Make a Joyful Noise, Sunday concert
(Oak Park, Illinois) City Voices, the acclaimed chamber chorus directed by William Chin, kicks off its 18th season with a program exploring the incredible breadth of psalms set to music, with compositions ranging from the Renaissance to the present day.
Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 7:30pm
First United Church of Oak Park
848 Lake Street, Oak Park
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Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 4:00pm
St. Josaphat Catholic Church
2311 N. Southport, Chicago
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Tickets are $30 general admission; $25 seniors over 65; students 22 and younger are free.
City Voices returns with Make a Joyful Noise, a concert of psalm texts set in a range of styles for choral voices. According to the group’s conductor, Bill Chin, “This seemed the perfect moment for City Voices to be introduced to this fantastic repertoire and to meet the challenges of this vast variety of music.”
The group of 36 voices will shapeshift throughout the concert as they take on an array of musical genres – from Renaissance counterpoint to contemporary harmonies – in works both accompanied and a cappella. Highlights of the program include Salmo 150 by Brazilian composer Ernani Aguiar (1975), Salamone Rossi’s intricate Haleluya, haleli nafshi (1622), and Johann Sebastian Bach’s exuberant motet Lobet den Herrn. And for a variation in form, the ensemble will also present Gustav Holst’s stunning Hymns from the Rig-Veda, written in 1910 for women’s chorus, and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s haunting De Profundis (1980) for men’s chorus.
The concert’s most ambitious work is Leonard Bernstein’s Chicester Psalms (1965), featuring harp, organ, and percussion – as well as vocal soloists. This sweeping, dynamic masterwork in three sections uses four Hebrew psalm texts to explore an ecumenical message about faith, hope, and unity.
Chicago harpist Lillian Lau and organist Bobby Nguyen will join City Voices for these performances.
ABOUT CITY VOICES
City Voices is one of the most versatile chamber choruses in the Chicago area. Founded in 2009 in Oak Park, it has built a strong reputation as a welcoming group of experienced nonprofessional singers committed to high-quality performances. City Voices explores challenging, eclectic, and inspiring music from the vast global span of choral repertoire. The ensemble prepares a carefully curated repertoire each season and shares the beauty of that music in a series of public performances.
ABOUT WILLIAM CHIN
Director William Chin is a leading figure in the Chicago choral scene. He is founder and artistic director of The Oriana Singers, an international-prize-winning vocal ensemble, and is active as a conductor in the Chicago area. Mr. Chin’s past positions have included Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Artistic Director of Chicago Children’s Choir, and Artistic Director of Pro Musica Youth Chorus.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2647502-1
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2647502-2
