Clear voices echoing back and forth; lively sounds of the orchestra: these will be your gifts from the Santa Cruz Chorale, with Christian Grube, Conductor and Artistic Director, the Monterey Bay Sinfonietta chamber orchestra, and other beloved musicians as they present the Chorale’s Christmas concert with jubilant Baroque works as well as selections from contemporary composers.
Opening with the exuberant “Exultate Deo” of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the concert follows with Claudio Monteverdi’s “Christe Redemptor Omnium.” Continuing with Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Telemann, and the haunting Salomone Rossi’s “Elohim Hashivenu.” The audience then re-enters present times with 20th century pieces by Gjeilo, Tavener, Kverno, Owolabi and Poston. The concert then returns to the traditional with Claudio Monteverdi’s “Beatus Vir” and closing with familiar carols.
The Santa Cruz Chorale, a community based non-profit organization founded in 1983, performs a wide-ranging repertoire including works from the 14th century through music of the 21st century. Although several members of the Chorale are professional musicians and some direct musical groups of their own, all volunteer their time, and most are amateurs in the original sense of that word: people who seriously pursue an art for the love of it.
Founded over 30 years ago by Mary Lynn Place Badarak, Lecturer for the Department of Music at UC Santa Cruz, as a volunteer adult chorus, the Santa Cruz Chorale continues in this tradition today. Following Badarak’s leadership, Murray Walker directed, followed by the late Gene Lewis, Paul Vorwerk and Eduardo Mendelievich. Under the leadership of Paul Vorwerk, the Chorale went on two exciting international tours: the first to Northern Italy and Croatia, and the second to Spain.
Since 2006, the Chorale has been directed by Christian Grube, performing three concert sets per year. The Chorale has been able to attract three of Santa Cruz’s most well known accompanists, Vlada Moran, Yalenda Listmann, and Maria Ezerova.
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Christian Grube is emeritus professor of choral conducting at the Berlin University of Arts. His choirs are known for their exquisite sound, impeccable intonation, broad range of dynamic expression and ability to interpret the most diverse styles. You can find out more about Director Christian Grube at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Grube.
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