Monday, Mar 28, 2011
Presenting Carl Orff's powerful masterwork on April 9.
by Anne Sears
APRIL 6 -- THIS PERFORMANCE IS SOLD OUT
The Westminster Symphonic Choir and the Westminster Festival Orchestra will present Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana on Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. in the new Princeton Meadow Event Center at the Princeton Presbyterian Church. They will be joined by the Princeton Girlchoir and Westminster student soloists.
Considered to be one of the most popular pieces of the classical music repertoire, Carmina Burana has been widely used in movie trailers and television commercials throughout the world. Portions are heard in films ranging from Excalibur to Natural Born Killers to Jackass.
Composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, the 185-voice Westminster Symphonic Choir has recorded and performed with major orchestras under virtually every internationally known conductor of the last 75 years. Recognized as one of the world’s leading choral ensembles, the choir has sung more than 350 performances with the New York Philharmonic alone. In addition to this concert, the ensemble’s 2010-2011 season includes performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New Jersey Symphony conducted by Jacques Lacombe and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Daniel Harding.
Founded in 1989 by Artistic Director Emerita Jan Westrick, Princeton Girlchoir has grown to embrace six choirs, drawing 200 third- through twelfth-grade girls from Central New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. Princeton Girlchoir presents 20 concerts throughout the year, and members of the Concert Choir complete the season with a summer tour. The current year marks the second season for Artistic Director Lynnel Joy Jenkins, who is an alumna of Westminster Choir College. The ensemble’s 2010-11 highlights include the 100th Birthday celebration of the Princeton Public Library, the Governor’s Holiday Open House at Drumthwacket, the swearing-in ceremony of Representative Rush Holt and performances in a broad range of community venues. The summer will bring appearances as featured artists in the Princeton Festival and in the Rhapsody! Children’s Music
Joe Miller is conductor of two of America’s most renowned choral ensembles – the Westminster Choir and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. As director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University he oversees an extensive choral program that includes eight ensembles. Dr. Miller is also founder and conductor of the Westminster Chamber Choir, a program that offers professional-level choral and vocal artists the opportunity to explore challenging works for two weeks each summer on the Westminster campus in Princeton. In demand as a clinician and guest conductor, his 2010-2011 season includes a conducting residency with the Berlin Radio Symphony Chorus and conducting the Virginia and Kentucky All-State Choruses. Recent seasons have included a conducting residency at the University of Arizona, a master class for undergraduate conducting students at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Division conference and serving as headliner for the New Jersey and Kansas ACDA conferences.
Admission to the performance is $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 609-921-2663 or online.
The Princeton Meadow Event Center at Princeton Presbyterian Church is located at 545 Meadow Road in Princeton.