Gretna Music Presents Andreas Scholl, 12/5

In conjunction with Gretna Music and OperaLancaster, The Ware Center proudly presents one of the world's most renowned and respected countertenors German-born Andreas Scholl. He will be performing on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 7:30pm in Steinman Hall.

He was seventeen, just one of the boys in the choir, playing football and working for his exams, when his natural gift as a countertenor was identified by the Chorbuben's voice coach from the Darmstadt Music Academy, who said: 'This sounds more and more like a countertenor voice, not a boy alto.' Andreas Scholl adds: 'She told me it was rare that someone keeps a voice of such quality through adolescence and I should think about that', so he sang for the tenor/countertenor Herbert Klein, who said yes, he had a voice.

It was then he began to consider a professional singing career. His father was doubtful, concerned that his younger son might not be able to earn a living in music. Scholl had been thinking about entering the Salesian order as a priest or possibly becoming a professional soldier but eventually he decided that he did not have a religious vocation and, less than perfect eyesight meant that his military career amounted to two years' compulsory service. One day - under orders - he sang a Gregorian setting of the Ave Maria for the men in his barracks, stunning them with his amazing voice.

Andreas Scholl's professional début was the proverbial dream break which enabled him to skip the concert performances usually necessary to establish a young performer's career. In 1993, he stood in for René Jacobs at Jacobs' request, and at almost no notice, at the Théâtre Grévin in Paris, and he caused a sensation. This St John Passion was broadcast on Good Friday to a radio audience which included William Christie. A little later, Christie met Scholl on a train between Caen and Paris and gave Scholl his card, saying: 'Get in touch with me.' The 1994 recording of Handel's Messiah with Les Arts Florissants resulted directly from this casual meeting. It was widely acclaimed and Andreas Scholl's professional career was under way.

In London, on 10th September 2005, Andreas Scholl sang at The Last Night of the Proms, the closing concert of the world's biggest classical music festival or, as he described it in an interview, 'the biggest classical event on the planet'. Until then, no countertenor had ever been invited to sing at this event. Its worldwide audience through TV, radio and the internet has been estimated at 400 million and most critics agreed that 'Scholl stole the show'.

Ticket Information: This event is open to the public. Tickets are $30, or $50 with a $20 donation going to Gretna Music. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Ticket Office at 717-872-3811 or 717-871-2308. Online, at MUTicketsOnline.com. Or, in person at the Student Memorial Center Ticket Office (Room 103), or at The Ware Center Box Office (42 N. Prince St., Lancaster). Ticket Offices are opened Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. and one hour prior to the performance on Wednesday, December 5th.