The 2003–2004 Season

A Double Anniversary for the Guild!

By Wendy Bartlett, President

Two members of our family have anniversaries next season. It will be the tenth anniversary season for Cantabile Children’s Chorus. We are delighted that Chuck Shih, a Cantabile parent, has commissioned Brian Holmes to write a piece for children’s chorus and either trumpet or French horn, which the Chamber Choir will perform next spring. Also, music director Signe Boyer and executive director Sonja Wohlgemuth are looking into choir festivals in which the children could participate next year.

Our adult chorus opens its twenty-fifth anniversary season in November with perhaps the greatest choral work of all time, J. S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. First-rate soloists and period instrument players will join the chorus for this event, which is not to be missed.

In March, we move from the glory of the High Baroque to the ultimate in rich Romanticism. A series of fifteen a cappella pieces for the Orthodox services of Vespers and Matins, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil epitomizes the grandeur of Russian sacred music.

Next May, the chorus expands its ranks temporarily in order to perform with full orchestra. The program will be Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony! In partnership with the California Symphony, this exciting venture will increase our visibility in the community and also allow our choristers to perform a great masterwork that we could not present by ourselves with our normal forces in our usual venues.

Finally, in June, we let our hair down and aim to tickle your musical funny bone with a summertime program of light-hearted works. Expect silly texts, musical jokes, and good times. We’re talking serious play!

Please help us celebrate our double anniversary and support us during this banner year. We look forward to seeing you at the concerts.

Volume 11, Issue 4

Baroque Choral Guild, 953 Industrial Ave. Ste 118, Palo Alto CA 94303, 650.424.1410