Classical Notes

The Westminster Choir, will present a concert entitled “Across the Alps: To Pray – To Dance” on Saturday, April 4 at 8 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton.

The program will feature two major choral works: Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir and Johannes Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder Waltzer, Op. 65.  Joe Miller will conduct the Martin Mass and guest conductor Elmer Thomas will lead the ensemble’s performance of the Brahms.

One of the monuments of 20th-century choral composition, Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir is noted for its tribute to the music of the Renaissance, while breaking the barriers of 19th-century choral writing.  Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder Waltzer are some of the most beautiful dance music written for choir, and they offer a striking contrast to the Martin Mass

Setting the standard for choral excellence for 88 years, the Westminster Choir is composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.  It has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus.  The Choir was also the chorus-in-residence for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, for 23 years. 

            Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time. 

Joe Miller is in his third season as director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College, where he oversees an extensive choral program that includes eight ensembles.  The 2008-2009 season for Maestro Miller and the Westminster Symphonic Choir has included a series of collaborations with the New York Philharmonic and conductors Gilbert Kaplan, Ton Koopman, Lorin Maazel and Kurt Masur.  They joined Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in at Carnegie Hall in March.  In May 2009 they will return to Carnegie Hall to join Pierre Boulez and the Staatskapelle Berlin in performances of Mahler’s three choral symphonies.

            Guest conductor for numerous all-state and honors choirs, this season Joe Miller conducted the Illinois All-State Choir in January and the California All-State Choir in March.  He was also be a presenter with Chorus America at the National Collegiate Choral Conductors (NCCO) Conference in Cincinnati and  will be the headliner at the American Choral Directors Association’s Virginia Summer Conference. 

Dr. Miller recently led the Westminster Choir on a concert tour of the Midwest in January, and they will travel to the Spoleto Festival USA in the summer for their annual residency.  He will return to Princeton to conduct the two-week Westminster Chamber Choir program and the Westminster Choral Festival in July.

For nearly 30 years Elmer Thomas conducted and taught at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati where he built one of the leading choral programs in the United States and an extensive graduate program for conductors. He is recognized internationally for his conducting of major works for orchestra and chorus and for teaching aspiring young conductors the aesthetics of interpretation and analytical skills for conductors. He frequently presents guest lectures on the music and theology in Bach’s passion settings. As Conductor of Choruses for the Cincinnati May Festival, Dr. Thomas worked with many of the world’s leading conductors, including Bernstein, Shaw, Levine, Conlon, Rudolf, Gielen, Rudel, Schippers and Nelson.

A frequent guest conductor in the United States, Europe, England, Hong Kong, Korea, Central America, he has conducted concerts at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, N.Y. and has guest conducted the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Civic Symphony and the Szczecin Philharmonic in Poland. 

Westminster Choir College of Rider University is located at 101 Walnut Lane in Princeton.  Admission to the concert is $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.  For tickets or information call the box office at 609-921-2663. 

Westminster Conservatory of Music will present area musicians in its annual showcase on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall on the campus of Princeton University.

Performers will be the Westminster Conservatory Community Orchestra, Ruth Ochs, conductor; the Westminster Conservatory Community Chorus, Devin Mariman, conductor and the Westminster Conservatory Children’s Choirs, Yvonne Macdonald and Patricia Thel, conductors. They will be joined by the Princeton High School Freshman Women’s Choir, Vincent Metallo, conductor; and the winners of the Westminster Conservatory Concerto Competition: pianists Albert Lee, Aditya Raguram and Farshad Tahvildar-Zadeh.

The program will feature Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes and “Laudamus te” and “Esurientes” from Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat. A highlight will be the world premiere of Sunset by Westminster Choir College student Karol Nowicki. Each Concerto Competition winner will perform a movement from a piano concerto. Albert Lee will perform the third movement from Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Aditya Raguram will perform the first movement from Haydn’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Major, and Farshad Tahvildar-Zadeh will perform the first movement from Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor.

Founded in 1985, the Westminster Community Orchestra is composed of professional and gifted amateur musicians from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Founded in 1996, the Westminster Conservatory Community Chorus is composed of singers from all walks of life who share a love of choral music. The Westminster Conservatory Concino Choir, conducted by Yvonne Macdonald, is composed of fourth and fifth-grade students. The Westminster Conservatory Cantus Choir, conducted by Patricia Thel, is an honors choir composed of students in grades six through eight.

Albert Lee is a freshman at West Windsor’s High School South. After studying piano for seven years, he has earned merit and distinction ratings from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. He has also won a five year award in the New Jersey Music Teachers Association (NJMTA) Piano Festival and received high honors in the NJMTA Recital Auditions. He is also a member of the school track team and plays the violin in the High School South Orchestra.

 Aditya Raguram is a seventh-grade student at Hillsborough Middle School. For the past three years he has participated in the Young Artist Program, an honors music program at the Conservatory. In addition to being a Concerto Competition winner, he has received an honorable mention on the Conservatory’s scholarship competition and high honors at the NJMTA competition. He was also winner of the Hillsborough Star Search. He plays the alto saxophone in his school’s honors band and the jazz band. Since fifth grade he has played the lead keyboard for all of his school’s musicals.

 Farshad Tahvildar-Zadeh is a sophomore at Princeton High School. Playing the piano since he was five, he has won a number of competitions including the 2004 Westminster Conservatory Concerto Competition, the best duet performance award at the 2004 American Fine Arts Festival competition, the 2004 Steinway Society scholarship award, the 2004 Golden Key Music and Art Festival, the 2003 and 2005 Cecilian Music Club’s Annual Young Artist Competition. He also earned high honors for seven years at the New Jersey Music Teachers Association’s Piano Competition and won the Westminster Conservatory Piano Scholarship Competition in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. He also has played the violin since he was four.

 Richard Auditorium in Alexander Hall is located on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J. Admission to the concert is $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. For tickets call 609-258-9220 or order online at www.princeton.edu/utickets.

 For updates go to www.rider.edu/arts.Westminster Conservatory is the community music school of Rider University’s Westminster College of the Arts.