Monday, Jun 20, 2016
Recognized as one of America's leading early music ensembles, Westminster Kantorei and its conductor Amanda Quist will travel to some the source of some of its repertoire and present six concerts in a tour of France and England June 21 – 30.
The tour program includes works by J.S. Bach, Charpentier, Howells, Byrd and more, as well as contemporary works, that they will perform in some of each nation’s most well known cathedrals and chapels. In addition to their performances, members of the ensemble will have the opportunity to visit iconic landmarks in Paris, Chartres, London, Windsor and Cambridge. They will also view the original Eton Choirbook at the Eton College Library in a special tour hosted by Eton’s Music School.
Composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Westminster Kantorei is an award-winning early and contemporary music ensemble that has has collaborated with some of the country’s leading Baroque specialists, including Owen Dalby, Nancy Wilson, the Dark Horse Consort, and Juilliard415. The ensemble was a 2014 national finalist for The American Prize, whose judges stated that Kantorei is “truly outstanding,” and described the choir as having a“finely-measured and delicate balance of voices, and a mastery of stylistic performance practice.”
In addition to this tour, the ensemble’s 2015-16 season has included performing as the featured ensemble for the Reformation 500 Anniversary Concert held at the Princeton University Chapel, and it was invited to perform works from Orlando di Lasso manuscripts newly acquired by the Princeton University library. Recent seasons have included performances of Bach’s Cantata 12, Singet Dem Herrn, Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine with original instruments, and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, with the Westminster Choir and the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Kurt Masur.
Conductor Amanda Quist is associate professor and department chair of Conducting, Organ, and Sacred Music at Westminster Choir College. She conducts the Westminster Chapel Choir and Westminster Kantorei, and she teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting. She is the recipient of Westminster Choir College of Rider University’s 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award. During her work with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Dr. Quist collaborated with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, and composers Ola Gjeilo and Tarik O’Regan. She served as chorus master for the premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s opera Matsukaze at the Spoleto Festival USA and the Lincoln Center Festival. The New York Times and Charleston City Paper described the chorus’ performance as “beautifully prepared, gripping,” a “gossamer web of voices” and “bridging the vocal and instrumental textures with perfect intonation.”
Dr. Quist is also director of the Westminster Vocal Institute, a highly regarded summer program for talented high school students, and she was previously director of choral activities at San José State University. An active guest conductorvand clinician, her recent and upcoming appearances include the All State High School Honor Choirs of Texas, California, and Tennessee, as well as the Georgia All-College Honor Choir, and guest conducting/ adjudicating in several U.S. states. Dr. Quist is the national coordinator for collegiate activities for the American Choral Directors Association.
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Westminster Kantorei Tour Performances
Thursday, June 23 - 4 p.m.
Concert: Eglise de La Madeleine
Paris, France
Friday, June 24 5 p.m.
Concert: Chartres Cathedral
Chartres, France
Saturday June 25 8:30 p.m.
Concert: Eglise St Louis en l’Île (part of Festival de Musique en l’Îe)
Tuesday, June 28 1:10 p.m.
Recital: Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral
Ely, U.K.
Wednesday, June 29
1:10 p.m.
Recital: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle
Windsor, U.K.
8:15 p.m.
Concert: Eton College Chapel
Eton, U.K.