Welcome to Kalamazoo Choral Arts. Previously The Kalamazoo Bach Festival, this new title reflects our new mission statement for the organization, defined by our board of directors: “to create, enrich, and transform community through singing.”
This mission embodies three important values that drive our work:
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a clear identity,
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openness to an expanded repertoire and diverse audiences, and
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a core belief in the power of singing to bring people together.
CONCERTS & EVENTS
45th Annual BachFest Christmas!
Sunday, December 7, 2014, 4:00 p.m.
Stetson Chapel, Kalamazoo College
Bach Festival Chorus & Orchestra, James Turner, conductor
with Eric Strand, organ and Carl Witt, piano
CONCERT SPONSOR: Clifford Mulder, Raymond James & Associates
CHORUS SPONSOR: Steven Woloszyk, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
A joyous celebration of the Christmas season, this concert will feature work by composers Gustav Holst, Joseph Martin, Leo Nestor, Philip Stopford, Malcolm Archer, and Bob Chilcott. Familar carols and an audience sing-along complete this much beloved Kalamazoo holiday tradition.
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Sponsor a Poinsettia: Lovely poinsettias decorate Stetson Chapel for this performance. Help make the chapel even more festive by sponsoring a poinsettia this season. A portion of your sponsorship will be tax-deductible. Contact the the Bach Festival Office for more information (269) 337-7407.
St. Olaf Choir, Anton Armstrong, conductor
Sunday, February 1, 2015, 4:00 p.m.
Chenery Auditorium, Kalamazoo College
Rhea Olivaccé, soprano / Gunta Laukmane, piano
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A concert featuring the romantic music of Strauss, the alluring charm of French opera, and the musings of new American composers.
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Presented in collaboration with the Kalamazoo College Department of Music.
2013 Kalamazoo College Homecoming Event
Brahms' A German Requiem - Heaven & Earth
Saturday, May 30, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Chenery Auditorium, Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo Philharmonia, Andrew Koehler, conductor
Bach Festival Chorus, James Turner, director
Rhea Olivaccé, soprano; Anthony Clark Evans, baritone
CHORUS SPONSOR: Steven Woloszyk, PrimeLending
PROGRAM
Wagner | Siegfried's Funeral March from The Ring of the Nibelung
Brahms | A German Requiem
The second of six masses he wrote, Franz Schubert's Mass in G Major took less than a week to compose and is perhaps the most well-known of his shorter masses. With joyful choruses and exquisite melodic lines, the chorus, soloists, and orchestra explore a vast array of human emotions from contemplative to triumphant. Fauré's Requiem begins with a dramatic brass entrance accompanied by a hushed somber chorus and is transformed into a passionate orchestra-chorus crescendo. Listeners will revel in the beautiful intimate writing of Fauré, as he embarks upon a transcendent journey from sadness to the hopeful promise of a heavenly paradise.