Honoring the Creative Craft of Composition – Contemporary Voices Weekend
As we closed our 20th season, Vocális looked to the future, and honored the creative craft of composition. The choral landscape is rich with exciting new composers, and we were pleased to share some of those voices with our audience the weekend of June 3-5, 2022.
It was truly an honor to present and celebrate the works of current choral composers who are adding so greatly to the repertoire. It was especially gratifying to be able to welcome our guest composers with ties to Western New York. Carrie Magin and Cary Ratcliff from the Rochester area, and Roland E. Martin, Caroline Mallonee, and Michael Slon from Buffalo. We were also excited to share the work of other exciting voices in choral music, including Thomas LaVoy, Peter Relph, Joanne Metcalf, Sarah Quartel, Don Macdonald, and Bob Chilcott.
Composer Reading Session and Forum
On Friday, June 3rd, Vocális invited the choral community of Western New York to join us in a reading session of new choral works. Each attendee was giving a music reading packet and joined Vocalis in song, as we sight-read pieces by our guest composers. It was a real joy to introduce these works to a wider audience.
At the end of the session, Peter Hall from WNED Classical, 94.5 – Buffalo, moderated a panel discussion with the composers. A great discussion was had about the art of composition and the creative process of bringing music to life! It was a wonderful evening. We are pleased to share this brief video summary of the evening.
20th Anniversary Finale Concert – Contemporary Voices
From the current generation of choral greats, to the newest composers breaking through, Vocális closed out the weekend with a celebratory concert on Sunday, June 5th at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Buffalo.
We presented beautiful and intriguing works by our guest composers, and also presented the world-premiere of our newly commissioned work, Welcome! by Canadian composer Don Macdonald.
It was a fitting end to our 20th Anniversary Season!