Moscow Boys Choir coming to CLC
To kick off the 2012 holiday season, The Moscow Boys Choir will present “Christmas Around the World” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at the Mainstage Theatre of the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at the College of Lake County.
The Moscow Boys Choir, with its international reputation for excellence, carefully blends heavenly boy soprano voices with the rich resonance of bass, tenor and baritone sounds to bring a distinct Russian flavor to the choral experience.
Founded in 1957, this choral ensemble is among Russia’s most prestigious all-boy choirs. In addition to touring North America, the choir has performed in many other countries, including South Korea, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Holland. To learn more, visit www.windwoodtheatricals.com/html/moscow_boys_choir.html.
Members of the choir are selected from students attending a special school called The Moscow Boys Capella, which provides both general education and musical training. Being selected as a member of the touring company of The Moscow Boys Choir is no easy feat. Hand-picked from over 400 students at their school, these highly talented youngsters have the voices of angels and the discipline to match their talents. The boys traditionally begin their music training as early as age 5, but are not allowed to perform for audiences until age 9.
The choir will perform music of the season from around the world. Audiences will be musically transported to faraway places including Russia, Europe, the Americas and more. The choir will showcase Christmas classics as well as new and vibrant pieces, many sung in the language of origin. Featured will be favorites from previous tours including Russian and Western classical compositions, rousing covers of traditional Russian folk songs, as well as many whimsical holiday treats such as “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Jingle Bells” and their hauntingly beautiful rendition of the holiday classic, “Silent Night.”
“The finely blended, exquisitely balanced Moscow Boys Choir can sing with as much delicacy as anyone, but no other ensemble can sound this strong,” wrote the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “If indeed there is such a thing as a heavenly chorus, it must sound like The Moscow Boys Choir,” wrote the St. Joseph News & Press.
The Moscow Boys Choir 2012 Christmas Around the World Tour is led by Victoria Smirnova, choir mistress and conductor, and Leonid Golubev, accompanist. The program will include the following songs: “God is With Us,” “All The Angels in the Sky Rejoiceth,” “We Hymn Thee,” “Ave Maria,” “Christmas Oratorio No. 24” by J.S. Bach, “Lacrimosa” by W. Mozart, “Gloria/Kyrie” by Bernstein, “Ode To Joy” by Beethoven, “Deo Gratias” by Britten, “Pie Jesu” by Lloyd-Webber, “Hallelujah Chorus” by Handel, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “Fum! Fum! Fum!” “Feliz Navidad,” “Silent Night,” “O! Tannenbaum,” “Clap Your Hands” by George and Ira Gershwin, “Heaven and Earth,” “Ochi Tchoirnya” (Dark Eyes), “The Twelve Days Of Christmas,” “America, The Beautiful” and “Kalinka,” arranged by Leonid Baklushin, conductor and choir master for The Moscow Boys Choir, 1991—2011.
Ticket information: Regular: $26/$23/$21; senior/CLC staff/alumni $25/$22/$20; CLC student/teen $16; Children under 12: $13. Prices include a $1 JLC facility fee per ticket. Additional fees may apply. Discounts are available for groups of six or more adults. Three price levels of seating are available in the 600-seat Mainstage Theatre, which offers wheelchair access and is ADA accessible. For information on group sales, call (847) 543-2431 or email JLCgroupsales@clcillinois.edu.
JLC Box Office hours are Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., phone: (847) 543-2300 (option 5) or visit www.clcillinois.edu/tickets. To request a James Lumber Center subscription brochure or the 2012-13 CLC cultural arts calendar, which includes professional series as well as college-sponsored events such as music concerts, theater and dance productions, films, art exhibits, literary events and much more, call (847) 543-2300 (option 5) or join the mailing list at www.clcillinois.edu/tickets.