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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Strata Vocal Ensemble Presents "Songs of Innocence" Sunday May 25, 2014

Songs of Innocence



A glance at our spring concert’s songs might fool you into thinking the program is all about animals. We will sing John Tavener’s The Lamb, a setting of a poem by William Blake, along with Paul Rapoport’s The Naming of Cats and John Rutter’s the owl and the pussycat. But there’s more than animal music as we explore the human mystery Wiiliam Blake calls Songs of Innocence. Included are the ethereal Ave Maria by Franz Biebl, Claudio Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir and Paul Mealor’s Ubi Caritas.

Then we come down to earth – literally – as we sing Randall Thompson’s The Pasture and A Girl’s Garden, both from poems by Robert Frost, and Harry Somers’ She’s Like the Swallow and Feller from Fortune. Innocence and experience have their depths of sadness and joy. John Rutter’s Songs of Childhood capture some of the innocence of human life in pieces like Monday’s Child, Windy Nights, and even the nursery rhyme, Sing a song of sixpence. The concert concludes with the riotous O Proud Left Foot by Canadian composer Steve Murray, an Elizabethan spoof on the Hokey Pokey. Please join us on Sunday May 25 at 3 pm as we sing songs of innocence.

Tickets are $20 (students $10) and are available at the door.

MacNeill Baptist Church, 1145 King St West, Hamilton.

Strata Vocal Ensemble

Photo: Bruce Papky

Strata Vocal Ensemble began with a group of friends from various choirs who loved to sing, laugh, and perform a wide variety of music. They are a self directed and consensus driven ensemble with a tremendous depth of conviction, dedication and artistic talent. They began in September of 2004 and, after taking a full season to bond and build repertoire, had their first concert in June of 2005. The ensemble placed as national semi-finalists in the 2006 CBC Canadian Choral Competition, and its juried performance aired on CBC Radio 2’s program Choral Concert. They delight in eclectic programming, striving to highlight Canadian composers in particular.

In 2010, they decided to invite Dr. Gordon Adnams to lead them. They are looking forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with him as conductor.

Choir founder Beverley Leslie muses, "I was the one crazy enough to start this choir. I am the chief cook and bottle washer, so to speak, and now it seems to have taken on a life of its own. Next year will be our 10th anniversary!"

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