Chorus pro Musica Presents The Boston Premiere of Jonathan Dove's Kšthener Messe, with J.S. Bach's Cantata 161 and HŠndel's Dixit Dominus Saturday, March 14, 8 p.m. at Boston's Church of the Covenant
Chorus pro Musica Celebrates 60th Anniversary with Boston Concert

BOSTON, MA, February 27, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Chorus pro Musica, this year celebrating 60 years, has built a superb reputation as one of the great choruses of New England. Known for innovative programming and high quality performances, Chorus pro Musica has collaborated with such famed organizations as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic, the Boston Ballet, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Recently, the chorus has sung at Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

Chorus pro Musica, led by guest conductor Michael Driscoll, presents the Boston premiere of British composer Jonathan Dove's Kšthener Messe on Saturday, March 14 at 8 p.m., in the Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St, Boston. Also on the program are J.S. Bach's Cantata 161, ÒKomm, du sŸsse TodesstundeÓ and G.F. HŠndel's virtuoso work Dixit Dominus. Featured soloists are Frank Kelley, tenor, Susan Consoli, soprano, and Deborah Rentz-Moore, mezzo-soprano.

Concert tickets are $25, $35 and $45, with discounts available on selected seats for groups, students, seniors and WGBH members. A limited number of $15 student rush tickets will be available on the concert night; a valid student ID will be required. Reserved seats may be selected and tickets purchased at www.choruspromusica.org, or by phone (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) at 800-658-4CPM (800- 658-4276). For wheelchair-accessible seats, call 617-267-7442.

Dove, who turns 50 in 2009, won a British Composer Award for his Kšthener Messe, a short Mass inspired by BachÕs great secular compositions during his stay at the court in KšthenÑamong them the Brandenburg Concertos and the Well-Tempered Klavier. Full of allusions to and quotations from Bach and performed with a chamber orchestra of strings, harpsichord and recorders, the work is nevertheless thoroughly modern. Critics have noted similarities to Arvo PŠrt, Gabriel FaurŽ and John Adams, calling the work "a tapestry that makes perfect musical sense." Bach's own Cantata 161 is a gem from Weimar, a calm and assured meditation on death and salvation marked by exceptional sound painting that concludes with a lushly harmonized chorale. Handel's Dixit Dominus, written when he was just 22, is a thrilling tour de force that marked a breakthrough for the young composer, his Òexplosion into genius.Ó

Michael Driscoll, making his debut concert appearance with Chorus pro Musica, prepared the chorus for their November 2007 performance of Roger AmesÕs Requiem for Our Time. He is Director of Choirs at Brookline High School and is Music Director of Saengerfest MenÕs Chorus, a Boston-based community chorus of 65 singers. He has been Associate Conductor of The Masterworks Chorale under Steven Karidoyanes and was Assistant Conductor for four years under Allen Lannom. He has also directed the choirs at Emerson College and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Michael received his Masters degree in Choral Conducting at the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Simon Carrington, a founding member and former co-director of the KingÕs Singers. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and worked as a software development engineer prior to beginning graduate studies at New England Conservatory in 2001.

Chorus pro Musica is a distinguished, independent Boston-based chorus recognized for versatility and excellence in performing traditional, adventurous and seldom-heard works. The chorus was founded in 1949 by the late Alfred Nash Patterson and quickly built a superb reputation for its professional-level musical standards and innovative programming. These strengths have led to collaborations with such organizations as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra as well as with opera companies including the Opera Company of Boston and Commonwealth Opera.

The 2008Ð2009 season concludes on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at NECÕs Jordan Hall, when the chorus celebrates Giacomo PucciniÕs 150th anniversary with a concert performance of his grand opera Turandot conducted by Jeffrey Rink, with soprano Othalie Graham as Turandot, tenor Kip Wilborn as Calaf, and soprano Eleni Calenos as Liu.

See the Chorus pro Musica online press kit at: http://www.choruspromusica.org/press.shtml

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