Bach Festival Choir & Orchestra’s 2012–2013 Opening Performance To Feature Visiting Composers, 10/27 - 10/28

The opening program of the 2012 Bach Festival Society Choral Masterworks series presents music by six contemporary composers and celebrates the themes of peace and light in two performances by the renowned Bach Festival Choir and Orchestra. The works on the program were selected to highlight some of the most accomplished choral and orchestra composers working today. Three of the six composers on the program will be present at the weekend events, which include master classes for students at Rollins College, as well as pre-concert talks for the public.

The opening performances will take place on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 8:00pm; pre-concert talk at 6:15pm. Also on Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 3:00pm; pre-concert talk at 1:45pm. The performance will take place at the Knowles Memorial Chapel, Rollins College and the pre-concert talks will take place at Room 119 Music Building, Rollins College,1000 Holt Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789.

Ticket prices range from $25 to $55. Call the Box Office at 407-646-2182 or visit www.BachFestivalFlorida.org.

Among the featured pieces is the Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen. Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s piece titled Cantus in Memory of Britten will be played by string orchestra and bells. Eric Whitacre’s well-known Lux Aurumque, a work for choir and orchestra, is a small gem that has established itself in the choral repertoire for its solemn beauty.

Three modern master composers will be visiting for the performance weekend: Paul Moravec (Northern Lights Electric), Stephen Paulus (Voices of Light), and Chris Rogerson (Luminosity).

Paul Moravec, winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music, has composed over one hundred works for the orchestral, chamber, choral, lyric, film, and operatic genres.

Stephen Paulus has composed more than 450 works in many genres, including music for orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, solo voice, keyboard, and opera. He is a recipient of both Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, as well as co-founder and a past Board Vice-President of the American Composers Forum.

Chris Rogerson, is a talented 23-year old whose works have been performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the New World Symphony, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. He has won awards from ASCAP, the Theodore Presser Foundation, the National Foundation for the Advancement for the Arts, the Aspen Music Festival, and more.

As a complement to this program, the Bach Festival Society is partnering with Enzian Theater to present A SHINING NIGHT: A PORTRAIT OF COMPOSER MORTEN LAURIDSEN  at 12:30 pm Saturday October 20 and Sunday October 21, 2012.

The mission of the Bach Festival Society is to inspire the human spirit through great classical music, featuring powerful choral performances, as we celebrate the legacy of J.S. Bach. The 2012–2013 season is the Society’s 78th year of presenting outstanding musical offerings to the Central Florida community.

Located in Winter Park, Florida, the Bach Festival Society is one of the longest continuously operating Bach Festivals in the country and among America’s great oratorio societies. The Bach Festival Society brings the highest caliber of classical music to Central Florida. Performances are held in the intimate settings of Tiedtke Concert Hall and Knowles Memorial Chapel on the beautiful campus of Rollins College.

For more information regarding the season or to order tickets, please call the Bach Festival Society at 407-646-2182 or visit us online at www.BachFestivalFlorida.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.