Chicago Artists Chorale to Present SONGS OF LOVE AND LIGHT

The Chicago Artists Chorale, a group of 60 singers drawn together from across Chicago's professional arts communities, wraps up its second season on May 10 with SONGS OF LOVE AND LIGHT, a concert of resonant, powerful choral music spanning from the late Romantic period through the present day. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Church, at 1010 W. Webster Ave. in Chicago.

The Chorale, conducted by Chicago music director/actor and Founding Artistic Director Tom Vendafreddo, will present a program whose colors range from the lush harmonies of Brahms's O schöne Nacht to the expansive, otherworldly sonorities of 21st century Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo's The Spheres and Northern Lights. The selections will explore both sacred and secular texts, with a focus on nature and the sensual in pieces that set verses from the Old Testament's Song of Songs and the poetry of James Agee.

The Chicago Artists Ensemble, a smaller group of singers led by Devin DeSantis, will perform two a cappella love songs by famed contemporary composer Eric Whitacre.

Maria Honigschnabel will accompany the Chorale on piano. The Chorale will also present a set of pieces featuring Brian Bloye on the magnificent Lyon and Healy Pipe Organ at St. Vincent de Paul, beginning with the stunning Vaughan Williams prelude Rhosymedre and culminating in Charles Stanford's Nunc dimittis, featuring Chicago theater veteran Larry Adams as the bass soloist.

Vendafreddo thanks Robert Beatty, Director of Music and Organist at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, and the parish itself for their support of the Chorale. Thanks to the church's magnificent acoustics, Vendafreddo says, "The program can reverberate through the kind of space for which the music was intended. Even the secular repertoire will take on a deeper meaning when heard ringing through the rafters."

The Chorale was formed in 2014 by artists from Chicago's vibrant theater community who were homesick for the choral experience, and many members are returning to choral singing for the first time since high school or college. The group has expanded to include actors, directors, choral and theatre educators, writers, stage managers, video game music composers, music directors, sign language interpreters, and more.

The Chorale now performs biannual concerts at venues including the Chicago Temple, Athenaeum Theatre, and The Nettelhorst School, and has appeared on WGN TV and on the radio on Dean Richards' Sunday Morning. DeSantis is the group's Associate Artistic Director, and the Company Manager is Lauren Iezzi.

St. Vincent De Paul Church is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Tickets may be purchased online at cac1.brownpapertickets.com, for $20 ($10 for student/industry/child). Ticket prices go up $5 at the door. For more information, visit www.ChicagoArtistsChorale.org or email chicagoartistschorale@gmail.com.

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