Seattle Choral Company: American Psalmfest
Advance: $27 ($22 senior, $5 student; ages 6-10 free)
At the door: $30 ($24 senior)
- Tyler Morse, countertenor
- Zach Finkelstein, tenor
- Rebekah Gilmore, soprano
- Charles Robert Stephens, baritone
- William Bryant, organ
Nathan Carter — Psalm 131
Adolphus Hailstork — I Will Lift up Mine Eyes
Leonard Bernstein — Chichester Psalms
The Seattle Choral Company concludes their 42nd season with a captivating selection of four distinct American compositions inspired by the Book of Psalms: Adolphus Hailstork's I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, Leonard Bernstein's iconic Chichester Psalms, Abbie Betinis's Psalm 126: A Song of Ascents, and Dr. Nathan Carter's Psalm 131.
Since its debut in 1965, Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms has remained one of his most frequently performed concert works. Crafted during a conducting hiatus from the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein characterized it as "the most accessible, B-flat major-ish tonal piece I've ever written." Sung entirely in Hebrew, with vocal arrangements reminiscent of Christian church music, the work serves as a poignant call for peace in Israel during tumultuous times.
Adolphus Hailstork's I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes is a poignant three-movement cantata composed in 1997 for tenor soloist, chorus, and accompaniment, drawing inspiration from Psalms 121, 13, and 23. Dedicated to the memory of Undine Smith Moore, revered as the Dean of Black Women Composers, this piece resonates with profound emotional depth.
Acclaimed Seattle tenor Zach Finkelstein takes the spotlight as the featured soloist in Hailstork's moving cantata. Joining the SCC singers for the performance of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms will be soprano Rebekah Gilmore, countertenor Tyler Morse, tenor Zach Finkelstein, baritone Charles Robert Stephens, and organist William Bryant, who all promise an unforgettable rendition of Bernstein's masterwork.
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 Tyler Morse, countertenor
https://complinechoir.org/musicians-directory-listing/name/tyler-morse/
About Zach Finkelstein, tenor
About Rebekah Gilmore, soprano
About Charles Robert Stephens, baritone
Charles has enjoyed a career spanning a wide variety of roles and styles in opera and concert music. His performances have shown "a committed characterization and a voice of considerable beauty." (Opera News, 1995) At the New York City Opera he sang the role of Professor Friedrich Bhaer in the New York premiere of Adamo's Little Women, and was hailed by the New York Times as a "baritone of smooth distinction." Other New York City Opera roles since his debut as Marcello in 1995 include Frank in Die Tote Stadt, Sharpless in Madame Butterfly, and Germont in La Traviata. He has sung on numerous occasions at Carnegie Hall in a variety of roles with the Opera Orchestra of New York, the Oratorio Society of New York, the Masterworks Chorus, and Musica Sacra.
Now based in Seattle, Charles has sung with the Seattle Symphony, Tacoma and Spokane Symphonies and Opera Companies, Portland Chamber Orchestra and many other orchestras and opera companies in the Pacific Northwest. He joined the roster of the Seattle Opera in 2010 for the premiere of Amelia by Daron Hagan.
Recent collaborations with early music expert Stephen Stubbs include the role of Haman in Handel's Esther with Pacific Musicworks as part of the Seattle Handel Festival, Messiah with Portland Baroque and the role of Tiresias in the Boston Early Music Festival's lavish production of Steffani's Niobe, Queen of Thebes. A long association with Maestro Gary Thor Wedow has recently led to two performances with the Seattle Symphony: Messiah and "Opera Festival."
http://www.charlesrobertstephens.com/