Passion. Excellence. Imagination. The New Jersey Choral Society

Sing with NJCS! For audition information, email Jill at Mezosop1@aol.com

The passion, excellence and imagination of the 2009-2010 concert season closed with...
Lux Aeterna
Requiem in d, Op. 48 - Gabriel Fauré
and the World Premiere of
Requiem, Op. 21 - Joakim Seidevall (read more about this below!)
Here are a few comments from our audience members:
"The choir's rendition had us sitting on the edge of our seats with tears in our eyes." Jenny Everidge
"The concert was beautiful. The new Requiem was very celestial and sensitive and melodic. The voices and harp and strings and organ were great accompaniments to so lovely a piece." Ellen Coonerty
"The concert last night was wonderful. It was food for my soul. The group is so professional...It was the first time, in many years, that I actually wanted to be up there singing. I was truly inspired... My thanks to you and all of the folks involved for giving the audience a memorable gift." Flo Lilley
"I was fortunate enough to attend last night's performance and all I can say is wow! That was my first exposure to NJCS and what an intro!!" William Weir, Jr.
"We loved the concert last Saturday night. It was wonderful on so many levels, not only in terms of the quality of the performance but the opportunity to hear the world premiere of Joakim Seidvall's Requiem was a real treat." Sue Staples

...and a few words from the composer:
"I enjoyed the concert even more than I ever could have imagined, the music sounded so good. Not only did you do my music so well but all of it was just sublime. Please let the choir know how much I loved the way you sang the Requiem." Joakim Seidevall

Alicia Luick, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Lynch, Jr., tenor
Keith Harris, bass
Linda Sweetman-Waters, organ
Eric Dale Knapp, conductor
with orchestra and our special guests...
The Houston Children's Chorus
Stephen Roddy, conductor

World Premiere - Joakim Seidevall's Requiem

Joakim Seidevall A chance encounter in a Sydney, Australia coffee shop has resulted in the premiere of a young Swedish composer's music by the New Jersey Choral Society on June 5, 2010. In July 2006 NJCS's artistic director and conductor, Eric Dale Knapp, was leading the Voices in the House Music Festival in Sydney, Australia. While Knapp was sipping coffee at a local café, reviewing his score of Duruflé's masterwork Requiem, the signature choral work for the festival, he was approached by a barista who had more than a casual interest in music. Joakim Seidevall, age 31 at the time and recently relocated to Sydney from his native Sweden, had been composing music since age 14. Intrigued by Seidevall's story, Knapp met with him later that week to review another Requiem - this one written by Seidevall between Septembers of 2001 and 2003. Seidevall began composing his Requiem in the wake of 9/11 as a musical comment on the grief caused by the tragic events in New York. Seidevall's desire was "to write something to turn to in times of grief." He finished the work on September 12, 2003, dating the piece on the final page and inscribing it with "in the shadows of all tragedies..." referring to both the memory of why he started the work but also as a comment on the murder of the Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh, who was killed the day before. The score has a dedication that reads, "To all of you who have loved and lost, let the beauty of the music fill your souls and take away your pain."

Support Notes

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Quote Notes

He who sings scares away his woes. - Cervantes

High Notes

Sing "Down Under" with Eric Knapp and NJCS in 2011!

The Symphony of a Thousand Festival, featuring Mahler's Symphony No. 8 conducted by Eric Dale Knapp, offers a distinctive opportunity for singers to join in the experience of creating astounding music at one of the world's iconic concert halls...The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. To learn more about this experience of a lifetime, click the "Tour" link under "Contact Us" on the menu bar above.

Grace Notes

PHOTO CREDITS
Dominique Perez
Lori Howard
Alex Howard

Funding for The New Jersey Choral Society is made possible in part by the New Jersey Council on the Arts through grant funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. We thank the DCHA for its longstanding support.

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