2005-2006

2005-2006 Concert Season

Concert #1: Norway and Sweden: An Independence Centennial

Saturday, October 29th, 2005 – 7:30 p.m. Mindekirken Church, Minneapolis, MN

The Singers’ second season opens with a concert celebrating the music of Norway and Sweden in this Centennial year of the peaceful dissolution of the union between the two countries. This concert is the closing event of the 2005 Leiv Eriksson International Festival, an annual festival that has celebrated Scandinavian culture, from music to visual art. Composers Edvard Grieg, Knut Nystedt, and Jan Sandstrom will be featured alongside folk songs of both countries.

Concert #2: What Sweeter Music: Christmas with The Singers

Sat., December 3, 2005 – 8:00 p.m. Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, St. Paul, MN

Sun., December 4, 2005 – 4:00 p.m. United Methodist Church, Albert Lea, MN

Sat., December 10, 2005 – 7:00 p.m. Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata, MN

Featuring Francis Poulenc’s evocative Four Motets for the Christmas Season, Philip Lawson’s Welcome All Wonders, and new carol arrangements by Joshua Shank, Jocelyn Hagen, Drew Collins, and Timothy Takach. Flutist Linda Chatterton joins The Singers on favorite carols and works by Dale Warland, Stephen Paulus, Kenneth Jennings, and the premiere of “To the Evening Star” by Abbie Betinis. Welcome in the holiday season with stellar choral music, old and new!

Concert #3: My Soul’s Repose: The Singers at the Basilica

Saturday, March 25, 2006 – 8:00 p.m., The Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis, MN

The Singers continue their second season by returning to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for a concert that will feature the stirring Agnus Dei of Samuel Barber, transcribed by the composer from his Adagio for Strings. Arvo Pärt’s striking setting of I Am The True Vine intimately captures the text from the Gospel of John while utilizing minimalist harmonic language and bell-like effects. Maurice Duruflé’s Quatre motets sur des thèmes Grégoriens includes his most cherished a cappella work, “Ubi caritas.” Music by Stephen Paulus, Wolfram Buchenberg, and Jan Sändstrom will round out this concert in one of Minneapolis’ most loved concert spaces.

ADDED PERFORMANCES: (not in subscription series)

The Saint Paul Summer Song Festival – Guest Performance

Sunday, June 11, 2006 – 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Raspberry Island Bandstand (under the Wabasha Bridge), Saint Paul, MN

Co-presented by The Schubert Club and Minnesota Public Radio, this outdoor song picnic on Raspberry Island will feature The Singers in collaboration with The Spaghetti Western String Company. The program will feature two new works written especially for this concert by composers-in-residence Abbie Betinis and Joshua Shank, and new arrangements by Nicholas Lemme and Matthew Culloton. Bring the kids, a picnic, and a blanket or lawnchair.

National Federation of Music Clubs Fall Convention

Friday, August 4, 2006 – Minneapolis, MN

Keynote speaker Stephen Paulus will talk to the convention delegates and introduce them to a concert presentation by The Singers—Minnesota Choral Artists led by Artistic Director Matthew Culloton. The concert presentation will include a number of works by Stephen Paulus as well as American folk music and compositions from around the world.