ravishing Russian. Hailed as one of the country’s leading choirs, the Houston Chamber Choir is an ensemble of 28 highly trained professional singers whose touching and engrossing performances entertain audiences around the world. Selections from the Ravishing Russian CD are currently receiving significant air play on classical radio stations across the country.

Artistic Director Robert Simpson founded the Houston Chamber Choir in 1995 with the goal of increasing the awareness and appreciation of choral music. Each year audiences eagerly anticipate the group’s delightful performances, and this season is no different.

2009-2010 Season:

Beyond the Battle Royal:  Renaissance Music of England and Spain While Queen Elizabeth I of England and Spain’s King Philip II battled for temporal supremacy, their reigns in the late 16th century were being immortalized by the music of William Byrd and Tomás Luis de Victoria. Return to that Golden Age as the Houston Chamber Choir’s soaring voices capture the essence of these two masters.

Saturday, October 3, 2009, 7:30 p.m. Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 2929 Woodland Hills Drive, Kingwood, TX 77339 

Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 7:30 p.m. Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 1111 St. Joseph Parkway, Houston, TX 77002

Hail, Bright Cecilia: Purcell turns 350 The Houston Chamber Choir is pleased to join once again with the outstanding instrumentalists of Ars Lyrica, hailed as “Houston’s leading early music ensemble” by the Houston Chronicle. This happy collaboration is occasioned by the worldwide celebration of the 350th birthday of the great English composer Henry Purcell. The program will include works for strings, trumpet and choir culminating in his most extravagant ode to the patron saint of music, Hail, Bright Cecilia.

Friday, November 6, 2009, 7:30 p.m. Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center, 800 Bagby Street, Houston, TX 77002 

Saturday, November 7, 2009, 4:00 p.m. Foundry United Methodist Church, 8350 Jones Road, Houston, TX 77065

Christmas at the Villa There is no more beautiful setting in Houston in which to experience the joyful music of Christmas than the Chapel of the Villa de Matel. This year the Houston Chamber Choir welcomes classical guitarist Marc Garvin, host of KUHF’s Pulling Strings, and the Treble Choir of Houston under the direction of Marianna Parnas Simpson as its special guests. Join with family and friends for this favorite Houston holiday tradition.

Saturday, December 12, 2009, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 13, 2009, 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Chapel of the Villa de Matel, 6510 Lawndale Avenue, Houston, TX 77023

Hear the Future: 11th Annual Invitational School Choral Festival Enjoy an afternoon of music while showing your support for arts education in our schools. Co-sponsored by AMC Music, “Hear the Future” pays tribute to the essential work done by outstanding choral music educators in our region, and their excellent choirs. Houston Chamber Choir will be joined by the Parker Elementary Advanced Chorus directed by Marianna Parnas Simpson, the St. John’s School Les Chanteuses directed by Stephen Bedford, and the Cinco Ranch High School Chorale directed by Dorothy Wilson.

Sunday, January 31, 2010, 4:00 p.m. South Main Baptist Church, 4100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002

Light Perpetual: Mozart Requiem The Houston Chamber Choir performs Mozart’s transcendent masterpiece with consummate polish, precision, and on the more intimate scale the composer had in mind. The Houston Chamber Choir presents Mozart’s masterpiece, Requiem, with consummate polish, precision, and on a the more intimate scale that the composer had in mind. Also on the program is Mozart’s Ave verum corpus, as well as Adagio for Strings—Samuel Barber (1910-1981). Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7:30 p.m. St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 2450 River Oaks Boulevard, Houston, TX 77019.

The orchestra is composed of members of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and the soloists are: Stephanie Handal, soprano; Sonja Bruzauskas, mezzo soprano; Eduardo Tercero, tenor; and Timothy Jones, bass.

STEPHANIE HANDAL, soprano, earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of North Texas, and her master’s degree in choral conducting from Sam Houston State University. She has sung with the El Paso Opera Company under Prentice Loftin, Paradigm Vocal Ensemble under Paul Tucker, Houston Masterworks Chorus and the Sam Houston Chorale under Allen Hightower, and the Bach Festival Chorus under Helmuth Rilling. She has also sung and conducted for Craig Hella Johnson, Simon Carrington, Paul Salamunovich, and Joseph Flummerfelt. Most recently, she spent time in England working with conductor Peter Phillips and the Tallis Scholars. She currently teaches choir at Cypress Lakes High School. Stephanie has sung with the Houston Chamber Choir since 2007.

SONJA BRUZAUSKAS, praised for a ‘lustrous’ voice with ‘gorgeous timbre’ and ‘youthful vigor,’ Mezzo Soprano Sonja Bruzauskas ‘entrances audiences’ throughout the United States. Sonja most recently returned from a recital tour in Japan. Upcoming performances include the role of ‘Clori’ in ‘Clori, Tirsi e Fileno’ with Ars Lyrica, Schoenberg’s ‘Gurrelieder’ and Berios’s ‘Folk Songs’ with the Greenbriar Consortium. Sonja will also be a featured soloist at the ‘Mainely Music Festival’ 2010, several Song Salons with Divas World Productions, as well as performing the Alto Solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

EDUARDO TERCERO, tenor, is a native of Panama. His credits include Zefirino in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, Pulcinello in Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming, and Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido for the Ars Lyrica of Houston. Apart from his stage work, Mr. Tercero’s concert works include Mozart’s Requiem, Piacere in the United States premiere of Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e della Verita, Marcus in the world premiere of Robert Nelson’s Nicholas of Myra and, in his Houston Symphony debut, Narrator in Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. Eduardo can be heard in the Newport Classic 2001 recording of Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming. He attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the Moores School of Music, University of Houston. Eduardo has sung with the Houston Chamber Choir since 2003.

TIMOTHY JONES, One of the leading bass-baritones of his generation, has appeared in productions with the Michigan Opera Theater, the Lake George Opera Festival, Opera Idaho, the Shreveport Opera, Opera Southwest, the Pensacola Opera and the San Antonio Lyric Opera, and in concert with numerous American orchestras. Jones made his New York debut as a recitalist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in February 2000. Associate Professor of Voice at the Moores School of Music, he is a champion of opera, the concert stage, chamber music, solo recitals, and premières of modern compositions.

The concert is being presented in thanksgiving for the Life and Work of Margaret Skidmore, long time Development Director at the Museum of Fine Arts and an important contributor to the growth of Houston’s cultural life. Margaret led many fundraising activities that grew the MFA’s campus. In addition, she led the MFA’s education and community outreach programs. She was an early and continuing supporter of the Houston Chamber Choir. Houston’s cultural arts community owes much to Margaret Skidmore.

Bach in the Saddle Again: An Evening with P.D.Q. Bach Since 1965 the tireless Professor Peter Schickele has kept audiences in stitches with the music of P.D.Q. Bach, the most dangerous musician since Nero. The Professor has appeared with over fifty orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra. On this occasion he joins the Houston Chamber Choir on stage for performances including the Knock, Knock Cantata, The Ground Round and the Liebeslieder Polkas.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 7:30 p.m. Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center, 500 Texas Avenue, Houston, TX 77002