Articles tagged with: Avanti Chamber Singers

  • Avanti Chamber Singers preparing to end Brock Music season on a high note

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will perform for the final time this season on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Thomas Anglican Church. (Photo courtesy of Julie Hoff)


    (From The Brock News, April 16, 2019 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will close an eclectic Brock Music season with their final performance, The Road Home.

    Led by Assistant Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Brock’s Ensemble-in-Residence will perform at St. Thomas Anglican Church on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Viva Voce! Choral Series.

    Rensink-Hoff explained this concert is quite different from Avanti’s first two performances this season.

    “We’ve had a very diverse year,” she said. “We did the big classical piece at the beginning of the year and have explored probably every style chorally that we could throughout the season.”

    The concert repertoire was inspired by This House of Peace, a choral number by contemporary composer Ralph Johnson, commissioned for the opening of the Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend in Springfield, Ore. The song reflects on conversations Johnson had with people staying in a medical centre guesthouse while their loved ones were in hospital.

    As well as Johnson’s number, the choir will also perform songs that reflect on the idea of “home” as a space where individuals feel at peace.

    The opening piece, titled Ambe by Indigenous composer Andrew Balfour, is rhythmic in style and based in an Ojibway dialect.

    The program also includes All of Us by Craig Hella Johnson, and Stephen Paulus’ The Road Home, for which the concert is named.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be joined by oboist Marta Agnieszka for a few pieces during the performance, including Gabriel’s Oboe arranged by Jon Washburn.

    This is the third and final performance of the season for the choir, who have spent the last eight months rehearsing and growing together as singers.

    “Concert themes can be quite personal and so, as I work with Avanti and get to know them more, it’s easier to create programs that I believe will resonate with the members of the choir,” said Rensink-Hoff.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will perform for the final time this season on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St. in St. Catharines.

    Tickets purchased in advance for the show are $20 for adults and seniors. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. There is also a discounted price of $5 for students and eyeGo program members. Tickets are available through theAvanti Chamber Singers website, at Thorold Music, Booksmart Books or from choir members.

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    Categories: Events, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Avanti Chamber Singers to give a cappella performance

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will perform an a cappella concert at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. (Photo: Julie Hoff)


    (From The Brock News, February 15, 2019 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    Guests at the upcoming concert performed by the Avanti Chamber Singers are in for a surprise.

    Voices Raised, led by Rachel Rensink-Hoff on Saturday, Feb. 23, is a chance for Brock University’s choir-in-residence to celebrate the raw power of the human voice.

    The group will be performing an a cappella concert, with pieces ranging from early classical works to contemporary repertoire. The show promises to be the most diverse concert to date, with everything from open-throated chant singing to spoken word poetry.

    Members of the Avanti Chamber Singers have been working hard since their performance last November to build confidence with pitches and tuning, since there are no accompanying instruments this time around.

    “I am proud of what Avanti has accomplished in the short period of time since our last concert,” said Rensink-Hoff. “We can’t wait to share this program with our audience next week.”

    The group will also be performing a bit of beat-boxing and a deeply moving text by Indigenous poet Rita Joe titled I Lost My Talk. The singers will also be premiering two new compositions — one by Niagara-based composer James Moffett and the other by Laura Hawley.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be inviting the audience to join in a singalong during the concert.

    Seating at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church is limited and guests are encouraged to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.

    Voices Raised takes place Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Advanced tickets are available through the Avanti Chamber Singers website, at Thorold Music and Booksmart, or from choir members for $20 for adults and seniors. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. A $5 ticket is available for students and eyeGo program members.

    Rensink-Hoff is also the conductor for the Brock University Choirs, which includes both the chamber choir and the new women’s choir. Their next performance is Saturday, March 30.

    For more information about upcoming choral performances, visit the Brock University Music website.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Avanti Chamber Singers to commemorate the Christmas Truce at first concert of the season

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are led by conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff during rehearsal for their upcoming performance Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines.


    (From The Brock News, Wednesday November 14, 2018 | By: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

    On Christmas Day, 1914, French, British and German soldiers along the Western Front laid down their weapons, emerged from the trenches and joined in song to celebrate the season. Now referred to as the Christmas Truce, the unofficial ceasefire was a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amid the violence of the First World War.

    To mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice, conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff will lead the Avanti Chamber Singers in a performance to remember the truce on Saturday, Nov. 24 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in St. Catharines. This marks the first performance of the season for Brock’s choir in residence.

    Titled And on Earth, Peace, the concert will include Remembrance Day tributes, popular songs from the time of the First World War and classic Christmas carols. Songs will be performed in English, German and French, and the audience will be invited to sing along to carols that soldiers would have sung.

    “The moving story of the Christmas Truce was fitting inspiration for our first performance of the season,” said Rensink-Hoff, Assistant Professor of Music in the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. “As we look back to Remembrance Day and forward to the holiday season, we will join together in song — just as those soldiers did more than 100 years ago.”

    Many differing stories about the Christmas Truce have been shared. Even today, it is still unclear exactly what happened on Christmas Day all those years ago.

    The most commonly shared account is that soldiers all sang carols together in celebration on Christmas Eve before emerging to wish their enemies a Merry Christmas the next day. After the soldiers ceased fire, they met to exchange small gifts and souvenirs.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers is comprised of 30 musicians from around the Niagara region.

    Rensink-Hoff said she works with different individuals every year, and hopes to showcase the hard work and talent of this year’s choir at the opening concert.

    “The challenge with a new choir is gelling together as a group — not just musically, but interpersonally,” she said. “This is now my second season with Avanti and it makes a big difference when you know people more closely because it helps all of us feel that we are in this together.”

    Accompanying the Avanti Chamber Singers will be pianist and organist Lesley Kingham and guest trumpeter Timothy White.

    And on Earth, Peace takes place Saturday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Advanced tickets are available through the Avanti Singers website, at Thorold Music and Booksmart, or from choir members for $20 for adults and seniors. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. A $5 ticket is available for students and eyeGo program members.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers will also be performing on Feb. 23 and April 27 at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church.

    Rensink-Hoff is also the conductor for the Brock University Choirs, which includes both the chamber choir and the new women’s choir. Their first performance will take place Dec. 1.

    For more information about upcoming choral performances, visit the Brock University Music website.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Choral season to wrap with final show

    The Avanti Chamber Singers, under the direction of Rachel Rensink-Hoff, will close out the 2017-18 Department of Music season on Saturday, April 28 at St. Thomas Anglican Church.

    The curtain will close on Brock’s 2017-18 Music season with a final performance by the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    Boundless, the last concert of the academic year, will be presented by the Department of Music and the Avanti Chamber Singers on Saturday, April 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St., St. Catharines.

    The show features celestial-inspired music, exploring the harmony and mystery of the universe with a range of primarily 21st-century works.

    The program includes pieces such as Gloria Patri by Urmas Sisask, And Einstein Said by Trent Worthington, Stars by Eriks Ešenvalds, and the centerpiece of the program, Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers is a mixed chamber choir comprised of experienced choral singers from across the Niagara region. The group performs under the direction of Artistic Director Rachel Rensink-Hoff, who is also conductor of the Brock University choirs, Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University.

    “It has been a wonderful year,” she said when describing the choral and concert season as a whole. “We are seeing more and more people from the local community coming to our concerts, which is so exciting and motivating for our performers.”

    Looking forward to the 2018-19 Music season, there will be new choral opportunities for students and the community. The Brock choirs are being restructured to feature two ensembles: a mixed chamber choir and a women’s choir. Both are open by audition to all Brock University students, staff and faculty. New for this year, the women’s choir will also be open to the wider Niagara community “in hopes that it will function as a bridge between Brock’s music program and the wider singing community here in St. Catharines,” Rensink-Hoff said.

    Women’s choir rehearsals will be on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8:45 p.m. in the Cairns Recital Hall of the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Interested singers from the community are encouraged to contact Rensink-Hoff by email at rrensinkhoff@brocku.ca for an audition.

    Advance tickets for the last choral concert of the season are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for students and under the eyeGo program. They can be purchased at Thorold Music, 289 Glendale Ave.; Booksmart, 350 Vine St.; online through Eventbrite; or through members of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    Tickets will also be sold at the door for an additional $5.

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    Categories: Announcements, Events, Special Events, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • The Viva Voce! Choral Series welcomes back the Avanti Chamber Singers

    The Avanti Chamber Singers performing under the conduction of Rachel Rensink-Hoff from a previous Viva Voce! Choral Series concert in 2017.

    Special guests, The Walker String Quartet, joins the Avanti Chamber Singers at the St. Thomas Anglican Church on Saturday Feb. 17. Pictured from left to right is Anna Hughes (2nd violin), Faith Lau (viola), Gordon Cleland (cello) and Vera Alexeeva (1st violin).

    The Avanti Chamber Singers come back “With Strings Attached” for another round with Brock’s Viva Voce! Choral Series. This time around they’re bringing special guests, The Walker String Quartet!

    This concert will feature Ola Gjeilo’s Dark Night of the Soul, Eric Whitacre’s Hebrew Love Songs and Telemann’s Laudate Jehovam, with other works of love and longing by Lassus, Pearsall, Hassler and contemporary composers Laura Hawley, John Butler, Jared Tomlinson and Jonathan Quick.

    The Chamber Singers will bring their signature sound to the St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario Street in St. Catharines, Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The group is conducted by their Artistic Director, Rachel Rensink-Hoff, who is also Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University.

    Advance tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students, and $5 under the eyeGo program. They can be purchased at Thorold Music, 289 Glendale Ave., and Booksmart, 350 Scott St., or online.

    Tickets at the door will be $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students, and $5 under the eyeGo program.

    Visit the Department of Music’s Concert Series page for more information.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Music presents the first Choral Concert for 2018!

    Avanti Chamber Singers

    Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Artistic Director
    Lesley Kingham, Pianist
    Guest Artists: Walker String Quartet

    With Strings Attached

    Featuring Ola Gjeilo’s Dark Night of the Soul & Eric Whitacre’s Hebrew Love Songs, with other works of love and longing by Lassus, Telemann, Pearsall, Dan Forrest, Laura Hawley and Jonathan Quick.

    Saturday, February 17 7:30 pm
    St. Thomas Anglican Church, 99 Ontario St., St. Catharines, ON

    Take advantage of a $5 ticket discount by purchasing tickets in advance from a choir member. avantichambersingers.com

    for more information about this concert on Saturday February 17, 2018

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • Viva Voce! First concert of the 2017-18 season

    Pictured above: Rachel Rensink-Hoff, newly appointed Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    On Saturday Nov. 18 at 7:30 pm at the St. Thomas Anglican Church (103 Ontario St, St. Catharines), the Avanti Chamber Singers present their first concert of the 2017-18 season as part of our Viva Voce! Choral Series: Semper Avanti | Ever Forward. This will be the first performance by the Avanti Chamber Singers with Rachel Rensink-Hoff as the Artistic Director.

    The Avanti Chambers Singers are a Niagara community-based mixed chamber choir.  They perform mainstream choral literature, both accompanied and a cappella. For the November 18th concert the repertoire includes Kyrie-Gloria pairings by Palestrina, Mozart & Corlis,  Selections from Dove’s Passing of the Year,  and works by Mendelssohn, Esenvalds & Dolly Parton!

    Rensink-Hoff is the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Brock University, and the newly appointed Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    Tickets may be purchased from Thorold Music (289 Glendale Ave.) and Booksmart (Scott/Vine Plaza, 350 Scott St.), or by members of the Avanti Chamber Singers. Additionally, tickets will be sold at the door the night of the concert.

    Visit our ExperienceBU page and avantichambersingers.com for further information.

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    Categories: Events, Viva Voce Choral Series

  • The Avanti Chamber Singers host “Light and Dark,” a cross-border choral exchange with the Harmonia Singers of Buffalo, N.Y.

    On Saturday, February 18, 2017, the Avanti Chamber Singers will host the Harmonia Singers of Buffalo, N.Y. in a first-time joint concert for these two respected chamber choirs. The evening program features a captivating variety of choral repertoire on the theme of “Light and Dark,” including classical works as well as popular songs.

    The concert concludes with a nod to Black History Month. Robert Pacillo, conductor of the Harmonia Singers, will lead the combined choirs in Moses Hogan’s arrangement of “Walk Together Children.” Avanti’s conductor, Harris Loewen, will lead the ensembles in a premiere performance of his own “On My Way to Canada,” a new setting of abolitionist Joshua McCarter Simpson’s 19th century poem.

    This program also includes 19th century works by Brahms and Dvořák, as well as 20th century pieces by Houston Bright (Stars are with the Voyager), Canadian composer Stephen Chatman (On the Beach at Night), Lloyd Pfautsch (Stars). Rounding out the performances are choral arrangements from the Great American Songbook, including Hoagy Carmichael’s “Star Dust.”

    Harmonia Singers, founded by conductor Pacillo in 2005, is a semi-professional ensemble based in Buffalo, N.Y. They are active in presenting concerts and educational workshops in New York state, but have also made several forays across the border, previously performing in Niagara-on-the-Lake as part of Music Niagara’s concert line-up.

    The Viva Voce Choral Series, presented by the Department of Music, is a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University.

    Join us for an evening of superb music on Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m., held at Covenant Christian Reformed Church, 278 Parnell, St. Catharines. Admission at the door is $25 for adults; $20 for seniors & students; $5 for the eyeGo program for high school students. A $5 discount is available for advance tickets (excluding eyeGO) and can be purchased at two St. Catharines locations: BookSmart (Scott & Vine Plaza) and Thorold Music (Glendale Avenue).

    For more information contact: Marie Balsom
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    T: 905-688-5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: www.brocku.ca/miwsfpa

     

     

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  • The Viva Voce! Choral Series presents Avanti Chamber Singers – Water Music: Of Rain, River and Sea

    The Avanti Chamber Singers celebrate spring and the conclusion of their 10th Anniversary Season with “Water Music: Songs of Rain, River and Sea”

    On Saturday, April 30, 2016, the Avanti Chamber Singers (ACS) present a beautiful and varied evening of original choral works and arrangements on the subject of water in all its forms. The audience will hear classical works, spirituals, folk songs and selections from the “Great American Songbook.”

    The program will feature, symbolically, ten different soloists from the choir. Several multi-talented choristers will also serve as flutists, and the ACS will be joined by guest pianist Karin Di Bella, Chair of the Department of Music at Brock University.

    The variety of composers and arrangers featured in this all-English program include international names (Barber, Copland, Elgar, Holst) as well as a range of Canadians, including those from Ontario (Daley, Telfer, Weaver) and, most importantly, Niagara (John Butler, Matthew Royal). The “Great American Songbook” is represented by well-known songwriters Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin and Henry Mancini.

    Conductor Harris Loewen states, “Water has been a favourite subject and symbol for poets and musicians over the centuries, and seems a fitting focus for a spring concert and a 10th anniversary conclusion. I think audiences will really love letting this beautiful program just flow over them!”

    ACS alumni are encouraged to come and celebrate with us. Please contact the choir through their website (avantichambersingers.com), to arrange for free admission to the concert and reception.

    The Viva Voce Choral Series, presented by the Department of Music is a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University.

    Join us for an evening of superb music on Saturday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m., held at Covenant Christian Reformed Church, 278 Parnell Rd., St. Catharines. Admission at the door is $25 adults; $20 seniors & students; $5 eyeGo high school program. A $5 discount is available for advance tickets (excluding eyeGo) and can be purchased in St. Catharines at BookSmart (Scott & Vine Plaza) and Thorold Music (Glendale Avenue).

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    For more information contact: Marie Balsom, Communications
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    T: 905.688.5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

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  • Avanti Chamber Singers launches 10th Anniversary Season with Nocturne: Songs of the Night

    Saturday, November 21, 2015 marks the first concert of the season, presenting a fascinating combination of classical compositions and jazz arrangements from the “Great American Songbook.” Held at Covenant Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines, the choir will be joined for the jazz segments of the evening by the Twilights Jazz Trio, featuring Lesley Kingham on piano, Rob McBride on bass and Devon Fornelli on drums.

    This 10th anniversary season celebrates the Avanti Chamber Singers’ accomplishments since they began their first rehearsals under the leadership of founding conductor Harris Loewen. Since then, the choir has presented concerts within the Niagara region and beyond. They also hold the distinction of being the Ensemble-in-Residence for the Department of Music, Brock University, where Loewen is an Associate Professor.

    Along the way, the Avanti Chamber Singers (ACS) have released three CDs of choral music by Niagara composers, continuing the Voices of Niagara CD series begun by the former Niagara Vocal Ensemble, also conducted by Loewen. All recordings in the series, including Avanti’s Glorious Light (Xmas), Gate of the Year (Sacred), and Beauty is Before Me are still available through the ACS or the Department of Music.

    This coming season will offer three regular concerts, all with a thematic orientation. Following Nocturne, on November 21, Avanti Chamber Singers will perform Animalia: The Lighter Side of the Animal Kingdom on February 20, and Water Music: Of Rain, River and Sea on April 30. The concerts present an engaging variety of musical styles, ranging from classical and jazz to folksongs and spirituals.

    The Avanti Chamber Singers are also active as a guest ensemble this season. In mid-November, the choir is on stage with Kenny Rogers for four shows at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. On December 5, ACS and other guest artists join the Brock University Choirs in the Cairns Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, for a concert that will feature premieres of three choral works by Brock University composers. The final guest performance will be with the Brock University Choirs on April 2, 2016, where the joint choral forces will partner with the Trillium Brass in a new version of Peter Landey’s thrilling Gloria.

    Conductor Harris Loewen states, “I’m so proud to celebrate a decade milestone with this wonderful group of singers, some of whom have been performing and recording with the choir since its inception. We are really looking forward to this busy but satisfying season, as we continue to have fun learning and making beautiful music together.”

    The Viva Voce Choral Series, presented by the Department of Music, is a key part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts’ mandate in building connections between the community and Brock University. (For more information about ACS, visit: avantichambersingers.com).

    Come and celebrate this 10th anniversary launch on Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m., held at Covenant Christian Reformed church, 278 Parnell Road, St. Catharines. Admission at the door is $25 adults; $20 seniors & students; $5 eyeGo program for high school students. A $5 discount is available for advance tickets (excluding eyeGo), and can be purchased at two St. Catharines locations: BookSmart (Scott & Vine Plaza) and Thorold Music (Glendale Avenue).

    For more information contact: Marie Balsom, Communications
    Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
    T: 905-688-5550, ext. 4765 | E: mbalsom@brocku.ca | W: brocku.ca/miwsfpa

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    Categories: Events, Media Releases, News, Viva Voce Choral Series