The 25-voice chamber ensemble brings a program that includes pieces from the 16th century to the present with music by Victoria, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Pärt, Tavener, Gjeilo, and others. The program closes with six instrumentalists joining the choral ensemble for Bach’s Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden.
In a recent conversation, Di Grazia shared how very excited the Glee Club is to be presenting this performance as a part of their 2014 tour. “Rockefeller Memorial Chapel is such a glorious venue with a wonderful history of hosting top choral and instrumental ensembles. It is a tremendous opportunity for our students to perform here, where the music should resound beautifully in the splendid acoustics of the chapel. Additionally, it is a special treat for four of our members, Laura River, Kevin Burke, Ryan Smith and Nick Schorer, each of whom is from the Chicago metro area, as they will be able to share with family and friends the music they have been working on this semester.”
The 2014 Pomona College Glee Club tour concert schedule opens with a concert at Glenview Community Church in Glenview, IL on Wednesday, May 21, which will be repeated at Good Shepherd Parish at St. James Church in Madison, WI on Friday May 23, and at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis, MO on Tuesday May 27. In addition, the group will also offer a program at Laclede Groves Senior Residence in the St. Louis area and sing at the 5:00 p.m. Mass at Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis on Sunday May 25. All concerts are free and open to the public.
Choral music has played an especially important role in the cultural life of Pomona College since its founding in 1887, beginning with the Choral Union and the Men’s Glee Club in the late 1800s, and the Women’s Glee Club in 1902. Today this long choral tradition continues with two mixed-voice ensembles: the larger College Choir and the Glee Club. The Glee Club tours annually, traveling most recently to the Pacific Northwest, with concerts in Portland and Seattle. Previous tours have taken the ensemble to Europe, including London, Poland and Berlin as well as to Vancouver, B.C.; Washington D.C.; New York City; Williamsburg, Virginia; Hawaii and elsewhere throughout the United States. Their repertoire centers on challenging classical music spanning the 16th through the 21st centuries.
For more information, visit Pomona College on the web at pomona.edu.
Press release published by Pomona College.