Seattle Choral Company: A Baroque Christmas
$27 ($22 senior, $5 student; ages 6-10 free)
- Jocelyn Claire Thomas, soprano
- Jennifer Bromagen, soprano
- Sarah Mattox, mezzo-soprano
- Zach Finkelstein, tenor
- Zachary Lenox, baritone
- Freddie Coleman, conductor
Francesco Durante — Magnificat a 4 in B-flat major
George Frideric Handel — Nisi Dominus, HWV 238
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani — Salmi a otto voci concertati, Op. 3 ("VIII. Magnificat Primo")
The Seattle Choral Company kicks off their 42nd season with a holiday concert devoted to Baroque choral masterworks from Italy. Italy, long regarded as the birthplace of Baroque music, led the way during the 17th Century with a style of music that was known for its grandiose, dramatic, and energetic spirit.
Four Italian cities will be represented, beginning with Milan, where Chiara Margarita Cozzolani performed and published sacred works at the convent of Santa Radegonda. In Naples, Francesco Durante (1684-1755) premiered his Magnificat in B-flat major. In Rome, a young George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) composed his brilliant cantata, Nisi Dominus, in 1707 before travelling to England. Finally, in Venice, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) produced an astonishing range and quantity of music, including his choral masterpiece, Gloria in D major.
The SCC will be joined by a talented quintet of Northwest regional soloists: Jocelyn Claire Thomas and Jennifer Bromagen, sopranos; Sarah Mattox, mezzo-soprano; Zach Finkelstein, tenor; and Zachary Lenox, baritone. Members of the North Corner Chamber Orchestra will also take part in this festive holiday evening.
A pre-concert talk will take place at 7pm with SCC Director Freddie Coleman.
A carol sing-along follows at 7:30pm with organist Wyatt Smith at the Flentrop Organ.
About Seattle Choral Company
Founded in 1982 by Artistic Director Freddie Coleman, the Seattle Choral Company has, over the course of 40 years, become one of the region's most accomplished and respected choral organizations. Maestro Coleman's finely-tuned yet spirited interpretations of the masterworks of classical choral music have been acclaimed by critics and audiences, including Berlioz's Te Deum, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, Orff's Carmina Burana, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Haydn's Creation, Mozart's C minor Mass, Bach's St. John Passion, and many more. After a recent performance at Benaroya Hall featuring Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, The Gathering Note wrote that the performance "was anchored by deep emotions, a strong sense of purpose, and an excellent advocate in Freddie Coleman and the Seattle Choral Company."
Freddie Coleman has also championed America's finest contemporary choral composers, offering area listeners their first live hearing of such works as Arvo Pärt's Te Deum, Philip Glass' Itaipu, Hawley's Songs of Kabir, Roxanna Panufnik's Westminster Mass, and Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna. In 2001, the SCC commissioned a new choral work, Seattle, by New York composer William Hawley, as part of the city of Seattle’s sesquicentennial celebrations. Additionally, the Company has commissioned and premiered new works from gifted Seattle composers, such as Donald Skirvin and Bern Herbolsheimer. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently applauded this commitment, stating "it's not surprising that Coleman…would devote an entire program to contemporary music. He has long been an advocate for living composers."
In the 1980s the Seattle Choral Company toured to Australia and the former Soviet Union. (Their work as cultural ambassadors was recognized with a commendation from the Washington State legislature.) The many albums it has recorded, including The Moon Is Silently Singing, When the Morning Stars Sang Together, Carmina Burana, and Unearthed, have been highly praised and received extensive radio exposure. The Company has recorded soundtracks for Public Television (Death: the Trip of a Lifetime) and NBC (Crime and Punishment and Noah's Ark), and its recordings have been used in at least a dozen Hollywood movie trailers.
The Seattle Choral Company has become a valued collaborator with other performing arts organizations in the region. It has appeared on stage with the Pacific Northwest Ballet many times, including several mountings of Kent Stowell's staging of Orff's Carmina Burana, and Hail to the Conquering Hero, featuring choruses by Handel. In 2010, the SCC appeared with the Seattle Youth Symphony in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection") at Benaroya Hall. The SCC has appeared with the Seattle Symphony on many occasions, including Those Glorious MGM Movie Musicals, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Holiday Pops with Doc Severinsen, Holiday Pops with Marvin Hamlisch, New Year's Eve with the Seattle Symphony, and most recently The Matrix Live In Concert. On four occasions, they have appeared at the Paramount Theater in the touring production of Video Games Live, and members of the Company sang in both the Seattle and Portland productions of Star Wars In Concert. The SCC is partnered with the Northwest Sinfonietta, and is an artist-in-residence at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral.
http://www.seattlechoralcompany.orgAbout Jocelyn Claire Thomas, soprano
About Jennifer Bromagen, soprano
Hailed by the Tacoma News Tribune for her "shining coloratura and brilliant high notes," soprano Jennifer Bromagen enjoys performing on opera and concert stages throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has performed as La Contessa di Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Bellevue City Opera, with Puget Sound Concert Opera as the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, and as the soprano soloist in Golijov's She Was Here with the Northwest Sinfonietta. Recently, Ms. Bromagen performed as the title role in Puget Sound Concert Opera's production of Manon, as well as The Queen of the Night in Vashon Opera's The Magic Flute, and with the Pacific Northwest Opera as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata.
Ms. Bromagen was an Associate Artist in Residence with Cleveland Opera and performed on their main stage as the First Handmaiden in Turandot, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and as Edith in The Pirates of Penzance. She has also been seen in such roles as Fiorilla in Il Turco in Italia, Mimi in La Bohème, and Countess Adele in Le Comte Ory. She has been a featured soloist in concert halls, temples, and cathedrals throughout the U.S., performing classic solo concert works from Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Verdi's Requiem, as well as such contemporary works as Jenkins' Cantata Memoria and Arnesen's Wound in the Water. In the 2022-23 season, engagements include a return to Puget Sound Concert Opera as Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula, as well as a return to Pacific Northwest Opera to perform Desdemona inVerdi's Otello.
https://jenniferbromagen.com/