We’ve been watching with interest over the past year as the Ragazzi Boys Chorus set the pace for how choruses could survive and even thrive during a pandemic that made in-person choral performances impossible. We covered their progress as they tested and perfected the groundbreaking Virtual Studio system that allows them to meet and rehearse entirely over the internet. We also reported when that technology was shared with the public so that other ensembles could make use of it. Now Ragazzi is putting the capabilities of real-time, online interaction to the ultimate test with their “Joy, Awe, and Wonder” concert, which streams on Sunday, May 2, at 4 p.m. (Pacific), with each chorus member performing from the safety of his own home.
The online performance will feature Ragazzi’s Avanti, Concert Group, Choral Scholars, and Young Men’s Ensemble choruses. Selections include Ross Whitney’s spellbinding Pentatonic Alleluia, the whimsical “Cuckoo!” from Benjamin Britten’s Friday Afternoons, “Amen” from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Akekho Ofana No Jesu, a traditional South African song, and Locus Iste, by Kevin A. Memley, among other pieces.
Admission is free, but donations are warmly welcomed. More information and reservations are available on the Ragazzi website.
