Last spring, they toured the West Coast. This spring, they aim for the East.
On March 14, Exeter’s Concert Choir, led by Ryan Turner, instructor in music, and Chamber Orchestra, led by Rohan Smith, Music Department chair, will kick off their second collaborative tour. Fifty-six students will embark on a five-day trip that will include four public performances in Boston, Providence, RI, and New York City, as well as educational outreach concerts at public schools in Connecticut and New York.
The featured piece of the program will be one of Bach’s cantatas, Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir: BWV 131. Turner, who organized the tour, says students will have two occasions to perform this piece with musicians from Boston-based Emmanuel Music, the world’s premiere institution for Bach performances.
In preparation for these concerts, Emmanuel musicians will first travel to Exeter on March 12 and 13 for a two-day residency of rehearsals and collaboration with the members of the Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir.
“It’s exciting that our students will have the opportunity to sing and play alongside the top musicians in the nation,” says Turner. “It is a tremendous honor.”
The first joint concert will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday,March 14, at the Emmanuel Church in Boston.On Sunday, the group will also perform during the church’s worship service at 10 a.m., where the choir will receive yet another honor. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison will lead them on one of his own compositions, Communion Words.
That same day, the choir and orchestra will bid farewell to the Emmanuel musicians and travel to Providence, RI, for a 3 p.m. concert at the Cathedral of St. John.Their final public performance on the tour will be held at the St. Mary the Virgin Church in New York City’s Times Square on Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m.
As part of their travels, Turner has arranged for the students to perform at Central High School, in Bridgeport, CT, and Bronx Preparatory School, in Bronx, NY, for audiences that will consist of elementary and secondary school classes. “These concerts are very important,” Turner says, “because they illuminate the joys of making music for the younger generation.”
Less than a month after the tour, the Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir will reunite with Emmanuel musicians for a final performance of the program. The event, which is part of the Gilbert Concert Series, will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at Phillips Church. It is free and open to the public.
Here's a list of public concerts:
Saturday, March 14, 7:00 p.m.
Emmanuel Church
15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
Sunday, March 15, 10:00 a.m.
Emmanuel Church
15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
(Worship Service Performance)
Sunday, March 15, 3:00 p.m.
Cathedral of St John
271 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903
Monday, March 16, 7:30 p.m.
Church of St. Mary the Virgin
145 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036
Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m.
Phillips Church
Tan Lane, Exeter, NH (with Emmanuel Musicians)
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Hear selections from last year's spring tour, videotaped in Phillips Church on March 3, 2008 ...
Read the concert tour program...
