Second Annual ChoralFest USA Slated for Symphony Space Today

The second annual ChoralFest USA - A Celebration of the Diversity of Choral Music in America, will be presented today, June 4 from 3 PM to 9 PM at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street in Manhattan. Special guest will be American composer Peter Schickele.

ChoralFest USA is a marathon concert event created by its Artistic Director Harold Rosenbaum to present performances of choral works written by American and non-American composers, both past and present. In the spirit of Symphony Space's "Wall to Wall" events, audience members may come and go as they please, subject to seating availability, throughout the day.

This event will include performances by groups from throughout New York State, including the John F. Kennedy High School Variety Choir from Bellmore, University at Buffalo Choir, Promise Church Children's Choir from Flushing, Suffolk Singers of Suffolk County, Manhattan's C4: The Choral Composer-Conductor Collective, La Guardia High School Women's Chorus of Queens, eVoco Voice Collective from Garden City, Manhattan's Ghostlight and Lavender Light and The Canticum Novum Singers of New York City.

The Canticum Novum Singers, ChoralFest USA's resident choir founded and conducted by Harold Rosenbaum, will be the final performers. They will present Peter Schickele's comic madrigal Go for Broke, with the composer narrating. Canticum Novum will be joined by members of Amor Artis, Ryan Brandau, Director.

The concert will conclude with an audience sing-along of Randall Thompson's Alleluia.

The June 4 concert is free and open to the public, however, reserved seats may be purchased for $40 apiece - www.symphonyspace.org/event/9153/Music/choralfest-usa. Doors open at 2:30 pm. For more information, call 212-864-5400 or visit choralfestusa.org.

Harold Rosenbaum, recipient of the 2014 Ditson Conductor's Award from Columbia University, is the founder and conductor of the New York Virtuoso Singers and the Canticum Novum Singers. He is also lead choral conductor for Parma Recordings, and a Soundbrush Records artist. He is the 2010 winner of ASCAP's Victor Herbert Founders Award and the winner of the 2008 American Composer Alliance's Laurel Leaf Award, given in recognition of "distinguished achievement in fostering and encouraging American music."

A strong proponent of and advocate for contemporary composers and American composers in particular, Rosenbaum has commissioned more than 70 works, and has conducted more than 500 world premieres. Visit him at www.haroldrosenbaum.com.