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Mount Desert Summer Chorale Press Release

By: dschildk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Calendar Listing and Press Release)

 

Contact:  David Schildkret, 207-288-4694

Email:  david.schildkret@asu.edu

 

Calendar Listing:

 

WHO: 
                  Mount Desert
Summer Chorale; David Schildkret, conductor

 

WHAT:                  Fortieth
Anniversary Concert, featuring the Brahms Requiem

 

WHEN:                  Saturday,
August 2, 2008; Sunday, August 3, 2008. 
8:00 p.m. (pre-concert talks at 7:30 p.m.)

 

WHERE: 
              St. Saviour’s Church,
41 Mount Desert St.,
Bar Harbor

 

ADMISSION:       Reserved
seating for those who donate $75 or more; Advance tickets ($20, no credit
cards) at Port In A Storm Bookstore and St. Saviour’s Church Office; By
donation at the door ($15 suggested). 
Call 207-244-0519 for information.  
www.mountdesertsummerchorale.org

 

 

 

MOUNT DESERT SUMMER CHORALE PERFORMS BRAHMS REQUIEM

 

 

The Mount Desert Summer Chorale
celebrates the 40th anniversary of its founding in 1968 with a pair
of concerts on Saturday, August 2, 2008, and Sunday, August 3, 2008, at 8 p.m.
at St. Saviour’s Church, 41 Mt.
Desert St. in Bar Harbor.  A pre-concert talk by Music Director David
Schildkret will be offered at 7:30 p.m.  The
program includes music by the “Three Bs” of classical music, Bach, Beethoven,
and Brahms.  The featured work is the Brahms
Requiem.

            The
program will open with a short Bach piece, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,”
arranged by Walter Damrosch.  Damrosch, a
major figure in 20th-century American concert life, summered on Mount Desert Island for many years until his home was destroyed
in the 1947 fire.  David Damrosch,
Walter’s great-great nephew, sings in the Summer Chorale and has served as its
president.  Walter Damrosch is buried in Ledgelawn Cemetery
on Mount Desert Island.

            Then
the choir will present the “Hallelujah” Chorus by Beethoven under the direction
of Conductor Emeritus George Emlen. 
Emlen conducted the Summer Chorale from 1982 – 99 and still serves as an
advisor to the organization.

            Joining
the Chorale for the performance of the Brahms Requiem will be soprano Carole
FitzPatrick, who sang in the Chorale’s Mozart celebration two years ago, and
baritone Rob Barefield, who joins the Chorale for the first time.  Both are well-known concert and opera
singers, and both are colleagues of Summer Chorale music director David
Schildkret at Arizona
State University.

            Brahms
composed Ein deutsches Requiem (A
German Requiem) over a period of 14 years, with the earliest music composed in
1854.  The first performance of the
complete work was given in 1868.  Brahms
himself compiled the text from passages in the German Bible of Martin Luther
and included far-ranging choices, from the Old Testament, the gospels,
epistles, and Apocrypha.  According to
music director Schildkret, “Works bearing the title ‘Requiem’ are usually
settings of the Catholic Mass for the Dead. 
By contrast, the Brahms Requiem is a highly personal work that focuses
on consolation and hope.”

            The
Summer Chorale last performed the Brahms Requiem for its 25th
anniversary in 1993.  “A Requiem might
seem like a somber choice for an anniversary celebration,” says
Schildkret.  “In fact, it’s one of the
most uplifting pieces in the repertory. 
It allows us to honor John Harms, who founded the Chorale with Allen
Sever in 1968, and all of those who have gone before us to create this great,
enduring organization.  At the same time,
we are inspired with a hopeful vision of the future.  It seemed to us the perfect choice for this
40th birthday.”

            The
Mount Desert Summer Chorale is a volunteer choir of some seventy-five members,
all of whom are experienced singers. 
About two-thirds of the members are year-round Maine residents.  The remaining singers are summer residents
who plan their stay in part so that they can participate in the chorus.  The orchestra for the concert is made up of
professional players from the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, professional players
from elsewhere in Maine,
and professional musicians who are in the area for the summer.

            Advance
tickets, with reserved seating, may be purchased for $20 (no credit cards) at
Port In A Storm Bookstore in Somesville and at the St. Saviour’s Church
Office.  Preferred seating is available
for those who make a larger donation in advance.  Admission is also available by donation at
the door, with $15 the suggested contribution. 
For more information, contact Richard Donohoe at 207-288-0519 or visit
the Chorale’s website at www.mountdesertsummerchorale.org.

 

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NOTE:  Full information about the music and the
soloists is available at the Chorale’s website: 
www.mountdesertsummerchorale.org.  See especially the “Soloists” link.

The following five photos will be
sent separately in individual emails:

Robert
Barefield, baritone

 

 

Carole FitzPatrick, soprano

 

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George Emlen, guest conductor

 

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David Schildkret, conductor

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David Schildkret, conductor