Within Range: The Classical Edition

Beyond Vivaldi

BY M. BRIANNA STALLINGS Spring has sprung, and what better way to ring in blossoms and sunshine than with the energetic vitality of classical music? There are more works than Vivaldi’s Spring Concerto that commemorate this resplendent time of year. Here’s a sampling of choral works, Baroque beats, resonating organs and chamber music coming up in Burque and beyond.

De Profundis

Latin for “out of the deep,” beloved local male a cappella group de Profundis says goodbye to winter and ushers in this warm, vibrant season with a program celebrating earth, air, water and fire. Directed by David Poole, de Profundis presents “Songs of the Elements” at two concerts on Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10. In a career spanning more than two decades, de Profundis has released three albums and performed with jazz legend Dave Brubeck, the Albuquerque Boy Choir and Quintessence: Choral Artists of the Southwest. In 2004, de Profundis commemorated its 10th anniversary with a commissioned program conducted by acclaimed composer Alice Parker, featuring one of Parker’s original works commissioned by the choral group. “Songs of the Elements” will feature arrangements of traditional songs of Russia, the Georgia Sea Islands and the New Zealand Maori, as well as works by Joseph Barnaby, Luca Marenzio, Mussorgsky, Schubert, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Irish singer-songwriter Martin Donnelly and contemporary composer Eric Whitacre. Pianist Amy Woolley will provide occasional accompaniment. Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church (601 Montaño NW) and 3 p.m. on Sunday at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (114 Carlisle SE). Tickets range from $15 general admission to free for kids under 12. For tickets, visit depro.org. For more info, call Roy Morgan, 266-4240.

Albuquerque Baroque Players

Founded in 1997, Albuquerque Baroque Players’ personnel has evolved over time, but its Players keep playing, sharing their love of vocal and instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries in a regular concert series. Celebrate “A Season of Song: Concert IV” at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 17, at San Ysidro Church (966 Old Church Road in Corrales). Founding member and harpsichord player Susan Patrick has played with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque and Santa Fe Pro Musica, among others. MaryAnn Shore (Baroque oboe and recorder) was the woodwind specialist with Música Antigua de Albuquerque from 1995 to 2007. Mary Bruesch (viola da gamba) is a music specialist at the UNM Fine Arts and Design Library and previously played cello with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Patrick, Shore and Bruesch have performed with a variety of other New Mexico ensembles, including Santa Fe Pro Musica. Soprano Kathryn Mueller joins the Players in a concert of vocal and instrumental music by Bach, Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Jacob van Eyck. Admission runs from $18 general admission to $7 for students with an ID. For tickets or more info, call 400-9385 or email albuquerquebaroqueplayers@gmail.com or visit albuquerquebaroqueplayers.com.

Peter Richard Conte: Organ Jubilee Concert Grand Finale

For more than 25 years, organist Peter Richard Conte has had the distinction of being the grand court organist of the Wanamaker organ at Philadelphia’s Macy’s store. Two times a day, six days a week, Conte plays original compositions and transcriptions of an eclectic assortment of music for some very lucky shoppers. Nicknamed “Baby,” that Wanamaker organ also happens to be the largest functioning musical instrument in the world. Conte is organist and choirmaster for St. Clement’s Church in Philadelphia and still finds time to tour the United States and Canada extensively. That’s all impressive, as is the 60th anniversary of the massive organ housed at Albuquerque’s First Presbyterian Church (215 Locust NE). Conte brings his decades of musical experience to a special concert at the church at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 23. This concert is the grande finale of five shows presented as part of First Presbyterian’s Organ Jubilee Concert series. The programs includes Bernstein’s “Overture to Candide,” Sibelius’ “Finlandia,” Marcel Dupre’s “Symphonie Passion (Parts 1 and 4)” as well as works by Strauss, Alexandre Guilmant and Julius Reubke at First Presbyterian. Admission is free. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more info, call 764-2900 or visit firstpresabq.org.

ChamberCHOPS: Celestial Navigation

ChamberCHOPS is also known as The Chamber Music Cooperative of the Southwest. The community-based group understands the collaborative power of music, choosing to perform without a conductor. Instead, the cooperative allows members to participate as revolving musical directors. ChamberCHOPS invites music fans to gaze at the sky and open their ears for a “Celestial Navigation: A Terrestrial Musical Journey with the Stars as our Guide.” The concert features Haydn’s “London Trios” (1794), a light composition for flutes, violins and cello; James Stephenson’s 2011 “Celestial Suite for Brass Quintet,” a five-movement suite that addresses the correlation between sacred music and astronomy and highlights five astronomers/physicists (Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Hubble and Stephen Hawking); Michael Torke’s “July,” a 1995 riff on an overheard pop song that harkens back to Ravel, Steve Reich and Philip Glass; and Carl Nielsen’s “Wind Quintet Op. 43. C” (1922), a wind quintet staple that fuses neo-classicism and modernism. To learn more about this free concert at Congregation Albert (3800 Louisiana NE) at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 24, visit chamberchops.org. M. Brianna Stallings makes words work.

The following blog post Within Range: The Classical Edition was first published to http://freeabq.com/