THE COLLEGIATE CHORALE,
LED BY ROBERT BASS, CLOSES 2000-2001 SEASON WITH
PERFORMANCES OF ORFF’S CARMINA BURANA AND POULENC’S GLORIA
May 22 at Carnegie Hall
Riverside Choral Society and Brooklyn Youth Chorus Join Chorale to Create 300
Member Chorus
Soloists Include Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong, Tenor John Daniecki, and Baritone John
Hancock
New York, N.Y. — The Collegiate Chorale, led by its Music Director Robert Bass,
will complete its 2000-01 Carnegie Hall season on May 22 at 8:00 pm. The program
includes Orff’s Carmina burana and Poulenc’s Gloria, featuring soprano Hei-Kyung
Hong, tenor John Daniecki, and baritone John Hancock, with The Orchestra of St.
Luke’s, the Riverside Choral Society and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
This year marks the first time the Collegiate Chorale has been joined by a core
group of professional singers, and along with the Riverside Choral Society and
the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, the complement of the Chorale in its season finale
will reach 300 members singing on the Carnegie stage. “Having a large group of
both professional and amateur vocalists follows the The Shaw Model,” said Mr.
Bass. “Collegiate Chorale founder Robert Shaw’s vision was to see a diverse group
of singers at different levels of acumen joined together on stage, culminating
in one voice.”
PROGRAM
Orff’s Carmina burana is based on selected Latin texts from a large collection
of 13th Century poems, songs and other works, including three Passion plays. The
collection was discovered during the 19th century in the German monastery at Benediktbeuern,
and named after that locality. The bright, full and drastically simple sounds
of this work were immediately accessible to audiences around the world.
Poulenc’s Gloria completes the program marking the piece’s 40th Anniversary. Having
first been performed by the Boston Symphony in 1961, Gloria was composed late
in the French composer’s life. This religiously based symphonic work for orchestra
and chorus features soprano Hei-Kyung Hong.
ARTISTS
Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong has captured critical and popular acclaim at the world’s
leading opera houses and concert halls. Most recently, she performed in the Metropolitan
Opera’s production of Mozart’s Magic Flute as Pamina. Since her highly praised
Met debut in the 1984-85 Season as Servilia in the Levine/Ponnelle production
of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, she has returned to the Met every season for
over 150 performances of 19 different roles.
American tenor John Daniecki is one of the most sought-after young artists on
the opera and concert scene today. His performances have provided popular as well
as critical acclaim, prompting the Washington Post to write, “John Daniecki has
that rarest of all combinations, a good tenor voice and a strong stage presence.”
Mr. Daniecki’s recording of Orff’s Carmina burana with the San Francisco Symphony
on the Decca label won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Performance of a Choral
Work.
American baritone John Hancock has gained great acclaim both nationally and abroad
for his finely sung, dramatic portrayals in both opera and concert. Past seasons
include appearances with the New York City Opera for performances of Central Park,
and during the summer of 1999, Mr. Hancock participated in the world premiere
of Central Park at Glimmerglass Opera that was taped and aired on PBS.
The Music Director of the Collegiate Chorale since 1980, Robert Bass conducts
a wide repertoire including choral works, operas, and commissions. At the age
of 26, Mr. Bass made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut and he has since presented
several operas at Carnegie Hall including the New York premieres of Richard Strauss’
Friedenstag, Schubert’s Fierrabras, Respighi’s La fiamma, and the American premiere
of Dvorak’s Dmitri. He also serves as artistic director of the Olga Forrai Foundation,
which supports the careers of young singers and conductors, and is a judge for
the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
The Collegiate Chorale has been a prominent force in the musical life of New York
City for nearly sixty years. Founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, the Chorale takes
its name from its first rehearsal apace at the Marble Collegiate Church. Over
the years, the Chorale has established a national reputation through its commitment
not only to the traditional choral repertoire but also to American music, rarely
heard operas-in-concert, and to new works – many of them commissions or premieres
– by such leading composers as Barber, Bolcom, Britten, Copland, Dvorak, Hindemith,
and Sessions.
Tickets for Carmina burana are available at Carnegie Hall, or by calling Carnegie
Charge at 212-247-7800. Ticket prices are $15, $18, $30, $45, $55, and $75.
