Vassar Choir and Madrigal Singers to perform, February 24

Vassar Choir and Madrigal Singers to perform, February 24

The Vassar College Choir and Madrigal Singers will give a concert previewing their upcoming concert tour of England at 8 p.m. Saturday, February 24, at the Vassar College Chapel. The concert is free of charge and open to the public.

The concert will include movements from the "Mass for Four Voices" by William Byrd, the "Magnificat" by Herbert Howells, motets by Mendelssohn and Pablo Casals, "Some Thoughts on Keats and Coleridge' by the late Earl Kim, as well as arrangements of folksongs and spirituals.

The ensembles are conducted by Charles Kamm, director of choral activities and visiting assistant professor of music at Vassar College. College organist Merellyn Gallagher will accompany the choir.

The College Choir and Madrigal Singers will tour to England in March, performing at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, Canterbury Cathedral, and St. Paul's Cathedral and St. Bartholomew-the-Great in London. The ensembles toured the East Coast in March 1998, and have just produced a compact disc, a compilation of live concert recordings from 1997-2000.

The Vassar College Choir is an auditioned, mixed, large choral ensemble. The choir's present incarnation as an ensemble of women and men dates to the fall of 1972, three years after Vassar became a coeducational institution. Currently the choir numbers 52 singers representing all four classes, 27 majors, 22 states and two foreign countries. The choir prepares three programs of a cappella and accompanied music each year.

The Vassar Madrigal Singers is a smaller select ensemble comprised of members of the choir. The group specializes in music of the Renaissance and more difficult chamber repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In addition to his work at Vassar, Kamm is the founder and director of Boston-based Reredos Male Vocal Ensemble, an octet of professional singers exploring the wealth of repertoire from the middle ages to the present for men's voices. A tenor and countertenor, he remains active as a soloist and choral singer, recently recording for the Choir of the Church of the Advent in Boston.

For additional information, call the Vassar College Department of Music at (845) 437-7319. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Cathy Jennings at (845) 437-5370, as far in advance as possible to request appropriate and reasonable accommodations.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Saturday, February 24th, 2001.