Nova Singers Presents: Music of the Deep North

 

Sweden, Finland, and the Baltics are famous for their wealth of choral and folk music. This unique program features a wide variety of music from this extraordinary part of the world.  Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's masterpiece, which tells the story of a 1994 maritime disaster, is one of the most powerful and challenging pieces written for choir.  Brahms wrote his Nachtwache I and II at the end of his life and loved them so much that he wanted them sung at his funeral! Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's Nunc dimittis is quietly beautiful.  Northern Lights, written by young Latvian composer Eriks Ešenvalds, combines a folk song with English poetry, chimes and water-tuned glasses to evoke the experience of viewing the northern lights.  A set of Swedish folk songs, in Swedish and English, rounds out this Scandinavian program.

Artistic Director Laura Lane says, "This is the coolest program we've done since Drum Song!  Every piece is completely different from every other piece, each one offering its own unique beauty and soundscape. I think audience members will love hearing the traditional sounds of Brahms and the simple beauty of the Swedish folk songs. But folks will also hear special vocal techniques including whispering, chanting, humming, sliding and traditional Lithuanian tongue-clicking. This program also features some instruments that I've never heard live before, such as an ocarina and water-tuned glasses. I'm really excited to be doing Esenvalds' Northern Lights:  the chimes and the water-tuned glasses give it a uniquely haunting atmosphere."

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, hopes to share our musical soul with you.  Nova Singers is known for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the beauty and charm the singers impart to their music.

Tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $18 for adults and $15 for seniors. Students are admitted free of charge. Nova Singers season tickets will still be available through this performance.  For information about tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers events, call 309-341-7038, or e-mail nova@knox.edu or like our Facebook page.

Music of the Deep North is sponsored by Blick Art Materials.  Nova Singers' 2013-2014 season is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.??

Nova Singers, under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, presents two performances of We Sing Life! The first one will be on Saturday, October 12 at 7:30pm at First Congregational Church in Moline, and the second one on Sunday, October 13 at 4:00pm in Kresge Recital Hall at Knox College in Galesburg.

We Sing Life! is a unique and uplifting program celebrating the strength of the human spirit and our ability to triumph over the challenges of life. From the darkness of Barber's Twelfth Night and To Be on the Water to Randall Thompson's timeless Alleluia, the audience will hear the full range of human emotion.

Dr. Lane talks about the program: "We Sing Life! is unlike any other program I have undertaken. I wanted to wrestle with the idea of the universal human struggle with adversity. Each of us has known dark times. How do we survive those periods? How do we climb our way out of those dark times into a place of joy? I wanted to take the singers and the audience from the depths of despair to the heights of confidence, faith, happiness and serenity... Spirituals play a major role in this concert. We can all relate to the loneliness of Motherless Child and Hard Trials, and the joy and energy of Walk Together Children and Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel are perfect for the end of the concert."

For the first time ever, we have invited local artists to paint to a piece of music. Nicholas Digioia of Moline and Julie Swanson Davis of Galesburg will paint while the Singers perform Thompson's Alleluia. The audience will watch the creation of a work of art, inspired by the voices of Nova Singers!

In addition, students from Davenport Central High School will join the Singers for two selections, as a part of our educational outreach program, Project Sing!

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, hopes to share our musical soul with you.  Nova Singers is known for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the beauty and charm the singers impart to their music.

Tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $18 for adults and $15 for seniors. Students are admitted free of charge.  For information about group rates, tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers' events, call 309-341-7038, or e-mail nova@knox.edu. Please take the time to check out our website at www.novasingers.com!

Nova Singers' 2013-2014 season is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

Featuring Fareed Haque

Nova Singers, under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, presents two performances of A Procession Winding Around Me, featuring classical guitarist Fareed Haque, on Saturday, April 6 at 7:30pm in Kresge Recital Hall at Knox College in Galesburg, and on Sunday, April 7 at 4:00pm at First Congregational Church in Moline.

These performances will introduce a completely different side of Nova Singers! We will join forces with Fareed Haque to explore the sound of choir and guitar. Featuring Jeffrey Van's A Procession Winding Around Me and Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Romancero Gitano, both written for a chorus of voices and a guitar accompaniment, this program is truly not to be missed.

"In each piece," says Dr. Laura Lane, "the guitar paints images of the text, such as rushing water, dissonance, or even aggression. These works highlight the incredible spectrum of emotion both guitar and voice are capable of conveying."

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, hopes to share our musical soul with you.  Nova Singers is known for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the beauty and charm the singers impart to their music.

Tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $18 for adults and $15 for seniors. Students are admitted free of charge. For information about group rates, tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers' events, call 309-341-7038, or e-mail nova@knox.edu. Please take the time to check out our brand new website as well at www.novasingers.com!

Nova Singers' 2012-2013 season is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

Nova Singers, under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, presents two performances of Johannes Brahms' Requiem, Saturday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Central Congregational Church, Galesburg, and on Sunday, October 21, at 4:00 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Moline.

 

Nova Singers open their 27th season with two performances of Johannes Brahms' "A German Requiem." Joining Nova Singers for these concerts are guest pianist Ashlee Mack and Megan Clewell, and vocalists Sarah Moran, soprano, and Gregory Lewis, baritone.

 

"Brahms named his first great work 'A German Requiem' because he wanted this to be very different from the traditional requiem masses of the Catholic Church," explained Lane, professor of music and director of choral activities at Knox College in Galesburg. " Brahms chose the words himself, from various sources. His choices show us Brahms believed that a requiem encourages us to accept the reality of the transience of life, offers consolation and comfort, and gives us hope for a life after death....I have conducted the Brahms Requiem twice before, with a large chorus and full orchestra. But this will be the first time I've ever done it with a small choir like Nova Singers and piano. I could not have imagined how beautiful the music is when sung by this 30-voice version of Nova Singers---it's so clear and clean, and I can understand every word. Also, the piano accompaniment is incredibly exciting. Ashlee and Megan have become an orchestra at the keyboard!"

About the guest artists:

 

Pianist Megan Clewell is an instructor of piano and staff accompanist at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. An active chamber musician and vocal coach, Clewell most recently served as coach/rehearsal pianist at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Previously, she was involved with the Arizona State University Lyric Opera Theatre and the ASU Wind Ensemble.

Pianist Ashlee Mack has performed solo and chamber music with new-music organizations and has given recitals across the United States, and in Germany and Italy, including in 2011 with the Nova Singers. Mack is the coordinator of Piano Instruction at Knox College.

Soprano Sarah Moran has performed with the Galesburg Community Chorus, Elgin Choral Union, Carl Sandburg College Choir, Knox-Galesburg Symphony, Nova Singers, and University of Washington Symphony Orchestra. She is lecturer of voice, opera workshop, and vocal pedagogy at Knox College.

Baritone Gregory GD Lewis has performed  in oratorio and opera in regional houses across the U.S. He will be featured as baritone soloist with the Galesburg Community Chorus in November and the Elgin Choral Union in April and May of 2013. Lewis teaches voice at Knox College and conduct's the Knox College Women's Chorale and the Knox College Men's Ensemble.

Nova Singers, a professional vocal ensemble under the direction of Dr. Laura Lane, is renowned for bringing a wide variety of choral music to its audiences, and for the spirit and charm the singers impart to their music. Dr. Lane has been serving the greater Galesburg and Quad-Cities communities for over twenty-five years, bringing her passion for music and expressive singing to audiences and singers alike.

 

Tickets for this concert are available through Nova's office and at the door.  Admission is $18 for adults and $15 for seniors.  Students are admitted free of charge.  Brahms Requiem is sponsored by OSF St. Mary Medical Center and OSF Galesburg Clinic. Nova Singers' 2012-2013 season is partially funded by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. For information about tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers performances, please call Nova Singers at 309-341-7038 or email nova@knox.edu. Information is also available at www.novasingers.com.