Map to concert location – http://bit.ly/NaplesUCCmap
 
Enjoy some samples of Amazonia’s music …
Here, their performance of “La Cotorrita” by Afro-Peruvian composer Nicomedes Santa Cruz (arr. V. Chavarría).
 

 
And here, the women of Amazonia sing “Los Dos Gavilanes.”
 

 

“Lumina…  Light!”   An Advent Concert of International Carols & Traditions
Sunday, 4 December 2011 – 4pm
Free admission  ::  free-will offering
Naples United Church of Christ  -  5200 Crayton Rd., Naples FL USA
map = http://bit.ly/NaplesUCC

Southwest Florida friends are warmly invited to join us for a choral celebration of Advent: “Lumina… Light!” This concert images the Advent season of ‘light in the darkness’ through choral music by American and international composers, poetry by Ann Weems and Susan Palo Cherwien, and personal stories of international Advent and Christmas traditions from Spain, Germany, Russia and The Philippines as told by local Naples friends. The Lumina women’s vocal ensemble, conducted by Dr. Marian Dolan, will be joined by pianist Kelly Utterback, guitarist Mario Arnez, actor/narrator Betsy Klopp Bennett, and other special guests. Maybe even an appearance by Sancta Lucia from Sweden! And, as is traditional in Choir Project concerts, the audience will sing, too!

So bring your voice! … and your friends and family! …
Join us on Sunday, December 4th at 4 for “Lumina… Light!”

Bereden väg för Herran – trad. Sweden
As the Dark Awaits the Dawn – C. Schalk
Sing Hallelu! – S. Paulus
Christmas Lullaby – J. Van
The Ground – O. Gjeilo (Norway)
Ríu Ríu Chíu – trad. 16c Spain
O Magnum Mysterium – J. Pamintuan (Philippines)
Lo, How a Rose / The Rose – arr., C.H. Johnson
Sankta Lucia – trad. Sweden
What Child is This? – arr. Cochran
Kirchenlied auf die heilige Christnacht – F. Grüber (Germany)
Night of Silence – D. Kantor
True Light – K. Hampton
Nowell – R. Thompson

This concert is sponsored and hosted by the Music Department of Naples United Church of Christ. We are honored by and deeply appreciate their invitation and hospitality.
The candle image is courtesy of Noah Urban and Noah Urban Photography.

“Voices of Courage” 9/11 Concert
Saturday, September 10th – 7pm   and   Sunday, September 11th – 7pm
Free admission; free-will offering
Naples United Church of Christ  -  5200 Crayton Rd., Naples FL USA
map = http://bit.ly/NaplesUCC

9-11-2001
“Where were you on the day that America stood still?”
In the midst of the shock, horror and tragedy…
did you also hear ‘voices of courage’ that day?

We did.

Ten years later, on 9-11-2011, their stories call us to be ‘voices of courage’ here in our own community, to carry forward their love, faith, hope and light into the next decade and beyond.

Join us on September 10th and 11th to hear these “Voices of Courage”
• through stories…
From Naples and New York, and the pastor who embodied his faith in downtown Manhattan on 9/11 and the days following; from Havana to Cape Coral, and the vision of one family’s freedom journey starting on 9/11; from Canada and the town of 10,000 that sheltered nearly 7,000 airborne 9/11 ‘refugees’; from Atlanta to Naples, and the September 11th birthday gift from daughter to father; from Washington to the world, and the gift of compassionate vision for September 12th and beyond.

• through music…
With the Choir Project’s Lumina vocal ensemble singing scores by living composers from the U.S., Spain and Norway, including a newly commissioned score from New York-based Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo dedicated ‘to those who were voices of courage on Sept. 11, 2001 in America and on July 22, 2011 in Norway.’ And with Naples guest singer/songwriter Tim McGeary, who was also part of the Southwest Florida Disaster Medical Assistance Team that worked at Ground Zero in NYC. And, as is traditional at Choir Project concerts, you will join us in singing, too, including a new text written specifically for 9-11-2011.

• and through readings…
By 9-11 first responders, living poets, and other visionaries of our day.

Bring your voice of courage.  Join us on September 10th and 11th!

The Philippine Madrigal Singers, also known as the MADZ, is one of the most honored choirs in the world. The 20-voice ensemble has consistently won major prizes in the most prestigious international choral competitions. In 2009, The Madz were designated as UNESCO Artists for Peace. Their current 6-month tour of North and South America includes a performance at the World Choral Symposium in Argentina the week following their concert in Naples! Hear them sing a stunning program of pure unaccompanied choral music: sacred and secular, high art and popular, international and Filipino composers / arrangers. This is their only south Florida concert – don’t miss it!!

• Date/Time: Friday, August 5th – 7pm
• Admission: Free admission; free-will offering
• Location:
Naples United Church of Christ
5200 Crayton Rd., Naples FL
Click here to see a map.

• This concert is presented as a collaboration with:
The Choir Project, The Naples Asian Professionals Association and                                               Naples United Church of Christ

Here is a video of The Madz singing “Buwa-buwa ni utu” a traditional Molbog melody from their April 2011 concert at the Mormon Tabernacle.

Hope has a voice …

and a song … listen …

To the voice of Courage – “We must cast out fear and face the unknown with courage and integrity and a high heart.”

To the voice of Compassion – “…bring me home to gladness, restore my hope again.”

To the voice of Healing – “Every heart is in you, every tongue, every trembling in you; every blessing, every soul, every shining, woven into fire.”

To the voice of Home – “After wind, after rain, when the dark is done… there’s a voice I can hear that will lead me home.”

To the voice of Hope – “I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining … I believe through any trial, there is always a way.”

Come join your voice with ours: The Choir Project’s women’s vocal ensemble Lumina, survivors, liberators, partizans, community faith leaders, educators, students, poets, and composers. For 70 minutes we will affirm the journey, courage, compassion and hope of many voices of hope through music and texts.  Come join us – be a Voice of Hope.

VOICES OF HOPE –  Sunday afternoon, January 30^th –    4pm  -  free

Naples United Church of Christ   –   5200 Crayton Rd., Naples FL 34103                   –     map = http://bit.ly/NaplesUCC

Music by Joan Szymko, Stephen Paulus, Caldwell & Ivory, Joan Varner, Z. Randall Stroope, Maurice Ravel, Harry Burleigh, Morris Barash, Mark Miller and traditional Jewish, South African and African-American works. Texts by Eleanor Roosevelt, Ralph Smith, Michael Dennis Browne, Langston Hughes, Gordon Light, Primo Levi, Diane Feinstein, Sjalom Soetendorp, Mario Chang, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel and Gabrielle Giffords.

The Holocaust Museum & Education Center of Southwest Florida presents this concert in cooperation with The Choir Project, the Naples United Church of Christ, The Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Human Rights Studies of FGCU, and The Catholic/Jewish Dialogue of Collier County, with support from the Jewish Federation of Collier County.

"Let My People Go!" - ©2010, Carlos Solis

The “Let My People Go!” concert, organized by The Choir Project, is the closing event for “Harvesting Hope,” an inter-faith weekend of events, sponsored by Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church (Naples, FL), to raise community awareness about the issues surrounding human trafficking. “Let My People Go!” is a powerful embodiment in music, text, image and dance of the human story inherent in the oft-times hidden issue of trafficking. This 75 minute program will trace the enslaved’s journey from lament, to hope, freedom, healing, and finally to justice. Music includes choral works, African-American spirituals, folk music and living composers’ scores, including works by Joan Szymko, Stephen Paulus, Randall Stroope, Ysaye Barnwell, Mark Miller and Rosephanye Powell. Performers/artists include: Lumina, the Choir Project’s women’s vocal ensemble conducted by Dr. Marian Dolan, Atlanta vocalist T. Reneé Crutcher, dancers from the Outside the Box Studio, local actors/readers, and visual images from various photographers and The Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Admission to the concert is free but tickets are needed because seating space is limited. Make your ticket reservation here at Brown Paper Tickets. A freewill offering will be taken. Sanctuary concert space will open for seating at 3:30pm for 4pm concert.

Come add your voice of support by joining us to sing “Let My People Go!”

Listen to a musical samples:

• “I Dream a World” – Joan Szymko, music; Langston Hughes, text:  DreamAWorld

• “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” – arr., F. Heath  MotherlessChild

Watch the video “With These Hands I Demand the Future.”

From the land of sauna, Sibelius and Nokia, the chamber choir Grex Musicus and their acclaimed director Marjukka Riihimäki bring Finnish choral music to Naples, Florida!

• Come join us on Sunday, October 17th at 3pm

• Admission is free; donations are accepted.

• Naples United Church of Christ (corner of Crayton and Seagate) 5200 Crayton Rd., Naples, Florida 34103 - Map: http://bit.ly/NaplesUCCmap

The warm resonance of Grex Musicus‘ 24 voices will captivate us with a panorama of Finnish choral music: from classical works by Kuula and Sibelius to traditional folk music, to contemporary vocal jazz arrangements made popular by The Real Group and Rajaton. You’ll enjoy clear, fresh-voiced singing and original scores not often heard in America!

Founded in 1991 by internationally known choral director Marjukka Riihimäki, Grex Musicus chamber choir singers are young adult students, half of whom are studying to be professional musicians. The ensemble has participated in a number of major European choral competitions. In 2005, they were only the second Finnish choir in the history of the renowned Tampere Vocal Music Festival (Finland) to win the rare Grand Prix with three gold awards. In 2004, they placed second in the acclaimed Cork International Choral Festival (Ireland), and in 2006 they placed third in the international Harald Andersén Chamber Choir Competition (Sweden). Grex Musicus has absorbed new ideas and cultures on its several tours abroad including travels to the United States, South Africa, Cuba, Ireland, Brazil, Argentina and Germany. They have also released three albums – Grex Musicus in 1996, The Making of the Drum in 1999 and Blue Magic 2007 – and will have their newly recorded Christmas cd with them on this tour.

Conductor/director Marjukka Riihimäki infuses her choirs with warmth, enthusiasm and passionate singing. In addition to Grex, she also conducts the Sibelius High School Choir, the Klemetti College Women’s Choir and the renowned womens’ ensemble Philomela. Marjukka Riihimäki is also a popular lecturer and judge at international choral festivals, and has judged several choral composing contests. She is the recipient of many major choral awards in Finland, including the title of “Musiikkineuvos” (Councilor of Music), conferred in 2009 by the President of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen.

Enjoy these samples of Grex Musicus:

“Stormskars Maja” – L. Måreenson; arr., V. Eroma “Stormskars Maja” – L. Mårtenson; arr. V. Eroma

“Butterfly” – Mia Makaroff “Butterfly” – Mia Makaroff

“And So It Goes” – Billy Joel - “And So It Goes” – Billy Joel

And, of course, they will sing “Finlandia”!  See you Sunday, Oct. 17th – 3pm!

We thank CIVIC (Council for International Visitors in Collier) for their support of Grex Musicus’ visit!

What a journalistic challenge: to write a magazine article about a concert on domestic violence. Janina Birtolo, a Naples actor and arts editor for Gulfshore Life, thoughtfully embodies our vision for community awareness and support on this issue. What a wordsmith she is!

Click here to read the full article on The Choir Project and “Finding a Voice” in the January 2010 issue of Gulfshore Life.

“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before”
- Leonard Bernstein

How many times can you say that a concert has changed your life? What about the life of one of your neighbors?

What if your presence at a concert could help break the silence surrounding family violence…would you attend?

24 singers. a dancer. visual artists.
writers and actors, too.

Come join with us in our first concert-for-a-cause
To support, honor and benefit
The Shelter for Abused Women & Children

January 31, 2010  -  4pm
Moorings Presbyterian Church – Naples, FL (Click here for a map)

Tickets: $15 general admission; $30 patron seating; $5 student
100% of ticket price benefits The Shelter for Abused Women & Children
Purchase tickets online or at the door. Click here to purchase tickets online.

Below is a sample of each score featured in the “Finding a Voice” concert.

Beauty of Your Dreams – Joan Szymko Beauty of Your Dreams

Motherless Child – arr., Fenno Heath Motherless Child

Run – Nitanju Cassel Run

Emma – arr., J. David Moore Emma

The Road Home – Stephen Paulus Road Home

Inscription of Hope – Z. Randall Stroope  Inscription of Hope

Lo, How a Rose / The Rose – arr., Craig Hella Johnson Lo, How a Rose/The Rose

Learn to Love Yourself – Amy Sky and Olivia Newton-John Learn to Love Yourself

Wanting Memories – Ysaye Barnwell Wanting Memories

Still I Rise – Rosephanye Powell Still I Rise

Draw the Circle Wide – Mark A. Miller Draw the Circle Wide

Concert Sponsors and Artists

Business

Absync Realty - www.absyncrealty.com
Blue Turtle Graphics / Kim Smith – www.BlueTurtleGraphics.net
Photographic Images by Jim – www.photographicimagesbyjim.com
TecSmarts, LLC LLC – On-Site and Remote Computer Repair – www.TecSmarts.com
Kathy & Bill Hughes, Residential Sales and Rentals, Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. - www.downingfrye.com
Gulf Coast Paralegal Association, Inc. -  www.gcpa.info

Musical

J. David Moore – composer – www.freshayremusic.com
Stephen Paulus – composer - www.stephenpaulus.com
Joan Szymko – composer – www.JoanSzymko.com
Fred Bock Music Publishers – www.fredbock.com
Santa Barbara Music Publishing – www.sbmp.com
Rebecca Richardson – jazz - www.naplesjazz.com
Island Dance Academy – 239-289-1698
Janina Birtolo – actor, writer – www.janinabirtolo.com
Diana Giorge – voiceovers – www.dianagiorge.com

Photo credits

Jen Gray (Chicago) – www.jengray.com
Chris Griffith (Bonita Springs, FL) – www.LifeInBonitaSprings.com
Sandra Milliken (Australia) – www.sandramilliken.com.au
Emmanuelle Brisson (France) – www.emmanuellebrisson.com
An anonymous Survivor (Naples, FL)
The National Network to End Domestic Violence – www.nnedv.org

The Amazonia Vocal Ensemble, based in Miami, visited Naples on Saturday, February 14, 2009!  What a delight to hear this new choir of Latin American singers performing choral music from Latin America right here in Naples! Click here to listen to a sample now!

From the beauty of the earliest music of the Americas to modern-day Latin America scores, Amazonia will keep your feet and heart in rhythmic pulse to this amazing choral music! Their hour-long program will include music from Nicaragua, Cuba, Aruba, Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. What a choral feast! Don’t miss it!
Amazonia’s director, Cristian Grases, was a protogé of Maria Guinand and Alberto Grau, who founded the “El Sistema” of choral music in Venezuela.  Cristian and his family now live in Miami, where he is finishing his doctorate in choral conducting at the Univ. of Miami.