St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble Joins Saint Thomas Choir Of Men And Boys For Celebration of Saint Thomas Choir School

St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and Saint Thomas's newly appointed Director of Music Jeremy Filsell join the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys on Thursday, November 7 at 7:30 PM for Saint Thomas Choir School At 100.

The works on this program celebrate a number of anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the founding of Saint Thomas' Choir School in 1919 by T. Tertius Noble with selections from his cantata, Gloria Domini; a commemoration of Veterans' Day, marked by American composer Stephen Paulus's Cantata: Prayers and Remembrances, commissioned for the tenth anniversary of 9/11; and the 85th anniversary-to the night (in 1934)-of the premiere of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, in a performance in Baltimore by the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Leopold Stokowski.

This evening of anniversaries - joyful and solemn - begins with Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, one of the most famed and loved compositions in the world, with Saint Thomas Church Music Director Jeremy Filsell as conductor and pianist. Written fifteen years before Rachmaninov died, it is one of his last compositions because his compositional output was slow during the later years of his life. On Thursday, November 7, 1934 the composer was at the keyboard for the premiere with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski in Baltimore. About six weeks later RCA decided to record the Rhapsody with Rachmaninoff and the original performers. When the Rhapsody was performed at Carnegie Hall in New York with Bruno Walter conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra it was already a critical and popular sensation.

Considered by many to be the leading ensemble of its kind in the Anglican choral tradition in the United States, the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys was founded by T. Tertius Noble who had studied at the Royal College of Music and served as organist and choirmaster of York Minster before coming to the United States in 1913 to become organist and choirmaster of St. Thomas Church where he established there choir school, remaining here until his retirement in 1947. Noble was distinguished for the quality of his music program at St. Thomas. He composed a significant amount of choral, vocal, orchestral and organ music. Prolific American composer Stephen Paulus wrote more than 400 works for chorus. His Grammy Award winning Prayers and Remembrances, created for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra was dedicated in memory of Robert Vanek and friends of the Vaneks from United and American Airlines who were lost on September 11, 2001.