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Grande Prairie Choral Arts has gained a "grande"
reputation performing collaboratively with other fine art
organizations. This season their voices will join with
the University of Chicago Choirs and Orchestra in Rockefeller
Memorial Chapel to perform Benjamin Britten's War Requiem.
An epic setting of the Requiem mass combines two symphonies and
three choirs with haunting words of war poet Wilfred Owen to mourn
the pain and devastation of war.
In past seasons the DePaul University
Singers (Dr. Constance DeFotis, Director) combined to pay tribute to
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in semi-staged excerpts from his operas.
His Great C Minor Mass featured talented soloists from DePaul and
the Grande Prairie Singers ranks with full orchestra. The
DePaul University Concert Choir (Dr. Clayton Parr, Director) joined
for Mendelssohn's Elijah.
Local artist Marilyn Polhammer as
Nannerl Mozart, the composer's sister, delighted patrons at the
Mozart Mania pre-concert lecture and The Music Connection of Orland
Park thrilled those attending the artist reception with the
children's impressive talents on string instruments.
In addition to showcasing local
performers, Grande Prairie has a tradition of commissioning and
premiering choral works by Chicago-area composers. Their
Love in Bloom concert featured two premiers: cummings and
goings, poems by E.E. Cummings set to music by renowned theater
composer James Quinn; and a new arrangement of Cole Porter's "Let's
Do It" by jazz performer and educator Valerie Nicholson.
The Grande Prairie voices have also
collaborated with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra's holiday
concerts. The performances have been proclaimed "one of the
top ten musical events of the season" by The Star Newspapers.
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“. . .
the concert had an exciting finale when the Grande Prairie Singers
joined the orchestra for Alexander Borodin’s ‘Polovtsian Dances’. The
combination of the great playing . . . and the superior voices of the
chorus was electrifying . . . The chorus preparation by artistic
director Lisa Kristina and the balance maintained by DeLeone resulted
in a musical high point to end the season.”
The Star May 20, 2004 “musiclook”
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Grande Prairie Choral Arts is a not-for-profit organization in the
Chicago Southland dedicated to providing excellent choral music and to
promoting and furthering vocal and choral music education. Performance
groups include the Grande Prairie Singers, an auditioned mixed choir for
singers over the age of sixteen, as well as three children’s choirs for
kindergarten through high school. The organization also maintains
various ensembles available for outreach in the community.
