Choral

Orff Gone Gaga

Jason Victor Serinus - May 25, 2009

Chora Nova certainly doesn’t shy away from challenges. Since its artistic director, the conductor and countertenor Paul Flight, came on board to direct the auditioned community chorus in July 2006, it has tackled the challenging works of Kodály, a number of greater and lesser Baroque masterworks, Brahms’ “German” Requiem and Neue Liebeslieder, and the music of Michael Haydn.

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Loving Catullus

Michael Zwiebach - May 19, 2009

You might assume, from its Latin name Chora Nova, that it specializes in early music, but that’s far from the truth, as its upcoming concerts this week demonstrate. Carl Orff’s Catulli Carmina (Song of Catullus) does have Latin words, though its musical style is familiar from the composer’s Carmina Burana.

Review

Songs That Serenade, Scintillate, and Provoke

Jason Victor Serinus - May 12, 2009

Jake Heggie. There are few contemporary composers so loved and adored, yet so controversial. When he’s on, his music can be touching, endearing, entertaining, hilarious, and/or heart-shakingly profound by turns. As a person, he’s handsome, delightful, and admirably out about his gayness.

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Singing Without a Net

Georgia Rowe - May 11, 2009

Volti’s motto is “Singing without a net,” and the San Francisco-based vocal ensemble led by Music Director Robert Geary does indeed stay on the forefront of c

Review

Byzantium in Rome

David Bratman - May 5, 2009

Stanford University’s Memorial Church turned into a Byzantine abbey for two hours on Sunday evening, with a concert of medieval Byzantine chant performed by the vocal group Cappella Romana, from Portland, Oregon.

Review

Raising a Joyful Song

Jaime Robles - May 4, 2009

In a very local and personal interpretation of its mission to perform “newly commissioned works of promising composers,” the vibrant young choral group International Orange Chorale sang a program on Friday of diverse and original work by contemporary California composers.

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Vocally Out There

Georgia Rowe - April 28, 2009

Volti’s motto is “Singing without a net,” and the San Francisco–based vocal ensemble, led by Music Director Robert Geary, does indeed stay on the fore

Review

Landscapes of War

Jules Langert - April 26, 2009

Long considered to be one of his finest works, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem of 1962 can be difficult to bring off successfully, even with the most skilled and dedicated professional musicians. All the more reason, then, to cheer UC Berkeley’s stirring and spectacular performance last Wednesday, before a large, enrapt audience in Zellerbach Hall. UC’s Marika Kuzma, who conducted, got it splendidly right.