by Robert A. Brigham II
TICKETS FOR TONIGHT'S CONCERT WILL NO LONGER BE SOLD IN ADVANCE. YOU MAY PURCHASE TICKETS AT THE DOOR, BEGINNING AT 6:30pm. WILL CALL WILL OPEN AT THE SAME TIME. THANK YOU.
Monday, September 14, 2009
7:30pm
To attend this Artist Concert Series program, please contact the number below to purchase your tickets. Seating is general-admission style in Munson Chapel, an intimate concert hall located on the corner of Citrus and Alosta Avenue in Azusa on the main campus.
Tickets: $13/$7, for more information please call (800) 219-9920.
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge has established itself as one of the leading mixed-voice choirs in the UK. The Choir comprises around thirty Choral Scholars (all of whom are ordinarily undergraduates of the College) under Director of Music, Stephen Layton.
The College’s long and distinguished choral tradition dates back to the fourteenth century, when former Chapel Royal choristers studied in King’s Hall, which later became part of Trinity College. The Choir’s main focus during term is the singing of the liturgy in the College Chapel, exploring a wide-ranging repertoire drawn from both Catholic and Protestant traditions.
Outside term the Choir enjoys a program of high-profile performances and recordings, recently including Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols and St Nicolas as part of Aldeburgh’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Britten’s death, Poulenc’s Gloria with Britten Sinfonia in Norwich Cathedral, and Howells’ Requiem in Trinity College Chapel. For the last two seasons, the Choir has performed and recorded with the Academy of Ancient Music in London and Cambridge, including Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum and Chandos Anthems.
Recent additions to the Choir’s extensive discography include Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum, Poulenc’s Gloria, and a cappella works by Polish composer Pawel Lukaszewski, all released last year on the Hyperion label. The Dettingen Te Deum was hailed as ‘precise and exuberant … wonderfully expressive … elementally exciting’ by the Daily Telegraph, and the Lukaszewski disc as ‘magical and sophisticated’ by International Record Review. The Poulenc Gloria was nominated for a Gramophone Award and described by Gramophone Magazine as ‘a performance of real distinction’.
An ambitious program of tours has taken the Choir to destinations including Canada, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Peru, as well as to many European cities, including a recent performance of Vierne’s Messe Solennelle in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Forthcoming engagements this year include a concert in the Cheltenham Music Festival, the BBC’s annual broadcast of Choral Evensong from Trinity College Chapel, and a tour of California, including performances in the cathedrals and concert halls of San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles.
With a strikingly individual musicianship, and a galvanizing eloquence in performance, Conductor Stephen Layton has established himself in recent years as one of Britain’s most admired conductors. His interpretations of Bach and Handel have been heard from the Sydney Opera House to the Concertgebouw, and with orchestras ranging from the Academy of Ancient Music and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to the London Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
As Director of Music at the Temple Church, his bold realization of Tavener’s epic all-night vigil, The Veil of the Temple, met with acclaim at its première performances in London and at New York’s Lincoln Center. Other important composer collaborations, with Polyphony, have included première performances and recordings of music by Arvo Pärt, James MacMillan, Morten Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre.
A former Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, Layton now holds positions as Chief Guest Conductor of the Danish Radio Choir, Director of Polyphony, Artistic Director of the Holst Singers and Director of Music at Trinity College Cambridge. He works widely as a guest conductor of orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia and at English National Opera, where he conducted Deborah Warner’s staging of Bach’s St John Passion. Layton has a close relationship with the Britten Sinfonia with whom he records a wide range of repertoire, including Bruckner and Poulenc.
Layton’s eclectic and award-winning discography includes music by Adès, Britten, Bruckner, Cornelius, Grainger, Gretchaninov, Handel, Holst, MacMillan, Pärt, Poulenc, Rutter, Schnittke, Tavener and Walton. In 2001 his Hyperion recording of music by Britten received a Gramophone Award and the Diapason d’Or in France for best choral disc of the year. Recently for Hyperion, he has recorded discs of American choral music by Morten Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre. In the US, Stephen was nominated for Grammy Awards in both 2006 and 2007 for his Hyperion recordings of Whitacre and Lauridsen respectively.
Recent and future engagements include the Queensland Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony, a tour of the Far East with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and a recording of Handel’s Messiah with Britten Sinfonia and Polyphony.
