Pianist Yelena Mealy, left, and Eric Schaller rehearse for the upcoming Coro de Camera performances of ‘Jewelscapes. Courtesy photo
CORO DE CAMERA NEWS RELEASE
Precious and rare gemstones. Glittering choral gems. People living centuries and continents apart, connected through the power of music and storytelling. This is what’s in store for you at Coro de Cámara’s upcoming “Jewelscapes” concerts.
Two Matinee Performances: Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4:00 p.m., The United Church of Los Alamos, 2525 Canyon Road, Los Alamos | Sunday, Nov. 3 at 4:00 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church of Santa Fe, 107 West Barcelona Road, Santa Fe.
“Jewelscapes: Choral Gems from Around the World” kicks off the chamber choir’s 36th season. Coro’s new series is called MUSICSCAPES, with three concerts: Jewelscapes | Dreamscapes | Soundscapes.
In “Jewelscapes,” 10 choral gems from around the globe and different periods of music history are featured. An informative script shared by Coro singers connects a gemstone to each composer/music selection/country represented in the program, sometimes in surprising ways.
Artistic Director Nylea Butler-Moore, in her 11th season with Coro, says, “The ‘Jewelscapes’ idea started with the traditional Western choral canon and what time-honored pieces (i.e.,’gems’) singers and audiences might enjoy from this canon (i.e., our Bach, Vivaldi, and Haydn selections). But the choral music canon is much larger than just compositions written by white European men of the past. The canon now encompasses works by diverse and
underrepresented musicians: women, people of color, and composers from around the world.
Hence, Coro shares ‘choral gems’ representing a range of composers. And I figured if you have ‘choral gems,’ you should also have corresponding gemstones! Figuring out how to connect the ‘gems’ was a creative challenge!”
Coro de Camara was founded in 1989 as an auditioned chamber chorus with singers and high school apprentices from Los Alamos and Santa Fe. Musicians are from varied backgrounds including scientists, teachers, health professionals, yoga instructors, and even a rabbi. The group’s innovative programs cover a host of topics with enchanting music in numerous styles, often with scripts, instruments, and multi-media.
The sparkling glimpse of musical riches showcased in the upcoming “Jewelscapes” concerts, along with information about gemstones, composers, and countries, will leave audience members in awe of the vast scope of choral music.
Matinee Tickets: $30 Adults at the door, $25 online | $25 Seniors (65+) & College Students at the door, $20 online | Free 18 & under. New! $60 season tickets. Available at the door or online at corodecamara-nm.org.