Monday, May 14, 2012
Westminster Conservatory Community Chorus and Chamber Choir Present A rich and varied look at romance and matrimony.
by Anne Sears
The Westminster Conservatory Community Chorus and Chamber Choir, conducted by Devin Mariman, will present a concert entitled “Love and Marriage” on Saturday, May 19 at 8 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. They may be ordered by calling 609-921-2663 or online at www.rider.edu/arts.
The program will be a rich and varied look at romance and matrimony – the joyful, solemn, painful and humorous. It will feature setting of texts from the Song of Solomn by Scott Wilkinson, Pablo Casals, Daniel Pinkham and Rene Clausen. The choirs will also perform selections from Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer, as well as English madrigals and French chansons. The concert will also include solos from Broadway and popular music, such as Stars and the Moon and Send in the Clowns.
Devin Mariman has been conductor of the Westminster Conservatory Community Chorus since 1998 and conductor of the Westminster Community Chamber Choir since its inception in 2001. He has conducted major works such as Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass, Handel’s Messiah, the Duruflé Requiem, Honegger’s King David, Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil and a critically acclaimed performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
In addition to his work with the Community Chorus, Mr. Mariman is conductor of the Philadelphia Biblical University Community Chorus and adjunct assistant professor of voice at Westminster Choir College. Previously, he served as adjunct professor of conducting at Westminster Choir College and The College of New Jersey, and as conductor of the Garden State Philharmonic Chorus. He has taught middle school and high school students as director of the vocal division of the New Jersey Governor’s School of the Arts, chorus master for the Westminster Conservatory’s Children’s Opera and as an instructor in the Westminster Conservatory Young Artist program. Mr. Mariman received a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Bradley University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and Voice and Vocal Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College.
The Westminster Community Chorus is composed of singers from all walks of life who share a love of choral music. Since its inception in 1996 as part of Westminster Conservatory’s choral program, the ensemble has developed a reputation for excellence in the Westminster tradition. The chorus performs a wide variety of accompanied and unaccompanied choral music as well as frequent collaborations with the Westminster Community Orchestra. Works performed by the choir include the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610, the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, K. 427, Honegger’s King David, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, Duruflé’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Gloria.
The Chamber Choir complements the Westminster Community Chorus as a select ensemble that performs music especially suited to a smaller choir – motets, madrigals and other works – and frequently features members of the group as soloists. The ensemble has performed a wide variety of music ranging from the Renaissance and Baroque, often with period instruments, to modern.