NMSC News:ALBUQUERQUE ― Individual concert tickets, as well as season tickets, are now on sale for the 2016-2017 season of the 70-member New Mexico Symphonic Chorus.
In its upcoming season, the Chorus will perform beloved music, including Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s The Creation, as well as choral music by acclaimed composers including Bartók, Britten and Vaughan Williams. In its sixth season as a stand-alone chorus, the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus will be conducted in its four concerts by Roger Melone.
Also, the Chorus has been invited to perform the heart-pounding Carmina Burana with the New Mexico Philharmonic on Sept. 16 at Popejoy Hall.
“Each concert of our 2016-17 season will be a jewel to treasure,” said Roger Melone, executive director and music director of the Chorus. “We’re especially excited to have the NMPhil in two of our concerts and to perform in the NMPhil’s Carmina Burana concert.
“The featured music in our concerts is wonderful, and the very talented 70 members of our Chorus, plus our featured soloists, will be thrilling to hear. We hope to see old friends and new faces in the audience at our concerts this season.”
NMPhil’s Carmina Burana Concert – 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16, in Popejoy Hall at University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque.
The Chorus will be joining the NMPhil for its Carmina Burana concert on Sept. 16. Roger Melone will conduct Carl Orff’s choral tour de force. For this memorable concert scheduled as a special fundraiser for the NMPhil, tickets will range from $40 to $100, depending on seat location in Popejoy Hall and are available at nmphil.org.
New Mexico Symphonic Chorus concerts for 2016-17
Choral Colors Concert – 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 16, at First United Methodist Church in Albuquerque – to be followed by gala fundraiser at Artichoke Café.
To celebrate autumn, the first concert of the Chorus’ 2016-17 season will include Bartók’s Four Slovak Folk Songs, Effinger’s Set of Three, Pinkham’s Wedding Cantata and Ginastera’s The Lamentations of Jeremiah. Bartók’s short, traditional Hungarian folk songs are splendid examples of his lighter style.
Effinger’s beautiful and understated Set of Three helps set the autumn mood, and Pinkham’s Wedding Cantata offers sparkling harmonies and exuberant melodies. Ginastera’s The Lamentations of Jeremiah is both dramatic and exhilarating.
Also participating in this concert as a guest honor chorus will be the Eldorado High School Concert Choir, which is directed by Megan Rader.
Immediately following the concert will be a gala fundraiser for the Chorus at the Artichoke Café. Cost will be $95 per person for a four-course gourmet dinner with wine pairings. Advance reservations are required and may be placed by calling the Chorus office at 505.247.0181.
Messiah Concert – 7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 16, in Popejoy Hall at UNM in Albuquerque
The Chorus’ gift to New Mexicans for the holiday season is Handel’s beloved Messiah in its entirety with world-class Baroque soloists and the NMPhil. The combination of texts from the Old and New Testaments explores the many aspects of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection.
Messiah is a transcendent musical experience enjoyed by audiences around the world for more than 250 years. From his seat at the harpsichord, Roger Melone will conduct the Chorus, the NMPhil and acclaimed soloists.
Acclaimed soloists will include soprano Clara Rottsolk, countertenor Andrew Rader, tenor Kyle Stegall and baritone David Grogan.
Britten and Vaughan Williams Concert – 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at First United Methodist Church in Albuquerque
Works of two of Britain’s most highly respected composers will be featured in this concert.
Sung at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor is technically difficult and harmonically astounding. Composed in 1921, it is known as the first mass written in a distinctively British manner since the 16th century.
In Benjamin Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia created in the early 1940s, the composer sets a W.H. Auden poem to intricate and wondrous music. Britten’s imaginative Festival Te Deum Op. 32, composed in 1944, combines elements of Gregorian chant with demanding and dramatic organ passages.
Organist will be Maribeth Gunning.
The Creation Concert – 3 p.m., Sunday, May 7, 2017, at First United Methodist Church in Albuquerque
The NMPhil will join the Chorus in performing this special concert. Considered by many to be Haydn’s greatest masterpiece, The Creation opens with a powerful burst intended to conjure chaos. In creating this powerful oratorio, Haydn let his imagination soar.
The sources of text for The Creation are Genesis, Psalms and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. This performance will be sung in the English translation of Robert Shaw and Alice Parker. Soloists will be soprano Hannah Stephen and baritone Edmund Connolly.
Ticket Information
New Mexico Symphonic Chorus season and individual concert tickets are now available online at NMSChorus.org and by mailing or faxing a printed order form, which is available at NMSChorus.org.
Season ticket packages range from $86 to $167. Individual concert tickets for each of the three New Mexico Symphonic Chorus concerts at First United Methodist Church are priced at $45 for premium and $25 for regular general admission seating.
Students may purchase a regular ticket for just $15, and groups of 15 or more will receive a 20 percent ticket discount.
Reserved seating tickets for New Mexico Symphonic Chorus’ Messiah at Popejoy Hall at UNM range from $20 to $50 and are being sold online at NMSChorus.org or through UNM ticketing at 505.925.5858 or in person at The Pit, the UNM Bookstore and Albertsons Supermarkets.
For Messiah, there will be discounts of 20 percent for students through 12th grade or full-time students with valid student ID and for groups purchasing at least 15 tickets. Also, depending on availability, there may be $8 student rush tickets – up to two tickets per full-time student with valid student ID – available beginning 90 minutes before the concert at the Popejoy box office.
