York U Music: Choral Concerts in November

York U's Classical Choirs Celebrate the Human Voice in Three November Concerts Toronto: York University’Äôs Department of Music will celebrate the human voice in three choral concerts featuring four classical choirs, directed by Lisette Canton. The concerts take place in York’Äôs Tribute Communities Recital Hall November 11, 15 and 24. The York U Chamber Choir, accompanied by pianist Mˆ©lisande Sinsoulier, will present a varied program spanning four historical periods and five languages on November 11 at 7:30pm. The repertoire will include works by Byrd, Faurˆ©, Hensel, Haydn, Lauridsen, Palestrina, Willan and others. Canton will share the baton with graduate students Cheryl Bowen and Jacklin Falconer for this Master’Äôs recital. The 74 young singers in the combined York U Concert and Chamber Choirs will lift their voices on November 15 at 7:30pm in a concert featuring guest organist Patricia Wright and faculty soloists, mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin, baritone Michael Donovan and cellist Mark Chambers. On the program are works by Maurice Duruflˆ© (1902-1986), a French composer known for his perfectionism, whose organ and choral music is especially highly regarded. Duruflˆ©’Äôs Requiem, his largest and most important work, is one of the most beloved pieces in the choral repertoire. Written in 1947 in memory of his father, it is based on Gregorian chants from the Mass for the Dead and modeled on Faurˆ©’Äôs Requiem, using the identical Latin text. In his Requiem, Duruflˆ© adopted a restrained approach, concentrating on rest and peace. He scored the work for choir, mezzo-soprano and baritone, and composed three different instrumental settings for it: organ alone (with cello solo), organ and chamber orchestra, and full orchestra. The strength of Duruflˆ©’Äôs composition lies in his ability to fuse disparate elements: plainsong in cantus firmus style, liturgical modality, subtle counterpoint and sensuous harmonies. Duruflˆ©’Äôs Quatre Motets sur des thˆ®mes grˆ©goriens (Ubi caritas, Tota pulchra es, Tu es Petrus and Tantum ergo) are short, intimate works of great beauty, likewise based on plainsong models composed in a polyphonic context. The choirs will reprise their Duruflˆ© concert downtown the following night, November 16 at 7:30pm at Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. East. York U Women’Äôs Chorus and Men’Äôs Choir unite November 24 for a concert of classical masterworks selected to showcase their talents separately and together. Accompanied by pianist Mˆ©lisande Sinsoulier, the choirs will perform works by Brahms, Certon, Faurˆ©, Galuppi, Saint-Saˆ´ns, Susa, Raminsh, Schubert, Walker, Whalum and more. Concert time is 7:30pm. Based in York’Äôs flourishing classical vocal performance program, these young singers come to Canton’Äôs choirs from the studios of Catherine Robbin, Stephanie Bogle, Norma Burrowes, Michael Donovan, Janet Obermeyer and Karen Rymal. Canton joined the music faculty at York in 2004 as a professor of conducting and choral music. A celebrated choral and orchestral conductor and vocal coach, she has recorded for CBC radio and television, and has guest-conducted for numerous ensembles in Canada and the US. She is the founding artistic director of the internationally-acclaimed Ottawa Bach Choir, which she has led on two European tours (2005 and 2007). The choir won rave reviews with invitational concerts at the historic Thomaskirche in Leipzig as well as in Stuttgart, Bayreuth, Vienna, Prague and Salzburg, and is slated for return engagements next spring. The choir can be heard at Roy Thomson Hall in the Choir and Organ Series on November 20, 2008 at 12 pm. *** Event Details What: York U Chamber Choir When: Tuesday, November 11, 7:30pm Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele St. [Map] Admission: Free Info: 416.736.2100 ext. 22926 What: York U Concert & Chamber Choirs When: Saturday, November 15, 7:30pm Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele St. [Map] Admission: $15, students $5. Box Office: 416.736.5888 | www.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice What: York U Concert & Chamber Choirs concert reprise When: Sunday, November 16, 7:30pm Where: Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen St. East. www.metunited.org Admission: $15, students $5. Box Office: Tickets at the door What: York U Women’Äôs Choir & Men’Äôs Chorus When: Monday, November 24, 7:30pm Where: Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, York University, 4700 Keele St. [Map] Admission: Free Info: 416.736.2100 ext. 22926