FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GMChorale Media Contact: Sarah Hager Johnston
Media Inquiries: gmcmedia@gmchorale.org
General Inquiries: info@gmchorale.org
Media Phone: 860-676-2228
Website: www.gmchorale.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gmchorale @gmchorale
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmchorale/
Mailing Address: GMChorale, P.O. Box 527, Middletown, CT 06457
GMChorale Thrills Audience with Rarely-Heard Early Baroque Oratorio “Jephte”
More than a third of those in the audience were first-time attendees who had come to hear what a choral concert is like. The pre-concert talk by Dr. Neely Bruce was attended by more than 200 people.
MIDDLETOWN, CONN. (May 8, 2018) — The GMChorale knows its audience. This ensemble, now in its fifth decade, and with more than 80 dedicated singers from 34 Connecticut communities, is known for taking a chance on lesser-known music and presenting it with such commitment and verve that the audience asks for more.
On April 29, the singers of the Chorale, under the direction of Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, performed Jephte, the exquisite but rarely-heard oratorio by early Baroque composer Giacomo Carissimi. After the performance, members of the audience who gathered in the lobby of the MHS Performing Arts Center in Middletown asked why this moving music is not performed more often. About a third of the audience were first-time attendees, some of whom had never before heard a concert of choral music.
The GMChorale has a long history of presenting “classic” choral masterworks, but also embraces new music, especially in the form of commissions and special collaborations. In 2013, the GMChorale premiered a new oratorio, Letter from Italy, 1944, that had been commissioned by the Chorale of Connecticut Grammy nominee and composer Sarah Meneely-Kyder. Music has also been commissioned from well-known choral composers such as Gwyneth Walker, Eugenie Rocherolle, Peter Niedmann, Colin Britt, Ellen Gilson Voth, Lee McQuillan, and Henry Mollicone.
“It’s easy to program familiar music,” said D’Eugenio, who has led the ensemble for twenty seasons. “It’s easy for the singers to prepare familiar music, and it’s easy for an audience to come to listen to an old favorite like Handel’s Messiah. And we love Messiah, too, and plan to perform it again soon. But at the GMChorale, we are also looking for every opportunity to broaden our experience as musicians, and to offer a wide variety of great choral music to the community, including music that other ensembles do not perform. Presenting Jephte was a great opportunity to make this happen.”
“In choosing to present Jephte, we knew we were taking a bit of a risk,” he added. “Who has even heard of this music, except for music scholars? Many of our singers were unfamiliar with the vocal techniques required to perform music from this period. And we knew that our audience might not know what to expect. So we took time to learn — and to share what we had learned.”
In a series of informative newsletters, easy-to-understand printed program notes, and a pre-concert talk by Dr. Neely Bruce, Professor of Music at Wesleyan University, the GMChorale shared information about Carissimi’s life, the stories behind his composition of Jephte, and how this music has had a profound influence on other composers, including Bach and Handel. Behind the scenes during the Chorale’s weekly rehearsals, D’Eugenio worked with the singers, providing guidance on how to understand and perform this old, rather obscure music.
“When our singers performed this music with joy and passion, and when our audience responded so warmly and with genuine curiosity, we knew that the risk had been worth it,” said Nancy Schultz, a member of the ensemble and president of the GMChorale’s Board of Directors. “We were at first shocked, then thrilled, to see 200 people arrive early for Dr. Bruce’s pre-concert talk; clearly, our listeners were as eager as we were to learn more about this interesting, very beautiful music.”
Following the concert, members of the audience were invited on stage to get a closer look at the Baroque-period instruments. Dozens took advantage of the opportunity, lingering long after the final notes had died away to talk with the singers and with Baroque keyboard specialist Edward Clark, who encouraged everyone to peer inside the portative pipe organ and learn a little about how a harpsichord works.
In addition to Jephte, the program included a selection of springtime madrigals and the effervescent Te Deum of Franz Joseph Haydn. The singers of the Middletown High School Concert Choir joined the GMChorale to perform the madrigals and the Te Deum. The younger singers also took center stage with a lively madrigal sung on their own under the direction of MHS Choral Director Stephanie Zak, who also sings in the GMChorale.
“Rehearsing and performing alongside these young singers is a wonderful experience,” said Joyce Kirkpatrick, a charter member of the GMChorale and head of its development and fundraising programs. “They are the future of choral music, not only as singers, but as teachers and supporters and members of the future audience. We are grateful to make music with them, to share our love for the choral art, and to be inspired by their young voices.”
The concert was the final program in the GMChorale’s “Resounding Voices” 2017-2018 season, a series of concerts that highlighted some of the most strikingly beautiful music in the choral repertoire.
The concert was the final appearance by the GMChorale in the “Resounding Voices” 2017-2018 season, a series of concerts highlighting some of the most strikingly beautiful music in the choral repertoire. The final concert of GMChorale's season takes place on June 3, at 4:00PM, when Alchemy, the 24-voice vocal chamber of the GMChorale, performs at United Congregational Church of Tolland. The church’s chancel choir will join Alchemy for several selections on the program. Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio conducts.
Members and friends of the GMChorale will gather on Sunday, June 10, at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown for a festive gala to celebrate the successful concert season, to mark Maestro D’Eugenio’s 20th season as Artistic Director, and to share news about the upcoming season. The public is invited to attend this special event; tickets are just $75. Reservations are required by May 26, 2018. Information is at www.gmchorale.org.
The GMChorale’s 2018-2019 season will be announced soon. Music lovers are encouraged to join the GMC’s mailing list for earliest notice of next season’s programs.
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Interviews: For more information, or to schedule an interview with Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, please contact Sarah Hager Johnston, GMChorale Marketing Coordinator, at gmcmedia@gmchorale.org or 860-676-2228.
About the GMChorale – Established as the Greater Middletown Chorale, the GMChorale has become one of New England’s finest and most engaging choruses since its founding in 1977. As it completes its 41st season, the GMChorale is celebrated for its innovative symphonic choral presentations, and often performs with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and other professional ensembles. Under the inspired leadership of Joseph D’Eugenio, now in his twentieth season as the ensemble’s Artistic Director, the 80-voice Chorale performs a wide range of choral repertoire, from beloved masterworks to newly commissioned pieces. GMChorale crowned its two European concert tours as the only choir providing music for the Sunday noon mass at Venice’s extraordinary Basilica San Marco. Alchemy, the GMChorale’s new semi-professional vocal chamber ensemble, established and directed by Joseph D’Eugenio, has already seen great success with concerts of early to contemporary music, both a cappella and accompanied, in a variety of settings. Under Maestro D’Eugenio’s leadership, the GMChorale has commissioned and premiered new choral works by leading composers including Gwyneth Walker, Eugenie Rocherolle, Peter Niedmann, Colin Britt, Ellen Gilson Voth, Lee McQuillan, and Henry Mollicone. In 2011, the GMChorale commissioned Connecticut Grammy nominee and composer, Sarah Meneely-Kyder, to create Letter from Italy, 1944 with the libretto by her sister, poet Nancy Meneely. In 2013, the GMChorale premiered the new oratorio in Middletown, Connecticut. The Chorale commissioned Karyl Evans to create a documentary of the oratorio’s historic background and creative process that was narrated by Meryl Streep. The stunning result, Letter from Italy, 1944: a New American Oratorio, earned an Emmy for its director in 2016. In May 2017, the GMChorale collaborated with The Hartford Chorale to perform Letter from Italy, 1944 with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford. Joseph D’Eugenio directed the semi-staged production, its professional soloists, the 200 singers of the combined Chorales, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra in a memorable performance.
About the GMChorale’s Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio – Joseph D’Eugenio is currently in his 20th year as GMChorale’s Artistic Director. Under his baton, the GMChorale celebrated its 40th anniversary season in 2016-2017 with concerts featuring Duruflé’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford premiere of Sarah Meneely-Kyder’s oratorio Letter from Italy, 1944 with the Hartford Chorale and Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and the premiere season of Alchemy, the new semi-professional vocal chamber ensemble of the GMChorale. For more than two decades as conductor and clinician, D’Eugenio has led choruses and orchestras in preparation and performances of the great choral masterworks with orchestra. In 2009, D’Eugenio was named Conductor of the Year by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. As guest conductor, D’Eugenio has led many workshops and festivals, including the CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) Summer Festival in 2015. D’Eugenio has instructed choral groups at various schools, colleges, and universities, including Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. An accomplished pianist and organist, he has been Director of Music at First Congregational Church, Cheshire, Connecticut since 2003, where he oversees the church’s music program. An accompanist of the first rank and in demand by concert artists, D’Eugenio frequently accompanies song recitals and professional choral organizations, including CONCORA and VOCE. With undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from The Hartt School and the Universities of Hartford and Connecticut, he maintains a busy private piano studio.
The GMChorale’s 2017-2018 season is partially funded by generous grants from the following: the Community Foundation of Middlesex County; the Middletown Commission On The Arts; The Marjorie Jolidon Fund of the Greater Hartford Chapter, American Guild of Organists; and Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
GMCHORALE CONTACTS
GMChorale Media Contact: Sarah Hager Johnston
Media Inquiries: gmcmedia@gmchorale.org
General Inquiries: info@gmchorale.org
Media Phone: 860-676-2228
Website: www.gmchorale.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gmchorale @gmchorale
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmchorale/
Mailing Address: GMChorale, P.O. Box 527, Middletown, CT 06457
PHOTOS FROM THE GMCHORALE’S APRIL 29 CONCERT
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The Greater Middletown Chorale in concert on April 29, 2018
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The GMChorale's Artistic Director Joseph D'Eugenio, celebrating his twentieth season with the GMChorale
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Neely Bruce, professor of music at Wesleyan University, gave a well-attended pre-concert talk
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More than 200 curious music lovers attended the pre-concert talk by Dr. Neely Bruce
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Dozens of listeners, including music-loving children, ventured on stage to after the concert to hear Baroque keyboard specialist Edward Clark (center, black shirt) explain the intricacies of the harpsichord and portative organ.
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The GMChorale is partially funded by generous grants from the following: the Community Foundation of Middlesex County; the Middletown Commission On The Arts; The Marjorie Jolidon Fund of the Greater Hartford Chapter, American Guild of Organists; and Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
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