By Jacquelyn Pillsbury
Princeton Pro Musica began in the late 1970s with the goal of presenting major choral works — classical, contemporary and multicultural — with an orchestra, or a cappella to the Princeton community. Every member of the chorus auditions annually. The group is comprised of professional singers, as well as music educators. Auditions are held every September.
As part of its 36th season, Princeton Pro Musica will perform “A Bach Christmas: Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio” at Richardson Hall on the Princeton University campus at 8 p.m. on Dec. 20. The 110-member choir will be accompanied by a period instrument orchestra comprised of musicians from all over the eastern seaboard joined together specifically for this event.
The chorus was created in 1979 by Frances Fowler Slade to fill a void. There were no groups that did the major choral works with orchestra in Princeton.
“Princeton Pro Musica exists to perform choral masterworks and other works of the choral literature with energy, passion, and uncompromising artistic excellence,” states the group’s website. “We believe in the power of choral music to uplift and transform our current and future audiences, performers, and communities.”
Ryan James Brandau took over as artistic director of Princeton Pro Musica in 2012 when Slade stepped down and became artistic director emeritus. Brandau, an accomplished baritone himself, will lead the Dec. 20 concert.
Brandau said he is “really excited about all of the participants. The concert will feature Princeton Pro Musica as a choir. We have an all-star line of soloists who regularly perform Bach and Haydn. They have a deep understanding of how it reads.”
“I’m thrilled to work with the instrumentalists,” he said. “They are specialists who play this music all the time. They understand the gestures and have quick potential.”
Many of the musicians already know each other outside of the ensemble. The instrumentalists will only rehearse twice prior to the Dec. 20 concert, including once with the choir and once as an orchestra. The choir rehearses weekly during the academic year, said Brandau.
Brandau said the instrumentalists “have likely played these pieces in concert before. They are waiting to see my interpretation and how we will put it together.” He said he looks forward to the dynamics in the rehearsal and watching it come alive.
“I’m excited to return to the work of Bach,” he said. “It is great work — triumphant tympani, an uplifting magisterial exuberance of music. Nothing says Christmas like Bach in D major with drums.
“It sounds like that exultant of the holidays. There is something really infectious — the fast movement of the Magnificat juxtaposed with the gorgeous slow movements. There is something for everybody.”
The Christmas Oratorio comprises of six cantatas written to be performed between Christmas and Epiphany. The Chorus & Orchestra of Princeton Pro Musica will perform sections 5 and 6. Soloists on this program include Melanie Russell, Justine Aronson, Margaret Lias, Luthien Brackett, Steve Wilson, Steven Brennfleck and Christopher Herbert. Among the soloists, local connections include Aronson, a soprano, who holds a degree from Westminster Choir College and Brennfleck, a tenor, who grew up in Ewing and is also a Westminster alumnus.
Brandau received his B.A. in music from Princeton University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the Yale School of Music. He is a member of the Westminster Choir College faculty, where he works with its Symphonic Choir. His choral arrangements and compositions have been performed internationally.
Executive Director Mary Trigg said that “including the period orchestra will make it sound just like it did in Bach’s time.”
Princeton Pro Musica will conclude its season on May 9, 2015 at 8 p.m. with “Rachmaninoff: All Night Vigil (Vespers)” at the University Chapel on the campus of Princeton University. The singers will perform this concert a cappella.
On March 14, 2015 at 8 p.m., also in the University Chapel, Princeton Pro Musica will sponsor a Festival of Choirs featuring the three top area high school choirs performing Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum, John Taverner’s Song for Athene, and Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere Mei.
Princeton Pro Musica, PO Box 1313, Princeton, NJ 08542. Single ticket prices range from $25 to $60 and may be purchased at www.princetonpromusica.org, or by calling 609-683-5122. On the web: princetonpromusica.org
,
