Blessing: the Music of Paul Mealor

Mark Singleton, Artistic Director presents: Blessing: The Music of Paul Mealor Featuring the works recently recorded with Paul Mealor for the upcoming album “Blessing” Friday, May 11th – 7:30pm Immanuel Congregational Church 10 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105 PROGRAM All works composed by Paul Mealor (b.1975) I. Let All the World in Every Corner Sing II. Beneath Thy Compassion The Beatitudes III. Let Fall the Windows of Mine Eyes 1. Ophelia’s Lament 2. My Watchful Soul 3. ...to weep... The Selwyn Service 1. Magnificat 2. Nunc Dimittis ~ Intermission ~ IV. Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal 4. A Spotless Rose To Seek Where Shadows Are 1. Dreamland 2. Dreaming 3. In the Bleak Midwinter V. Behold a Tender Babe Ave Maria VI. Jubilate Deo Blessing ~ Fini ~ Encore – If Ye Love Me Voce Sopranos About Voce: Its Mission and Its Musicians Voce is an auditioned, professional mixed choir whose sound reflects the unique musical vision of its Artistic Director and co-founder, Mark Singleton. After working with Voce in April 2008, Morten Lauridsen -- the most widely performed composer in the United States -- had this to say about Voce: “Voce is clearly already in the upper echelon of American chamber choirs. During my recent residence with the ensemble I was constantly astonished at the level of artistry displayed by both the singers and their conductor, Mark Singleton. I have no doubt that this superb chorus will soon be recognized throughout the United States as exemplifying choral performance at its finest.” Dr. Lauridsen then returned in 2009 to record an entire CD of his works with Voce. The CD, entitled “Sure on This Shining Night,” was complimented for its “tender warmth, exquisite nuance, and enduring spirit” by the American Record Guide. Since that time, Voce has worked with a number of internationally-acclaimed composers, including Ola Gjeilo, Paul Mealor and Ēriks Ešenvalds. Voce’s “Growing Audiences” Initiative Earlier this year Voce launched its “Growing Audiences” Initiative which is designed to secure Voce’s future as one of New England’s leading cultural institutions, to grow its audiences and to further develop international renown for its performance of choral music. The initiative is based upon two forward-looking projects, including the release of its next album – Blessing: The Music of Paul Mealor – by Voce and its new label, Signum Records; and a collaboration with marketing and strategic planning experts Dornenburg Kallenbach Advertising to ensure that Voce identifies and takes the steps necessary to continue the growth of its audience base in New England. Your support for the “Growing Audiences” Initiative will ensure that Mark Singleton and Voce can bring Voce’s music and its message of harmony to an ever-widening audience. Help Voce to build an enduring future for choral music in New England and beyond by contributing to Voce on-line at www.voceinc.org or by mailing your contribution to Voce, Inc., attn: Thomas Cooke, 2 Poggy Bay Lane, Mystic, CT 06355. Voce’s Board of Directors and Officers Voce Administrator: Sarah Armstrong Thomas F. Cooke II – President Media Manager: Jennifer McCann Robert Borden (ex officio, past President) Producer & Marketing Manager: Ali Singleton Jane Currie Jennifer Ferrand Kelly James A. Grigsby Bob Lautensack David Pettyjohn Hal Rives John Skar Donna B. Stamm (ex officio) Bob Willard About Mark Singleton, Artistic Director Stephen Mark Singleton is a renowned conductor, composer, writer and guest speaker. His unique career path has taken him all over the world including China, Africa, South America and Europe. As a frequent guest conductor and clinician, Mark has worked with choirs and orchestras of all ages and styles. His energetic and magnetic leadership has made him one of the most sought-after conductors in New England. Mark is frequently asked to be a guest speaker at concerts, universities, and faith communities. He currently serves on the faculty of the Hartt School of Music Community Division as Director of Primi Voci from the Connecticut Children’s Chorus. Mark has also served on the faculty of the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State University as well as having taught in public schools. While at UConn, he conducted the Concert Choir, Collegium Musicum and the Women's Chorus. He has prepared choruses and served as guest conductor for many orchestras including the National Symphony of China, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Liberty Symphony Orchestra, Arcadiana Symphony Orchestra, Yale Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. Currently, Mark serves as the Artistic Director of Voce and Director of Music at Immanuel Congregational Church, having recently retired as Chorus Director for the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra after tenure of 18 years. Mark holds an undergraduate degree in cello performance and church music from William Jewell College and a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Connecticut. He has pursued additional conducting studies at the Robert Shaw Festival, the Dennis Keene Choral Festival and the Conductor’s Institute of South Carolina. His principal conducting teachers include Peter Bagley, Charles Bruffy, and Phillip C. Posey. Most recently, Mark made his New York City debut with Voce and Paul Mealor, performing at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in May 2017. Mark also prepared the Connecticut Children’s Chorus to perform at the Berkshire Choral Festival International in July 2017. In March 2019, he will be appointed as the Conductor-in-Residence at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Mark’s work has been described by Morten Lauridsen as "exemplifying choral performance at its finest." The American Record Guide described his last album as demonstrating "tender warmth, exquisite nuance and enduring spirit," and Stereophile Magazine called his work "heartbreakingly beautiful." About Paul Mealor Paul Mealor has been described as ‘the most important composer to have emerged in Welsh choral music since William Mathias‘ (New York Times, 2001) and his music is ‘marked by something outside of himself that is beautifully spatial and evocative of landscape… it illuminates both our past and our future‘ (The Guardian, 2011). Topping the Classical Charts for six weeks with his bestselling album, A Tender Light (featuring Tenebrae Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) in November 2011, he also broke records by being the first classical composer to hold both the classical and pop chart No 1’s at the same time in December 2011, securing the UK Christmas No 1 with his piece for The Military Wives Choir and Gareth Malone, Wherever You Are. Wherever You Are entered the UK Pop Singles Chart at number 1 on 19th December, selling over 556,000 copies in one week, more than the rest of the Top 12 combined, and was nominated for Best British Single in the 2012 BRIT Awards. It has been named, by the Official Charts Company as, the fastest selling single since Elton John’s Candle in the Wind. Also, in April of 2012 Mealor was voted the nation’s favorite living composer during the UK Classic FM Hall of Fame. Born in St Asaph, North Wales in 1975, Paul Mealor studied composition privately as a boy with William Mathias and later with John Pickard, and at the University of York with Nicola LeFanu (BA Hons, 1997, PhD, 2002) and in Copenhagen with Hans Abrahamsen and Per Nørgård. His music has been commissioned and performed at many festivals and by many orchestras and choruses and has been broadcast on every major TV and Radio station throughout the world. Since January 2003 he has taught in the Music Department at the University of Aberdeen where he is Professor of Composition. Mealor was catapulted to international stardom in April 2011, when 2.5 billion people (the largest audience in broadcasting history) heard his Motet, Ubi caritas performed by the choirs of Westminster Abbey and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, conducted by James O’Donnell at the Royal Wedding Ceremony of His Royal Highness Prince William and Catherine Middleton (now TRH The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge) at Westminster Abbey. It since topped the Classical singles charts in the USA, UK, Australia, France and New Zealand. In July 2011, Mealor signed to Decca Records and signed a publishing deal with Novello & Co. His first album for Decca, A Tender Light – a collection of sacred anthems recorded by Tenebrae and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – spent six weeks at No 1 of the Specialist Classical Charts. He is currently preparing his second album for Decca and has contributed new works to a number of other Decca albums, including his song In My Dreams for X factor star Jonjo Kerr, which entered the pop charts at number one, knocking Bruce Springsteen off the top spot; De Profundis for the St Petersburg Chamber Choir on the album Tranquility (which also made No 1 in the Classical Charts in August 2012), and the first ever musical setting of St Francis’ prayer, You Are The Holy Lord God for Friar Alessandro’s debut album. Mealor wrote a number of works for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and has recently completed his first symphony Passiontide – a large work for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra – which received its premiere at the composer’s fortieth birthday concert in November 2015, and is currently working on a number of pieces for chorus and orchestra. He has just finished filming a program on the music of Benjamin Britten and appeared in the BBC 2 program, The Choir, as well as making his Carnegie Hall debut with a sell-out performance of his Stabat mater with the DCINY chorus and orchestra conducted by James Jordan. Mealor is the first President of ‘Ty Cerdd’ – Wales’s National Centre for music making and Vice- President of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and the North Wales International Music Festival.

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