Mark Singleton, Artistic Director

presents:

Blessing: The Music of Paul Mealor

Featuring the works recently recorded with Paul Mealor for the

upcoming album “Blessing”

Friday, May 11th – 7:30pm

Immanuel Congregational Church

10 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105

PROGRAM

All works composed by Paul Mealor (b.1975)

I. Let All the World in Every Corner Sing

II.

Beneath Thy Compassion The Beatitudes

III.

Let Fall the Windows of Mine Eyes 1. Ophelia’s Lament 2. My Watchful Soul

3. ...to weep...

The Selwyn Service 1. Magnificat

2. Nunc Dimittis

~ Intermission ~

IV.

Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal 4. A Spotless Rose

To Seek Where Shadows Are

1. Dreamland 2. Dreaming

3. In the Bleak Midwinter

V. Behold a Tender Babe

Ave Maria

VI. Jubilate Deo

Blessing

~ Fini ~

Encore – If Ye Love Me Voce Sopranos

About Voce: Its Mission and Its Musicians Voce is an auditioned, professional mixed choir whose sound reflects the unique musical vision of its Artistic Director and co-founder, Mark Singleton. After working with Voce in April 2008, Morten Lauridsen -- the most widely performed composer in the United States -- had this to say about Voce: “Voce is clearly already in the upper echelon of American chamber choirs. During my recent residence with the ensemble I was constantly astonished at the level of artistry displayed by both the singers and their conductor, Mark Singleton. I have no doubt that this superb chorus will soon be recognized throughout the United States as exemplifying choral performance at its finest.” Dr. Lauridsen then returned in 2009 to record an entire CD of his works with Voce. The CD, entitled “Sure on This Shining Night,” was complimented for its “tender warmth, exquisite nuance, and enduring spirit” by the American Record Guide. Since that time, Voce has worked with a number of internationally-acclaimed composers, including Ola Gjeilo, Paul Mealor and Ēriks Ešenvalds.

Voce’s “Growing Audiences” Initiative Earlier this year Voce launched its “Growing Audiences” Initiative which is designed to secure Voce’s future as one of New England’s leading cultural institutions, to grow its audiences and to further develop international renown for its performance of choral music. The initiative is based upon two forward-looking projects, including the release of its next album – Blessing: The Music of Paul Mealor – by Voce and its new label, Signum Records; and a collaboration with marketing and strategic planning experts Dornenburg Kallenbach Advertising to ensure that Voce identifies and takes the steps necessary to continue the growth of its audience base in New England.

Your support for the “Growing Audiences” Initiative will ensure that Mark Singleton and Voce can bring Voce’s music and its message of harmony to an ever-widening audience. Help Voce to build an enduring future for choral music in New England and beyond by contributing to Voce on-line at www.voceinc.org or by mailing your contribution to Voce, Inc., attn: Thomas Cooke, 2 Poggy Bay Lane, Mystic, CT 06355. Voce’s Board of Directors and Officers Thomas F. Cooke II – President Robert Borden (ex officio, past President) Jane Currie Jennifer Ferrand Kelly James A. Grigsby Bob Lautensack David Pettyjohn Hal Rives John Skar Donna B. Stamm (ex officio) Bob Willard

Voce Administrator: Sarah Armstrong Media Manager: Jennifer McCann

Producer & Marketing Manager: Ali Singleton

About Mark Singleton, Artistic Director Stephen Mark Singleton is a renowned conductor, composer, writer and guest speaker. His unique career path has taken him all over the world including China, Africa, South America and Europe. As a frequent guest conductor and clinician, Mark has worked with choirs and orchestras of all ages and styles. His energetic and magnetic leadership has made him one of the most sought-after conductors in New England.

Mark is frequently asked to be a guest speaker at concerts, universities, and faith communities. He currently serves on the faculty of the Hartt School of Music Community Division as Director of Primi Voci from the Connecticut Children’s Chorus. Mark has also served on the faculty of the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University as well as having taught in public schools. While at UConn, he conducted the Concert Choir, Collegium Musicum and the Women's Chorus. He has prepared choruses and served as guest conductor for many orchestras including the National Symphony of China, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Liberty Symphony Orchestra, Arcadiana Symphony Orchestra, Yale Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Mark serves as the Artistic Director of Voce and Director of Music at Immanuel Congregational Church, having recently retired as Chorus Director for the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra after tenure of 18 years. Mark holds an undergraduate degree in cello performance and church music from William Jewell College and a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Connecticut. He has pursued additional conducting studies at the Robert Shaw Festival, the Dennis Keene Choral Festival and the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina. His principal conducting teachers include Peter Bagley, Charles Bruffy, and Phillip C. Posey. Most recently, Mark made his New York City debut with Voce and Paul Mealor, performing at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in May 2017. Mark also prepared the Connecticut Children’s Chorus to perform at the Berkshire Choral Festival International in July 2017. In March 2019, he will be appointed as the Conductor-in-Residence at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Mark’s work has been described by Morten Lauridsen as "exemplifying choral performance at its finest." The American Record Guide described his last album as demonstrating "tender warmth, exquisite nuance and enduring spirit," and Stereophile Magazine called his work "heartbreakingly beautiful."

About Paul Mealor Paul Mealor has been described as ‘the most important composer to have emerged in Welsh choral music since William Mathias‘ (New York Times, 2001) and his music is ‘marked by something outside of himself that is beautifully spatial and evocative of landscape… it illuminates both our past and our future‘ (The Guardian, 2011). Topping the Classical Charts for six weeks with his bestselling album, A Tender Light (featuring Tenebrae Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) in November 2011, he also broke records by being the first classical composer to hold both the classical and pop chart No 1’s at the same time in December 2011, securing the UK Christmas No 1 with his piece for The Military Wives Choir and Gareth Malone, Wherever You Are. Wherever You Are entered the UK Pop Singles Chart at number 1 on 19th December, selling over 556,000 copies in one week, more than the rest of the Top 12 combined, and was nominated for Best British Single in the 2012 BRIT Awards. It has been named, by the Official Charts Company as, the fastest selling single since Elton John’s Candle in the Wind. Also, in April of 2012 Mealor was voted the nation’s favorite living composer during the UK Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Born in St Asaph, North Wales in 1975, Paul Mealor studied composition privately as a boy with William Mathias and later with John Pickard, and at the University of York with Nicola LeFanu (BA Hons, 1997, PhD, 2002) and in Copenhagen with Hans Abrahamsen and Per Nørgård. His music has been commissioned and performed at many festivals and by many orchestras and choruses and has been broadcast on every major TV and Radio station throughout the world. Since January 2003 he has taught in the Music Department at the University of Aberdeen where he is Professor of Composition. Mealor was catapulted to international stardom in April 2011, when 2.5 billion people (the largest audience in broadcasting history) heard his Motet, Ubi caritas performed by the choirs of Westminster Abbey and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, conducted by James O’Donnell at the Royal Wedding Ceremony of His Royal Highness Prince William and Catherine Middleton (now TRH The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge) at Westminster Abbey. It since topped the Classical singles charts in the USA, UK, Australia, France and New Zealand. In July 2011, Mealor signed to Decca Records and signed a publishing deal with Novello & Co. His first album for Decca, A Tender Light – a collection of sacred anthems recorded by Tenebrae and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – spent six weeks at No 1 of the Specialist Classical Charts. He is currently preparing his second album for Decca and has contributed new works to a number of other Decca albums, including his song In My Dreams for X factor star Jonjo Kerr, which entered the pop charts at number one, knocking Bruce Springsteen off the top spot; De Profundis for the St Petersburg Chamber Choir on the album Tranquility (which also made No 1 in the Classical Charts in August 2012), and the first ever musical setting of St Francis’ prayer, You Are The Holy Lord God for Friar Alessandro’s debut album. Mealor wrote a number of works for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and has recently completed his first symphony Passiontide – a large work for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra – which received its premiere at the composer’s fortieth birthday concert in November 2015, and is currently working on a number of pieces for chorus and orchestra. He has just finished filming a program on the music of Benjamin Britten and appeared in the BBC 2 program, The Choir, as well as making his Carnegie Hall debut with a sell-out performance of his Stabat mater with the DCINY chorus and orchestra conducted by James Jordan. Mealor is the first President of ‘Ty Cerdd’ – Wales’s National Centre for music making and Vice-President of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and the North Wales International Music Festival. He is composer in residence with Canada’s top professional choir, Pro Coro, and is the Curator of the JAM on the marsh festival in Kent. He has received many awards and honors for his music including Honorary Fellowships from Bangor University (2013) and Glyndwr University (2012) in Wrexham, and the Glanville Jones Award, from the Welsh Music Guild, for his outstanding contribution to music in Wales (2013). He was appointed a Free Burgess of The City of Aberdeen in 2012 by The Lord Provost of Aberdeen, and is President and Patron of many Welsh and Scottish organizations.

About Signum Records Voce is pleased to announce that it will be working with UK-based Signum Records on the release of “Blessing: The Music of Paul Mealor,” which was recorded May 4th – May 7th at St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church and at Immanuel Congregational Church.

Signum is a leading British independent label fueled by a passion to produce and nurture great music, where integrity and creativity are valued at the highest level. Founded in 1997 and now celebrating its 20th anniversary, Signum boasts a catalogue of over 500 titles and continues to release 50+ new recordings each year by internationally acclaimed artists such as The King’s Singers, Alessio Bax, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Julian Bliss, Philharmonia Orchestra, James Rhodes, Gabrieli Consort & Players under Paul McCreesh and Tenebrae.

For more information about Signum Records, visit its website at www.signumrecords.com.

Members of Voce include: Mark Singleton, Artistic Director Stephen Scarlato, Accompanist

Soprano Jennifer Lamson* Liz Bologna Jennifer Ferrand-Kelly Jennifer McCann Megan Sherry Ali Singleton Alyssa Venora *Principal

Alto Pamela Frigo Johnson* Sarah Armstrong Sarah Chasse Gretchen Collins Jessica Gray Dana Kephart Anna Koogler Margaret Tyler

Tenor Jack Anthony Pott* Adam Atkins Andrew Brochu Ehren Brown Floyd Higgins Josh Hummel Alex O’Neil David Pettyjohn

Bass Tom Cooke* Dylan Armstrong Robert Borden Jonathan Clune Jared Graveley Brian Jones Herb Menzel Andrey Stolyarov

Voce would like to thank Minuteman Press for their sponsorship, Bob Bingham for his

promotion assistance and Steve Lurie for his photography and video production. Voce’s new album “Music of the Spheres” is available for purchase at the ticket table during Intermission. Also available are Voce’s album featuring the works of Morten Lauridsen, "Sure on This Shining Night" as well as copies of “Voce Live.”

Our primary method of keeping in touch with the greater Voce community is through email. We would love to include you on our email list. Please help us to stay in touch with you by sending an email to info@voceinc.org, asking that you be added to our email notification list. Please provide us with your name, as well. You can also sign up for notifications through a link in our website, www.voceinc.org. There you will also find a lot of other interesting information about Voce.

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Supporters of Voce’s 2017-2018 season and its

“Growing Audiences” Initiative

“Growing Audiences” Initiative Sustaining Sponsor - $5,000 and above Thomas F. Cooke and Rosalind U. van Stolk, MD David Pettyjohn Webster Bank (Season Sponsor) “Growing Audiences” Initiative Project Sponsor - $2,500 and above Jane Currie and Pam Perry Rachel and John Golder Goldman Sachs (matching contributions) Harvey & Lewis (Season Supporter) The Nicholas B. Mason Charitable Fund Simsbury Bank (Season Supporter) SKY Investment Group (Season Supporter) “Growing Audiences” Initiative Project Supporter - $1,000 and above Anonymous James Grigsby and Linda Fazio Jennifer Ferrand-Kelly Robert and Jill Lautensack Edward Manuel Janney Montgomery John and Alison Skar Hal Rives and Marki Ware “Growing Audiences” Initiative Donor - $500 and above Ann and Dan Conable Charitable Fund Helen and Don Hughlett Stephen and Cindy Lurie PASI, LLC Donna B. Stamm Travelers (matching contributions)

“Growing Audiences” Initiative Contributor - $250 and above Robert and Salli-Jo Borden Susan Bullock Matthew and Pamela Johnson Sara Martinelli SmartClicks, LLC Keith Powell David and Gail Ryan Sally and Allan Taylor UBS Voce Supporters David Beck Jonathan Clune Rebecca Coffman Alice and Peter Cruikshank Suzanne Gates Cecile Gilson Dana Kephart Gabriel Lofvall and Patrick Lao John Scully and David Osella Michael Selissen Edward Stringham Nelson C. Walker