"Arts In Depth" with WSKG Host Bill Snyder

Music from the 16th century is heard once more

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The Southern Tier Singers’ Collective presents excerpts from a 16th century manuscript created for the Convent of La Crocetta in Florence. Paul Schleuse describes its creation and its mysterious journey from Italy to South America, and the exciting story of how it was acquired by Binghamton University, then conductor William Culverhouse continues the story with how it got from the page to the singers.  

Photo credit: Binghamton University and the Southern Tier Singers’ Collective

affiliated choruses of ithaca

Joy and Inspiration in Song

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VOICES Multicultural Chorus presents their Fall Concert ‘We Can Be Kind: Joy and Inspiration in Song’ https://acithaca.org/groups/voices/on Sunday, December 7 at 4pm in Ithaca’s First Baptist Church.  Artistic Director Lorrene Adams joins us to talk about finding uplifting music to inspire the audience, and the inspiration she finds in leading the ensemble.  

Photo credit: Affiliated Choruses of Ithaca

Arts

A Concert of Hope and Peace

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The Downtown Singers of Binghamton present ‘A Concert of Hope and Peace’ featuring music by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir Edward Elgar, and Sir Michael Tippett. 

affiliated choruses of ithaca

Two Requiems by French Composers

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The Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers perform Requiems by Gabriel Faure and Maurice Durufle.  Conductor Gerald Wolfe joins us to talk about the similarities and differences between this two works, written 50 years apart.  

Photo credit: Affiliated Choruses of Ithaca

Arts

Music by Palestrina, Soriano, and Victoria from a New Choral Group

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The Southern Tier Singers’ Collective is a new ensemble comprised of choral musicians from across the region. They present their premiere concert with music of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Francesco Soriano, and Tomas Luis de Victoria.  Conductor William Culverhouse joins us to talk about the program and the ensemble.  

Photo credit: Binghamton University Music Department

Arts

The Catskill Choral Society celebrates ‘The Seasons’

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We hear from Catskill Choral Society music director G. Roberts Kolb who is leading them in two performances of Franz Joseph Haydn exuberant oratorio ‘The Seasons’. Maestro Kolb has produced a new English edition of the work.  

Photo credit: Catskill Choral Society

Arts

The Cantata Singers Perform in Sayre

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The Cantata Singers of Elmira perform music by Breesport native Dan Forrest at the Church of the Redeemer in Sayre. Conductor Will Wickham and Cantata Singers president Sally Davis join us to talk about Forrest’s music and his deep roots in the Elmira area. We also learn a bit of the history of the Cantata Singers.

Arts

The VOICES Multicultural Chorus Present Their Fall Concert

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The VOICES Multicultural Chorus perform their Fall Concert: ‘The Spirit of Home: Many Homes — One Voice’ on December 9 at 4pm in the First Baptist Church in Ithaca.  Conductor Lorrene Adams joins us to talk about this wide-ranging concert, and the joys and challenges of programing a concert when there are so many good choices for it. http://wskg.org/audio/lorrene.mp3

 

Photo credit: VOICES Multicultural Chorus

Arts

‘Venetian Traditions’ Presents Music for Multiple Choruses

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The Binghamton University Music Department presents ‘Venetian Traditions’, music for multiple choruses by Heinrich Schütz, Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Salamone Rossi.  The new Director of Choral Activites, Bill Culverhouse joins us to talk about those traditions.  Also on the program is the first suite of ‘Ancient Airs and Dances’ by Ottorino Respighi led by orchestra conductor, Timothy Perry. http://wskg.org/audio/venetian.mp3

 

Photo credit: Binghamton University Music Department

Arts

Gerald Wolfe Leads Music of Schubert and Rehnqvist

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The Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers and Chamber Singers led by Gerald Wolfe perform Franz Schubert’s final choral work, the profounc Mass in E flat, and the Chamber Singers sing ‘When I close my eyes, I dream of peace’ by Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist. http://wskg.org/audio/schubertmass.mp3

 

Photo credit: Ithaca Community Choruses

Arts

Bruce Borton Leads his Last Binghamton University Chorus Concert

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The Binghamton University Chorus and Orchestra presents a concert of the ‘Missa in Angustiis’ by Franz Joseph Haydn, known as the ‘Lord Nelson Mass’, and two works by Gabriel Faure, the ‘Requiem’ and the ‘Cantique de Jean Racine.’ This is Professor Bruce Borton’s last concert with the ensemble before retirement. He tells us about the works on the program and why he choose them. http://wskg.org/audio/lordnelson.mp3

Arts

Choral Music by Vivaldi, Rejcha, and Husa is on the Program in Ithaca

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The Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers are joined by the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra for a program of three works: Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘Gloria’, Antonin Rejcha’s ‘Te Deum’, and ‘Three Moravian Songs’ by the late Karel Husa.  The ‘Gloria’ is well-known, but the ‘Te Deum’ is not, and Gerald Wolfe talks about how it is an unjustly neglected masterpiece. http://www.wskg.org/audio/0114wolfe.mp3

 

Photo credit: Ithaca Community Chorus

Arts

The VOICES Multicultural Chorus Presents 'Rivers of Life'

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The VOICES Multicultural Chorus presents ‘Rivers of Life’ this weekend, Saturday, December 10 at 1pm in the First Baptist Church, 309 North Cayuga Street in Ithaca. Artistic Director Lorrene Adams has chosen music about rivers for the 65 voice ensemble.  Bob Keefe and the Surf Renegades are the special guests.  For ticket information you can go to riversoflife.brownpapertickets.com. http://wskg.org/audio/1209voices.mp3

 

Photo credit: VOICES Multicultural Chorus

Arts

Binghamton University Chorus Performs Brahms’ ‘A German Requiem’

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The Binghamton University Chorus and Orchestra present Johannes Brahms’ ‘A German Requiem’. Conductor Bruce Borton talks about Brahms’ long journey to complete his largest work, which was a great departure from any other requiem written until that time. http://wskg.org/audio/1130requiem.mp3

 

Photo credit: Binghamton University

Arts

Binghamton University Chorus Performs Brahms' 'A German Requiem'

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The Binghamton University Chorus and Orchestra present Johannes Brahms’ ‘A German Requiem’. Conductor Bruce Borton talks about Brahms’ long journey to complete his largest work, which was a great departure from any other requiem written until that time. http://wskg.org/audio/1130requiem.mp3

 

Photo credit: Binghamton University

Arts

The Madrigal Choir Presents ‘Musical Migrations’

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The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton is presenting ‘Musical Migrations’, music of composers who came to the United States for many reasons.  Selections include music from early settlers to New England, Moravian settlers to North Carolina, short-term resident Antonin Dvorak, and composers who fled Europe before World War Two.  Conductor Bruce Borton talks about the stories of these composers and what influences they brought to American music. http://wskg.org/audio/102016madrigal.mp3

 

 

Arts

The Madrigal Choir Presents 'Musical Migrations'

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The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton is presenting ‘Musical Migrations’, music of composers who came to the United States for many reasons.  Selections include music from early settlers to New England, Moravian settlers to North Carolina, short-term resident Antonin Dvorak, and composers who fled Europe before World War Two.  Conductor Bruce Borton talks about the stories of these composers and what influences they brought to American music. http://wskg.org/audio/102016madrigal.mp3

 

 

Arts

An Unfinished Musical Work Gets a New Ending

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The Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Gerald Wolfe, are performing Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ in their spring concert.  Mozart died before completing it, so friends of Mozart’s pitched in to finish it.  Later scholarship has found sketches that Mozart might have intended as part of it.  The Community Chorus is presenting the Levin edition of it.  Gregorio Allegri’s ‘Miserere mei’ is also on the program, a work also associated with Mozart. http://wskg.org/audio/ICCRequiem.mp3

 

Photo credit: Ithaca Community Choruses

Arts

Two Rarely Performed Works Require Dancing and Singing

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The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton and Dance Stories, the resident dance company of the Endicott Performing Arts Center join to present ‘Tanzen und Singen’. The program features two rarely performed works, the Choral Dances from Benjamin Britten’s opera ‘Gloriana’ and Gian-Carlo Menotti’s madrigal fable ‘The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore’, as well as madrigals about dancing and dance performance by Dance Stories. http://wskg.org/audio/unicorn.mp3

 

Photo credit: Tomais Ashdene via Flickr

Arts

Karl Jenkins' 'The Armed Man — A Mass for Peace' is Performed in Horseheads

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Karl Jenkins’ ‘The Armed Man — A Mass for Peace’ was written only 16 years ago, and yet it is performed regularly, which is unusual for a contemporary  work that is so musically challenging. The Cantata Singers of Elmira are presenting it on Sunday, February 28 at 3pm in the First United Methodist Church in Horseheads. As we hear from conductor Will Wickham and chorister Susan Nagle, the challenges are emotional as well. http://wskg.org/audio/jenkins.mp3

 

Photo credit: The Cantata Singers

Arts

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale Performs in Ithaca and Oneonta

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The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is performing at Ithaca College and as part of the Oneonta Concert Association series this week.  They are Canada’s first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles, including classical, spiritual, gospel, jazz, folk and blues, and was named in honor of the late-19th-century composer and musicologist Nathanial Dett.  We talked with conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor who was in Toronta before the Chorale started their tour. http://wskg.org/audio/nathanieldett.mp3

 

Photo credit: Nathaniel Dett Chorale

Arts

Watch for Endicott native Matthew Beach on Great Performances on New Year's Day

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WSKG TV is airing Great Performances: From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2016 on January 1 at 7:30 pm.  As part of the program, the Vienna Boys Choir will be performing two of the selections.  Endicott native Matthew Beach is currently singing with the Vienna Boys Choir.  They were just back from a performance tour around German and Switzerland when he was able to chat with us via Skype from the school in Vienna.  He tells about how he became a chorister, what it’s like living in a palace in a park on an island in the Danube River, and how busy their academic and musical schedules keep them. http://wskg.org/audio/matthewbeach.mp3

 

Photo courtesy Tami Beach

Arts

The annual performance of Handel's "Messiah" by the Downtown Singers returns to the Forum

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The Downtown Singers have been presenting Handel’s Messiah since 1983. This year they are collaborating with the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra for their annual performance under the baton of Marisa Crabb, now in her third year of conducting the group.  They welcome soloists Brenda Dawe, Kasey Stewart, Carlos Santelli, and Timothy LeFebvre for a performance on Saturday, December 19th at 7:30 in the Forum on Washington Street in downtown Binghamton. http://wskg.org/audio/marisamessiah.mp3

 

Photograph courtesy Pierre Malherbet

Arts

The VOICES Multicultural Chorus explores the influences of American music

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The VOICES Multicultural Chorus of the Ithaca Community Choruses is joined by the quintet Honey Child for their Winter Concert on Saturday, December 12 at 3pm in the First Baptist Church on Dewitt Park in downtown Ithaca.  The program is an exploration of the many influences on what makes American music American.  Artistic Director Lorrene Adams talks about the program and the history of the chorus.  

 

Photo courtesy VOICES Multicultural Chorus and the Ithaca Community Choruses

Arts

A celebration of the Negro Spiritual in Ithaca

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The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers present a concert of Negro Spirituals led by Dr. Baruch Whitehead, on Sunday, December 13 at 3pm in the Hockett Family Recital Hall at Ithaca College. Dr. Whitehead talks about the history of the Negro Spiritual, and about the importance of Ithaca resident Dorothy Cotten, who served as education director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along side Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and used music as part of her mission. http://wskg.org/audio/dorothycotton.mp3

 

Photo courtesy of The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers

Arts

Composer Adrienne Albert premieres her newest work at Cornell

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The Cornell University Chorus presents the premiere of a new work by composer Adrienne Albert: Malala. It is inspired by Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel prize winner.  The composer talks about being commissioned to write a new work for the Cornell University Chorus and how Malala’s life and work inspired this new music. http://wskg.org/audio/Malala.mp3

Photo courtesy Adrienne Albert

Arts

The Madrigal Choir goes on the road

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Bruce Borton, Artistic Director of the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton, talks about their upcoming concert, From Stage & Screen, music from opera and operetta and the Broadway stage, Academy Award-winning songs, and Disney classics.  For this concert the choir will perform their Saturday evening concert at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Norwich, and their Sunday afternoon concert at United Presbyterian Church in Binghamton. http://www.wskg.org/audio/stagescreen.mp3

 

Photo courtesy Marta Wlusek via Flickr

Arts

The Catskill Choral Society presents Haydn's "Lord Nelson" Mass

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Conductor Colin Armstrong speaks with WSKG’s Bill Snyder about the Catskill Choral Society’s presentation of Franz Joseph Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis, more commonly know as the “Lord Nelson Mass. All four soloists are from Binghamton University’s Master of Music in Opera program: Stacey Geyer, soprano; Lindsay Brown, alto; Jordan Schreiner, tenor; and Josiah Davis, bass.  Dr. Armstrong explains why the work got its alternate title, and why it’s such an important and much-loved work.  

 

 

Photograph Courtesy of ricoeurian via Flickr

Arts

The Ithaca Community Chorus and Chamber Singers present Johannes Brahms' "A German Requiem"

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Conductor Gerald Wolfe speaks with WSKG’s Bill Snyder about the Ithaca Community Chorus’ performance of Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem.  It is not a requiem in Latin in the traditional sense that Mozart’s, Verdi’s, or Faure’s are, but comforting words from scripture in a language that Brahms’ listeners would have understood. After the death of Brahms’ mother, he added an extra movement with a soprano solo.  It’s one of the most beloved works in the choral repertoire.  

Photograph courtesy of Zabowski via Flickr

Arts

A weekend of Bach with the Cantata Singers

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Bill Cowdery and Will Wickham speaks with WSKG’s Bill Snyder about the two concerts featuring JS Bach’s Mass in b minor. It’s a reunion concert of the Cantata Singers, bringing back many former members of the group, and there’s also a talk about the work and the previous works that Bach “recycled” into the Mass. http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-1033955.mp3

Photograph courtesy Cantata Singers