Rutgers-Newark University Chorus To Give Holiday Concert in St. George’s Church, Maplewood, on Dec. 5
The 50-voice Rutgers University Chorus, Newark Campus, will ring in the holiday season with a holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 5, 4 p.m., in St. George’s Episcopal
Church, 550 Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood. The concert will be repeated on Sunday, Dec. 12, 3 p,m,. in St. Mary’s Abbey Church, 528 Dr. M. L. King Blvd., Newark, N.J., and again on Monday, Dec. 13, 11:30 a.m., in the Bradley Hall Lounge, Bradley Hall, corner of Warren Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, on the campus of Rutgers-Newark.
Under the direction of Prof. John E. Floreen, the Rutgers Chorus will present works of J. S. Bach, Andrew Carter, Herbert Howells, Francisco Guerrero, Paul Manz, Grayston Ives, and John Rutter, in addition to arrangements of Christmas and Hanukah selections, African-American spirituals and an American Shaker folksong. Susan McAdoo serves as the Chorus’s assistant conductor, and Kathy McNeil is the accompanist.
The Chorus has made seven international concert tours, having performed in Germany and the Czech Republic (1997), The Netherlands (1999), France (2001), England (2003), Scotland (2005), Wales (2007) and Italy (2009). Highlights among the tours have been performances given in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Rome; St. Paul’s Cathedral, London; and the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, Germany. During its Wales concert tour the Chorus performed live over BBC Wales Radio.
In anticipation of its eighth concert tour, scheduled for Spain, May 18-27, 2011, the December concerts will include two works by Spanish composers, “Pan Divino, gracioso” by Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599), and “Riu, riu chiu”, a Christmas carol by an anonymous 16th century composer.
Admission to the Dec. 5 and 12 concerts is $25 for preferred seating; $10, general admission; $5, students and senior citizens. The Dec. 13 campus concert is free.
Critical reviews that have appeared in the media include “The Rutgers Chorus has everything….huge musical talent, a strong sense of rhythm, the disciplined precision to deliver a clear, vigorous young sound, full of joy and enthusiasm” (Croeso, Cardiff, Wales, UK) and “Excellent intonation and flawless musical projection are distinguishing characteristics of the Rutgers Chorus….a group of exceptional singers” (Associazione Italiana Organisti de Chiesa (Cremona, Italy).
For more information please contact Prof. John E. Floreen, conductor, Rutgers University Chorus, jfloreen@earthlink.net, or 973 625 4651.
