Friday, November 30, 2012

CapRadio's Insight Highlights Choral Concerts

"Insight" is a daily, hour-long program produced by Sacramento's Capital Public Radio and broadcast at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on KXJZ, 90.9 FM.  Beth Ruyak hosts, and conducts interviews on wide-ranging topics.  This past Thursday's program (11/29/12) included a 12-minute segment in which Beth interviewed Jeff Hudson, CapRadio's arts and theater critic about upcoming holiday performances.  After noting the great number of performances that are imminent, they briefly discussed -- with audio samples -- (1) the dance company, Compañia Mazatlán Bellas Artes de Sacramento, (2) Sacramento Master Singers, (3) Cantus, (4) the Sacramento Ballet's "The Nutcracker," (5) Chanticleer, and (6) the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra.  You can listed to an audio of this part of the "Insight" program at this link.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

SCSO KVIE Documentary Rebroadcast

In January 2011, Sacramento's KVIE "Viewfinder" series debuted a documentary on the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra.  The half-hour-long program discusses the significance of choral singing in America and the unique position of SCSO as the only chorus in the US with its own professional orchestra.  With snippets of various performances and interviews of Music Director Don Kendrick, President Jim McCormick, and various chorus members, the video illustrates how the chorus functions and what it is like to be a member of SCSO.  There is an emphasis on the group's tours, with highlights of SCSO's 2006 tour in China.  The program was funded in part by the Cultural Arts Award of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission with support from the City and County of Sacramento.

In April 2012, approval was given to have the documentary broadcast nationally, and since then, it has been shown 63 times in a variety of markets throughout the US.  There is a summary of its airings at this link.  Understandably, SCSO is proud to have given the Sacramento arts scene this national visibility.

Now this program, simply titled "Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra," is being rebroadcast locally on KVIE during the month of December.  Broadcast times on KVIE are (1) Dec. 12 at 7:00 p.m., (2) Dec. 14 at 4:00 p.m., (3) Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m., and (4) Dec. 18 at 11:30 p.m.  KVIE has a web page at this link where one can view the entire show (including a video "extra") or read the transcript.  One can also purchase a video of the program for $14.95.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Commissioned Work at "Light Your World"

The Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus will be giving the first performance of a new work titled, "A Social Network Christmas" by Eric Lane Barns, which was jointly commissioned by SGMC and the Seattle Men's Chorus.  Barnes was in Sacramento recently, rehearsing the chorus in his piece, which he describes as follows:

"The basic premise is, the main narrator of the song decides to stay inside during the month of December, participating in Christmas only through posting on his Facebook page. As the piece unfolds we see various YouTube videos, jpegs and other holiday tidbits he shares as he ‘posts’ on his page.” The piece is performed by the chorus and a small group with choreography and "staging and casting of special characters such as the YouTube phenomenon 'Jingle Cats.'"

Barns is author of the critically acclaimed Fairy Tales, which received numerous awards in Chicago, New York and London. His scores and scripts for Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre include Tuck Everlasting, The Amazing Bone, Simple Jim and His Four Fabulous Friends, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, the latter of which has enjoyed a successful U.S. tour. His musical The Stops, about three lady organists, was awarded Best Musical at the 2006 National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. Barns’ show Rapture of the Deep received a City of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs grant and was co-presented with Seattle’s Balagan Theatre. His most recent show, 2011’s The Holiday Stops, broke all box office records in the history of Richmond’s Triangle Players. He has written songs and underscoring for several independent films, including the upcoming Fallen Jewel, and has been commissioned to write and produce shows and songs for numerous choruses throughout the United States.

Other features of the concert will be traditional holiday numbers such as “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Whisper (Tiny Baby in a Manger Lay),” and “How Could Anyone,” a round that will be performed in American Sign Language by the entire 60-member chorus.

For more details on the November 30-December 8 performances of "Light Your World" by the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus, see their listing in the Sacramento Choral Calendar at this link.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sacramento Choruses Touring Italy in 2013

Coincidentally, three Sacramento choral organizations are planning tours of Italy in the summer of 2013.  The Sacramento Choral Society – which toured Central Europe in 2004, China in 2006, and Canada in 2009 – is planning a 7-night, 9-day tour spanning June 25 and July 3.  They will be giving concerts in Venice, Lucca and Rome, with visits to Verona and Florence.  More information about this artistic adventure is in the SCSO's website, http://www.sacramentochoral.com/.

As the SCSO arrives, the Slavic Chorale will be leaving Italy.  Their tour is scheduled for June 14-24.  The itinerary has not been publicly announced, but they may still be looking for new members to join them.  Their website is http://www.slavicchorale.org/.

Finally, Schola Cantorum, which performed at the Vatican for the Pope during their 2007 concert tour to Italy, will be returning by special invitation from the Vatican to perform at St. Peter's Basilica next June.  Their tour will run from June 17-25, and they are planning a local preview performance of the tour on June 2.  More details are in their website:  http://www.scholacantorum.com/.

Sacramento Choral Calendar in Sacramento Magazine

The December 2012 issue of Sacramento Magazine includes an article on the Sacramento Choral Calendar (www.sacchoralcalendar.com) on page 137.  This is the most wide-ranging publicity the Calendar has received, and it is very welcome, though it focusses far too much on its editor (me).  The article comes at a perfect time of the year, when interest in choral singing peaks, and when the public in our region may be more likely to pay attention to the profusion of choral concerts being offered – and sample a wider variety of them.