The Alexandria Choral Society

Alexandria Choral Society Celebrates 50 Years

Group Opens 50th Season with Concert The Spheres

WHAT: The Alexandria Choral Society (ACS) opens up its 50th season this Fall on Saturday, October 19th with a program entitled The Spheres, featuring composers Gabriel Fauré (Requiem), Ola Gjeilo (Sunrise Mass), and Alexandria’s Jonathan Kolm (Pieces of Night), all set for choir and strings. Led by artistic director Brian Isaac, Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, is the focal point of this fall program, “taking us on a journey,” incorporating texts from the Ordinary of the Mass with musical themes that evolve from nebulous and pristine to more emotional and dramatic, walking the listener along a spiritual path “from the heavens to earth.”

ACS is thrilled to open its 50th Anniversary Season in the beautiful Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, located on the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. This venue promises to be a treat, not only for the audience members but for the musicians on stage alike. Additionally, during intermission and after the music has faded away, the Alexandria Society of Homebrewers will provide delicious libations hand-crafted right here in Alexandria. The Homebrewers have created the perfect fall medley to complement this cultural experience, including an Oktoberfest, a Pumpkin Spice Anything Porter, and Sunrise Sphere, a session IPA brewed exclusively for ACS.

Brian J. Isaac is currently the Artistic Director of the Alexandria Choral Society (Alexandria, VA), the Williamsburg Choral Guild (Williamsburg, VA), and the Founder / Artistic Director of Church Circle Singers (Annapolis, MD). He has formerly held positions as the Interim Director of Choral Music at Thomas Nelson Community College (Hampton, VA), adjunct music faculty at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) and Tidewater Community College (Portsmouth, VA), the Assistant Conductor with the Washington Master Chorale (Washington, D.C.), and Director of Choirs at Damascus High School (Damascus, MD). Isaac holds a Master of Music in Music Education from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.

The Alexandria Choral Society will celebrate the golden milestone with a full slate of performances:

December 14, 2019, Seek Out Light: This joyful program features Will Todd’s Among Angels, a setting for choir and two harps, evoking images of “angels in flight.” A number of traditional holiday carols and works by composers like Elizabeth Poston (Jesus Christ the Apple Tree), Susan Labarr (Huron Carol), and Herbert Howells (Magnificat ‘Collegium Regale) will ease you into the winter season ahead. This program will also include a matinee offering.

March 7, 2020, Performance Art: An interactive program that aspires to “interpret visual art through choral performance.” We’ve partnered with visual artists from the greater Alexandria and Washington D.C. region who will showcase their art during our concert, and then auction it off as part of our 50th anniversary gala immediately following. Plus, Dr. Ben Hutchens and the Alexandria Kinderchoir will join us as special guests as we present a world premiere of a new choral work by acclaimed composer Christopher Hoh.

May 9, 2020, An American Songbook: Celebrating the great American jazz composers, and those they later inspired, in a program called An American Songbook. The Alexandria Choral Society will perform works by Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter, as well as Jeff Buckley, Ben Folds, and Simon and Garfunkel, to name a few. The evening will be joined by a talented local high school ensemble, selected via ACS’s ‘Sing-Off Grant Program.’

BACKGROUND: Alexandria Choral Society was formed in 1970 as a component of the Performing Arts Association of Alexandria. ACS was independently incorporated in 1978. Beginning with the vision of founding director Francisco de Araujo, ACS has delighted audiences year in and year out, and the baton has passed from one illustrious hand to the next with a total of 11 artistic directors to date.

Now under the direction of Brian J. Isaac, who began his tenure as Artistic Director in 2017, ACS looks forward to many more years of bringing the highest artistic level of choral performances to the city of Alexandria.

For more than 50 years, ACS performances have enriched the community with a broad spectrum of choral works from the Renaissance to modern American composers, from small chamber pieces to major works for chorus and orchestra, and from a great variety of musical cultures. For major works, ACS has often collaborated with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Chamber Orchestra, the Fairfax Symphony and other instrumental groups from the Northern Virginia area. In addition, the chorale has sponsored a Sing-Off grant program for youth choirs.

With over 100 members strong, the Alexandria Choral Society aspires to enhance the cultural life of the city of Alexandria and surrounding communities by presenting diverse and engaging vocal music programs at the highest artistic level.

WHEN: Saturday, October 19, 2019, 7:30 p.m. (reception to follow performance)

WHERE: Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, 4915 E Campus Dr, Alexandria, VA 22311

TICKET INFO:

For additional performance information and tickets visit www.alexandriachoralsociety.org.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter: @AlexChoral

Instagram: @AlexChoral

Facebook: FB.com/AlexandriaChoralSociety