(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Westminster Kantorei presents a concert titled “Above the Stars” on Saturday, April 28 at 8:00pm in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors and are available by phone at 609-921-2663 or online at www.rider.edu/arts.
The program includes Magnificat Antiphons by Professor Christian Carey and music by Tomkins, Josquin, Weelkes, Victoria, Howells and Gjeilo. The music centers on the world found "above the stars," pointed heavenward and focused on the larger concept of faith and humanity. The concert is also the recital for the ensemble's graduate assistant conductor, Scott Koven.
Composed of students at Westminster Choir College, Westminster Kantorei is an auditioned chamber choir specializing in early and contemporary music. The ensemble performs regularly with some of America’s leading specialists in early music. It was a 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.”
The ensemble's 2017-2018 season includes performances in Princeton and at the American Choral Directors Association's Eastern Division Conference in Pittsburgh, as well as the release of its new recording, Lumina. Recent seasons have included performances at the 2017 Boston Early Music Festival, the American Handel Festival, as the featured guest ensemble for the Reformation 500 Anniversary Concert in the Princeton University Chapel and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, with the Westminster Choir and the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Kurt Masur. Additionally, it has toured England and France.
Dr. Amanda Quist is associate professor and chair of the Conducting, Organ, and Sacred Music Department at Westminster Choir College. She conducts the Westminster Chapel Choir and Westminster Kantorei, and she teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting. Dr. Quist is also director of the Westminster Vocal Institute, a highly regarded summer program for talented high school students. Her honors include the Westminster Choir College of Rider University’s 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award, the prestigious James Mulholland National Choral Award and the Audrey Davidson Early Music Award. Her research focus is voice science and pedagogy in choral singing, and she has presented lectures on the topic of choral sound across the country. An active guest conductor and clinician, her recent and upcoming appearances include the All State Honor Choirs of Texas, California, Washington, Vermont, Missouri, Delaware and Colorado, as well as the Georgia All-Collegiate Honor Choir. Dr. Quist is the National ACDA Repertoire & Resources Coordinator for Collegiate Activities, and her choral series is published through Walton Music.
Westminster Choir College is located at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton.
