Carols by Candlelight

COSTA MESA, CA (November 10, 2022) – The Grammy-winning Pacific Chorale, one of the nation’s leading choirs, launches its signature holiday programming with two performances of “Carols by Candlelight,” spotlighting timeless traditional and contemporary holiday music, including the choir-commissioned world premiere of Meet Me for Noche Buena by noted LA-based Filipino composer Saunder Choi, a tenor in the chorus whose work has been described as “fresh and earnest” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Special musical guests organist Jung-A Lee and pianist David Clemensen join members of Pacific Chorale, bathed in flickering candlelight, for this distinctive seasonal program on Saturday, December 3, and Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 8:00 pm, in the hushed sanctuary of Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach.  Artistic Director Robert Istad also conducts “Gloria” from Missae Papae Marcelli by Palestrina, Stanford’s Magnificat in G, Op. 81, and works by such contemporary composers as Sarah Quartel, Bob Chilcott, Chad McCoy, Ola Gjeilo,  Eriks Ešenvalds, Will Todd and Alexandra Denny.

“Every year, I look forward to ringing in the holidays with this special choral program that encompasses a variety of musical styles from across the centuries and truly embodies the wonder, reverence, joy, and awe of the season,” says Istad. “Combining pieces that seem very different from each other but share the same spirit underneath the music brings a wonderfully fresh perspective to each of these new and enduring choral treasures.”

Regarding the new work commissioned by Pacific Chorale, Choi, the composer, says, “At its heart, Meet Me for Noche Buena is about journeys and relationships; people bringing and sharing their various holiday traditions in new places — whether you’re an American in Japan, an Italian in Argentina, or, like me, a Filipino immigrant who has found a home in California.” Sung in English and Tagalog, it is set to a poem by San Mateo County’s poet laureate, Aileen Cassinetto, also a Filipino immigrant.

“Carols by Candlelight,” the first of two holiday offerings Pacific Chorale is presenting in December, is followed by “Tis the Season!”, a family-friendly program replete with festive carols, holiday favorites and even a visit from Santa Claus on December 18 and 19, at the Reneé and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. Pacific Chorale’s 2022-23 Season is made possible by generous support from Platinum Season Sponsor Phillip N. and Mary A. Lyons, and Silver Season Sponsor Charles and Ling Zhang. The “Carols by Candlelight” concerts are generously sponsored by Trish O’Donnell in loving memory of John O’Donnell.

Single tickets for “Carols by Candlelight” range from $25 to $75. Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, 2100 Mar Vista Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660. For tickets and information, visit www.pacificchorale.org or call 714-662-2345.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ROBERT ISTAD, a Grammy Award-winning conductor who “fashions fluent and sumptuous readings” (Voice of OC) with his “phenomenal” artistry (Los Angeles Times), was appointed Pacific Chorale’s Artistic Director in 2017. Under his leadership, the chorus continues to expand its reputation for excellence for delivering fresh, thought-provoking interpretations of beloved masterworks, rarely performed gems and newly commissioned pieces. His artistic impact can be heard on two recent recordings featuring Pacific Chorale, including the 2020 Grammy Award-winning “Mahler’s Eighth Symphony” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on Deutsche Grammophon (2021), for which he prepared the chorus. It won Best Choral Performance and also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Classical. Additionally, Istad conducted the Pacific Chorale’s recording “All Things Common: The Music of Tarik O’Regan” released on Yarlung Records (2020). Istad has prepared choruses for such renowned conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Williams, John Mauceri, Keith Lockhart, Nicholas McGegan, Vasilly Sinaisky, Sir Andrew Davis, Bramwell Tovey, Carl St.Clair, Eugene Kohn, Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, George Fenton, and Robert Moody. He regularly conducts and collaborates with Pacific Symphony, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Sony Classical Records, Yarlung Records, Berkshire Choral International, and Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. An esteemed educator, Istad is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton, where he was recognized as CSUF’s 2016 Outstanding Professor of the Year. He conducts the University Singers and manages a large graduate conducting program, in addition to teaching courses on conducting and performance practice. Istad, who is on the Executive Board of Directors of Chorus America and serves as Dean of Chorus America’s Conducting Academy, is in demand as guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician.

PACIFIC CHORALE, a Grammy Award-winning Orange County “treasure” with a “fresh viewpoint” that “can sing anything you put in front of it, with polish, poise and tonal splendor” (Orange County Register), has “risen to national prominence” (Los Angeles Times) since its inception in 1968. Hailed for delivering “thrilling entertainment” (Voice of OC), the resident choir at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is noted for its artistic innovation and commitment to expanding the choral repertoire. It has given the world, U.S., and West Coast premieres of more than 35 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jake Heggie, James Hopkins, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Ravel, Tarik O’Regan, Karen Thomas, Frank Ticheli, András Gábor Virágh, and Eric Whitacre. In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale enjoys a long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, with whom the choir made its highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Classical, for its contribution to the live classical recording of “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony of A Thousand,’” conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, featuring Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson and Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale. The choir has performed with such leading orchestras as the Boston Symphony, National symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Musica Angelica, among others. Pacific Chorale has garnered international acclaim as well, having toured extensively to more than 19 countries in Europe, South America, and Asia, and through collaborations with the London Symphony, Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, National Orchestra of Belgium, China National Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Estonian National Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina, among others. Deeply committed to making choral music accessible to people of all ages, the organization, which has a discography of 14 self-produced recordings and an extensive collection of exceptional free digital offerings, places a significant emphasis on choral music education, providing after-school vocal programs for elementary school students, a choral summer camp for high school students, and an annual community-wide singing event at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. www.pacificchorale.org

WHAT:

Pacific Chorale Presents

Carols by Candlelight 

Robert Istad, conductor

Members of Pacific Chorale

Jung-A Lee, organ

David Clemensen, piano

PROGRAM:

HILDEGARD VON BINGEN O Viridissima Virga

Chad MCCOY Childing of a Maiden Bright

arr. Molly Ijames Of the Father’s Love Begotten

15th Century French, arr. John Rutter O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (sing-along)

arr. David Blackwell Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming

Jacob HANDEL, ed. John Rutter Omnes de Saba veniet

arr. Ian Crawford Sussex Carol

VILLIERS STANFORD Magnificat in G, Op. 81

Saunder CHOI Meet Me for Noche Buena (World Premiere)

Ola GJEILO Dark Night

Eriks ESENVALDS Stars

Sarah QUARTEL Density of Light

Will TODD      A Boy Was Born 

Alexandra DENNY Who Knows Where the Time Goes

GRUBER / Arr. Bob Chilcott     Silent Night   

PALESTRINA “Gloria” from Missa Papae Marcelli

Bob CHILCOTT     Dona Nobis Pacem   

Arr. Paul Johnson We Wish You a Merry Christmas

WHEN:

Saturday, December 3, 2022, 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach

2100 Mar Vista Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

TICKETS/INFORMATION:

$25-$75

www.pacificchorale.org
714-662-2345

Artists, date, program and venue subject to change