Kantorei & Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra February 26, 2011

Augustana Arts presents
Kantorei & Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra
"A Serenade to Music"
Augustana Arts presents Kantorei & Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra (MSCO)in "A Serenade to Music" at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 26 at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 East Alameda Ave., Denver. Tickets are $20 Adult, $15 Senior and student and are available by calling 303-388-4962 or online atwww.augustanaarts.org
It's the nexus of two worlds: an a cappella choir, a chamber orchestra and beautiful music created together! Kantorei, one of the most recognized semi-professional choirs in the U.S., will be performing with the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra, culminating in a beautiful collaboration with R. Vaughan Williams'Serenade to Music, Sir Edward Elgar’s Spanish Serenade, text from The Spanish Student by H. W. Longfellow and John Rutter's The Lord is My Light and My Salvation.
On this special evening, Kantorei will also be performing selections from the Strathclyde Motets by James MacMillan, Swider’s Cantus Gloriosus, Dugan’s Futility and much more. Additionally, MSCO will be performing Eric Ewazen's Ballade for Clarinet, Harp, and String Orchestra. The work will feature MSCO's principal clarinetist, Ted Homan, and Harpist Barbara Lepke-Sims. Eric Ewazen is a highly sought-after American composer who also teaches composition at The Juilliard School in New York.
Kantorei (CAN-toh-rye), or singers, was founded in 1997 as a choir capable of singing a broad range of a cappella choral music. With the addition of Richard Larson as artistic director, the group quickly found a footing in Denver’s cultural fabric. Kantorei expanded to 52 singers and established itself as one of the nation’s premier choral ensembles. In June 2007, Richard Larson and Kantorei embarked on their first international tour to France and Italy, which culminated with the honor of singing for Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on invitation from the Vatican.
Richard Larson, Artistic Director of Kantorei, began his choral career in Austin, Minnesota, where he also served as music director of the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Larson studied conducting with Otto Werner Mueller, Elizabeth Green, John Nelson, Julius Herford, Richard Westenberg and Margaret Hillis, among others. He was named "Choral Conductor of the Year," in 1989 by the Colorado ACDA, and, in 2006, was honored by Luther College as the first recipient of the Weston H. Noble award recognizing excellence in the field of choral music.
The Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra is well known for its performances of baroque and classical masterworks and for its exploration of lesser-known historic and contemporary repertoire. The musicians of the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra bring a variety of training and experience to the ensemble and a wide array of performing experience.
David Rutherford is Music Director for Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra and the Pikes Peak Philharmonic in Colorado Springs. He founded the Snake River Chamber Orchestra in Idaho as well as an experimental orchestra in Denver called UnStaged. David is also an award winning broadcaster, heard weekday mornings (and also on Sunday morning for Sacred Classics) on KVOD, Colorado Public Radio's Classical Music Service at 88.1FM in the Denver Metro area.
PSA/Listing Information
Augustana Arts presents
Kantorei & Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra
"A Serenade to Music”
A beautiful collaboration between a cappella choir and chamber orchestra.
Sat., Feb. 26 at 7:30 pm
Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 East Alameda Avenue, Denver
$20 Adult / $15 Senior and Student
303-388-4962 or online at www.augustanaarts.org