Separated at Birth?
The Chicago Tribune April 17, 2007
JOHN von RHEIN

Chicago's reputation as a teeming hive of choral performance got a further boost over the weekend when two of the city's leading vocal ensembles presented concerts.

Bella Voce, appearing Sunday at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron St., paired the British composers Henry Purcell and Benjamin Britten. Chicago a cappella, performing Friday at the DePaul University Concert Hall, built its program around works by Argentinian composers. Both events were worth hearing and showed real artistic enterprise, although Bella Voce delivered the more polished performance.

Britten always claimed he learned how to set English texts by studying the music of Purcell, and choral music represents an important part of each man's output. The selections assembled by Bella Voce artistic director Andrew Lewis showed how much the two Britons, separated by more than 200 years, had in common.

Interestingly, sometimes it was Purcell who sounded like the "modern" innovator, and Britten the traditionalist. Certainly the former's "Funeral Sentences," its charged chromatic lines bumping into one another to create seething dissonances, sounded almost as radical as anything by Britten.

Dissonant harmonic clashes also heighten the expressive power of Britten's 1939 "A.M.D.G." ("Ad majorem Dei gloriam"), to religious poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins. The striking melodic leaps, intricately laced part-writing and other musical hurdles were met most handsomely by the 23-member chorus.

Lewis had his ensemble singing with the pure tone, clear vowels and firm blend of an English cathedral choir in such Purcell anthems as "I Was Glad," "Blow Up the Trumpet in Sion" and "Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secrets of Our Hearts." Paul Nicholson was the organist.

An erudite musician and a proficient choral director, he impresses as a worthy successor to the group's longtime artistic leader, Anne Heider.

Chicago a cappella's program included the Midwest premiere of "The Wanderer," a new work by New York-based Argentinian composer Ezequiel Vinao, as well as the Chicago premiere of a piece for unaccompanied chorus by Chicago Symphony resident composer Osvaldo Golijov. The chamber choir was expanded to a dozen singers for the weekend concerts under artistic director Jonathan Miller.

"The Wanderer," a co-commission with the San Francisco men's chorus Chanticleer, is set to an Anglo-Saxon text in the composer's own English translation. The bleak austerity of this music reflects the struggle of a lost soul from alienated despair to Christian salvation.

The six-part scoring employs drones and vocal ornaments, drawing on techniques borrowed from medieval and Renaissance polyphony. The sound, however, is thoroughly contemporary, as the intertwining vocal lines create restless fields of atonal ebb and flow. Textural variety is achieved by assigning the narration to single and multiple voices rising from the polyphonic thickets.

This is one of the most challenging pieces any chorus can perform, requiring rock-solid pitch and ensemble that sometimes eluded the group on Friday. One admired the earnest effort Miller's singers poured into the performance, but, at 30 grim and gray minutes, "The Wanderer" felt too long by half.

More accessible were Golijov's "Chorale of the Reef" and Ginastera's "Lamentations of Jeremiah." Much of the Golijov's exquisite effect derives from unison voices rapidly chanting the Pablo Neruda text, evoking ancient oceanic imagery through subtle deployment of pitch and rhythm.

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Separated at Birth?
NEWCITY CHICAGO April, 2007
DENNIS POLKOW

What a difference a couple of years can make. Bella Voce, the area’s premier chamber choir, was on the verge of disappearing due to money problems in the difficult post-9/11 arts-funding environment, and the subsequent retirement of its longtime music director Anne Heider looked like it might be the group’s swan song. A new Board resurrected Bella Voce and the appointment of new music director Andrew Lewis was announced last fall, with Lewis directing his first concerts as music director over Christmas. The energy, precision, balance and repertoire choices that Lewis brought to those spectacular performances made it easy to see why he was chosen as the new music director and the group itself not only sounded as glorious as it ever had, but it was obviously having a ball singing with him. Lewis is not only a first-class conductor, but was an engaging host for the proceedings, offering musical insights and anecdotes that were as entertaining as they were informative. These spring concerts feature Lewis conducting Bella Voce in a program juxtaposing pieces by seventeenth-century British composer Henry Purcell and twentieth-century British composer Benjamin Britten, with the premise that both were innovators of their respective times who managed to define a uniquely British sound while still incorporating a wide variety of international elements into their styles. The program includes Britten’s "Hymn to St. Cecilia," "Chorale After an Old French Carol" and "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam," while Purcell anthems to be performed—all accompanied by organist Paul Nicholson—include "Blow Up the Trumpet in Zion," "O God, Thou Art My God," "Hear My Prayer, O Lord," "Man That is Born of a Woman," "Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secret of our Hearts," "Lord, How Long Wilt Thou be Angry?" and "I was Glad," composed for the coronation of King James II in 1685.

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Sounds a lot like Christmas
The Chicago Sun-Times December 4, 2006
DOROTHY ANDRIES Pioneer Press

Only last year the a cappella ensemble Bella Voce was in danger of disappearing, due to the retirement of its longtime conductor and artistic director Anne Heider. But Saturday night the 20 voices of its members filled St. James Episcopal Cathedral, heralding Christmas with glorious song in the first of its holiday concerts.

Its new conductor Andrew Lewis, music director of the Elgin Choral Union, selected a program of contemporary composers who have departed in some way from the traditional Western Classical or Romantic style, generously laced with works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. That continues Heider's tradition, though this appearance revealed Lewis to have even more idiosyncratic tastes.

The concert was bracketed by William Walton's carols, opening with "All This Time" and concluding with "What Cheer?" in acknowledgment of this 20th century British composer's skill in writing for voice.

Bella Voce sang two Latin hymns by Swedish composer Otto Olsson, also from the 20th century. The first, "Canticum Simeonis," had a monastic sound; soloist Blake Adams was the cantor and sang without vibrato, while chant portions were sung with the utmost delicacy. In the second, "Ave Maris Stella," the music poured out like honey, rich and shining, with soprano voices soaring above the altos, tenors and basses, like light through darkness.

Particularly powerful was "Lux Aurumque" by 36-year-old American composer Eric Whitaker. The off-center harmonies began quietly, growing in intensity, dawning on us like daybreak, then suddenly the sound dissolved. It did not fade, it actually disintegrated, then, miraculously, came together again.

Textured, almost disturbing dissonance also was found in "Bogoroditse Dyevo" by Alfred Schnittke, another 20th century composer. The sound was woolly and dense, arresting and beautiful.

It would not be Christmas without "O Magnum Mysterium," given in versions by Tomas Luis de Victoria from the 16th century and the living American composer Morten Lauridsen.

British composer John Rutter, whose music or arrangements seem to be in every Christmas concert these days, was represented by "I Wonder as I Wander" and "There is a Flower." Kathryn McClure was soloist in the first and Laura Lynch in the second, demonstrating the quality of the individual voices in this elegant ensemble.

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Critical acclaim for "American A Cappella"
The Chicago Tribune January 13, 2006
JOHN von RHEIN

One of Chicago's most admired choral ensembles, Bella Voce, is back. Although the group had disbanded earlier this year after the retirement of founder and director Anne Heider, Bella Voce reconstituted itself with performances in the autumn and winter. Now it has released a potpourri of traditional and contemporary American vocal music culled from various concert performances in 2004 and 2005.

These 15 brief a cappella selections bring out the fine musicianship, careful blending of voices, burnished sound and stylistic versatility one associates with the 26-member choir at its best. Indeed, the repertory and its presentation will remind some listeners of the all-male chamber chorus Chanticleer--much the same tightness of ensemble and liveliness of expression inform Bella Voce's singing.

The result is a most unusual and inviting program that feels all of a piece despite the many styles encompassed. From the lazily swaying spiritual "Wade in the Water," to the absorbing "Art of Birds" by Chicago composer Gustavo Leone (with its agitated opening section and dulcet second half); from David White's challenging "Four Choral Songs of e.e. cummings," to the serene 1775 hymn "Antioch," Bella Voce makes its traversal of several centuries of American music a journey worth taking.

To read more about it or to purchase "American A Cappella" online go to our CDs page

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Bella Voce News Release February 22, 2007
Bella Voce concludes 2006-07 season with “Separated at Birth? Choral Music by Purcell and Britten”

Bella Voce concludes 2006-07 season with “Separated at Birth? Choral Music by Purcell and Britten” led by artistic director Andrew Lewis
Chicago’s premiere a cappella ensemble to offer spring concerts April 14, 15, & 21 in River Forest, Chicago, & Evanston.

Bella Voce, Chicago’s premier a cappella vocal ensemble, will present “Separated at Birth? Choral Music by Purcell and Britten” in a series of spring concerts April 14, 15, and 21. Andrew Lewis, Bella Voce’s artistic director, will conduct. Organist Paul Nicholson will play organ on the Purcell works.
Bella Voce performs traditional and contemporary, sacred, and secular choral music that inspires and exhilarates its audiences. The stellar choral group honors the traditions that won it so many admirers and supporters over the years. Bella Voce also expands and explores new repertoire, and strives to attract new audiences and new sources of financial support.
Two of England’s leading composers, Henry Purcell (1659-95) and Benjamin Britten (1913-76), get the star treatment in a program devoted entirely to these two astonishing geniuses – men who, if alive at the same time, would surely have been chums. What unites them? Find out at the following venues:

Sat., Apr. 14, 7:30 p.m.: Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 W. Division, River Forest
Sun., Apr. 15, 4 p.m., St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron @ Wabash, Chicago
Sat., Apr. 21, 7:30 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 616 Lake St., Evanston

Tickets $25 general, $35 premium, $18 seniors, $15 students with IDs.

The program includes Britten’s lilting and solemn Hymn to St. Cecilia (1942) and Chorale After an Old French Carol (1944), both set to words by W. H. Auden; and his Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, or A.M.D.G. (1939), seven settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins poems that range from rapturous and contemplative to penitent and fierce. Purcell is represented by several celebratory, prayerful, and mournful anthems, including “Blow Up the Trumpet in Zion,” “O God, Thou Art My God,” “Hear My Prayer, O Lord,” “Man That is Born of a Woman,” “Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secret of our Hearts,” “Lord, How Long Wilt Thou be Angry?” and “I was Glad” (for the coronation of King James II in 1685).
“Purcell and Britten were quintessential British composers who virtually define British music,” notes Lewis. “In spite of being centuries removed from each other, certain aspects of their music make them kindred spirits. Both were internationalists. And both transformed the world of music in every genre in which they wrote.”
Each song in A.M.D.G. is a “marvel of maximum emotional expression through economical compositional means – a hallmark of Britten’s mature style,” notes Lewis. “The impact of the set as a whole is almost like getting sucker-punched. Nearly each song of the set is absolutely bursting with shockingly extrovert gestures. Even the more subdued, such as ‘Heaven-Haven,’ demands absolute fealty. ‘God’s Grandeur’ may be the most muscular a cappella piece in the entire repertory. ‘O Deus, ego amo te’ conveys deeply desperate, ecstatic love, the kind that makes one fear for one’s sanity but is ultimately liberating. ‘The Soldier’ is a subtly mocking piece that employs a technical brilliance, very demanding of the singers, to bring home its core message. All in all, A.M.D.G. is the kind of set that simply commands attention, not only because of its in-your-face style, but because of its uncanny setting of terrifically moving texts. It’s amazing to consider these works didn’t receive a full public performance until 1984, eight years after Britten’s death, possibly because he considered them too difficult, but also because they were only sketches, literally only written in pencil.
Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia is better known and more frequently performed, Lewis notes, “its delicate, effervescent energy evoking the magical powers of the patron saint of music. Like A.M.D.G., it requires considerable technical and interpretive mastery of singers to succeed in performance.”
Purcell’s “Hear My Prayer, O Lord” and “Funeral Services” display “visceral emotional intensity as well as a mastery of counterpoint,” says Lewis. “Even though these pieces are fairly short they express painful personal loss. In contrast, ‘I was Glad” is full of rhythmic energy, of life, with dotted rhythms, bright major harmonies, and self-assured, virtuosic counterpoint.”

In addition to being named artistic director of Bella Voce last summer, Andrew Lewis holds the posts of music director of the Elgin Choral Union, artistic director emeritus of the Lutheran Choir of Chicago, cantor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, cover conductor for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, conductor of the Women’s Choral Ensemble at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and founder and artistic director of The Janus Ensemble, a professional orchestra and chamber choir specializing in Baroque and new music. Lewis taught the conducting course at DePaul University for two years, has been a guest lecturer at Concordia University and Garrett Theological Seminary, and a guest conductor for the Chamber Choir of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is also an active clinician and a former ensemble member of Bella Voce.
Lewis studied music theory and voice at Northwestern University, then worked as a church musician and was an original member of the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale of San Francisco, performing with Baroque specialists Nicholas McGegan and John Butt. At the Eastman School of Music he studied choral and orchestral conducting. He has studied with conductors Helmuth Rilling, Robert Shaw, Robert Spano, James Paul, Gustav Meier, Stephen Cleobury, Duain Wolfe, and Dale Warland in the United States and Michel Tapachnik in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Beginning with its founding in 1982 as His Majestie’s Clerkes, Bella Voce has delighted Chicago audiences with performances of the classic a cappella repertoire, soon branching out into early music of the Americas, and then into folk songs from all over the world, eventually performing in more than two dozen different languages. In 2004 Bella Voce was honored with the prestigious Alice Parker ASCAP Chorus America Award for programming that was “an adventurous stretch” for both singers and audience, notably the 2002 Midwest premiere of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s “Vigilia.” Anne Heider is artistic director emerita.
Over the years, Bella Voce brought such distinguished guest conductors as Sir David Willcocks, Paul Hillier, Simon Preston, and Alice Parker to Chicago and itself appeared as a guest ensemble in concert series from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, to St. Louis, Missouri. The ensemble has recorded for Centaur, Harmonia Mundi, Narada, and Cedille Records; and has three self-produced CDs in release. A particular contribution of Bella Voce to the arts has been its commissions of choral works by Midwest composers including Rami Levin, Frank Ferko, and Gustavo Leone. The latest of these commissions, “Mar,” a setting of a Garcia Lorca poem by Janika Vandervelde, was premiered in the spring of 2005. The change of name from His Majestie’s Clerkes to Bella Voce was accomplished in 2001, in order for the ensemble’s name to truly reflect the breadth of its repertoire.

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Bella Voce News Release November 1, 2005
Bella Voce continues fortissimo!

Bella Voce, Chicago's premiere chamber choir, is performing again, bringing its audiences the finest in a cappella choral music.
Please join us for the first concert of our 2005-2006 season: "under these frosty winterdays. . ."

Our guest conductor Andrew Lewis will lead the group in a special holiday event including works by Scandinavians Per Norgaard and Arvo Part, complemented by music of the Renaissance masters.  You will feel the icy air of the northern seas, contemplate the infinity of the divine, and revel in the wonder and mystery of the season.

Downtown: Friday, December 9, 2005, 7:30 p.m. at St. James Cathedral, Chicago
North Shore: Sunday, December 11, 3:00 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Evanston
Western Suburbs: Sunday, December 18, 7:30 p.m. at St. Procopius Abbey, Lisle

Tickets are $35 for premium seating, $25 for general admission, and $15 for students and seniors
Call 312.479.1096 or visit www.bellavoce.org to purchase tickets or for more information
Directions to venues are available on our web site.

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Bella Voce News Release August 17, 2006
Bella Voce announces 2006-07 season, led by artistic director Andrew Lewis

Bella Voce announces 2006-07 season, led by artistic director Andrew Lewis Chicago’s premiere a cappella ensemble to offer holiday concerts Dec. 2, 3, & 10 in Chicago, Evanston, & Lisle, and spring concerts April 14, 15, & 21 in River Forest, Chicago, & Evanston plus a gala fundraiser Oct. 8 in Oak Pak.

Bella Voce, Chicago’s premier a cappella vocal ensemble, will present a series of holiday concerts (December 2, 3, 10) and spring concerts (April 14, 15, 21), as well as a gala fundraiser on Sunday, October 8. Andrew Lewis, Bella Voce’s artistic director since late June, will conduct.
Bella Voce performs traditional and contemporary, sacred, and secular choral music that inspires and exhilarates its audiences. The stellar choral group honors the traditions that won it so many admirers and supporters over the years. It also expands and explores new repertoire, and strives to attract new audiences and new sources of financial support.

“The Starres Shown Both Fair and Bright” -- Holiday Concerts
(yes, “Shown” is intentional!)
Music of joy and wonder, clear night skies, and a warm stable; exquisite settings of hymns to Mary, a jocular story surrounding the Child’s birth, the ecstasy of the three kings, and carols to calm frenzied souls. Music of Pärt, Lauridsen, Whitacre, Lange-Müller, Hassler, Victoria, and others will be performed at these venues:
Sat., Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m.: St. James Cathedral, Wabash @ Huron, Chicago
Sun., Dec. 3, 4:00 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 616 Lake St., Evanston
Sun., Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., St. Procopius Abbey, 5601 College Rd., Lisle
Tickets $35 premium seating/$25 regular seating/$18 seniors/$15 students with IDs.

“Separated at Birth?” -- Spring Concerts
Two of England’s leading composers, Henry Purcell and Benjamin Britten, get the star treatment in a program devoted entirely to these two astonishing geniuses – men who, if alive at the same time, would surely have been chums. What unites them? Find out at the following venues:
Sat., April 14, 7:30 p.m.: Grace Lutheran Church, Division @ Harlem, River Forest
Sun., April 15, 4 p.m., St. James Cathedral, Wabash @ Huron, Chicago
Sat., April 21, 7:30 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 616 Lake St., Evanston
Tickets $35 premium seating/$25 regular seating/$18 seniors/$15 students with IDs.

On Sunday, October 8 at 3 p.m., Bella Voce will hold a whimsical pre-Halloween gala fundraiser, “Skeletons in the Closet,” at the 19th-Century Club, 178 Forest Avenue in Oak Park. As Lewis notes, “We all have them…listen as we rattle ours at Oak Park’s eerie 19th-Century Club. Join us for a nibble, a tipple, and some music you won’t be hearing at our subscription concerts!” Highlights may include devilish operatic fare, excerpts from Wicked and Sweeney Todd, Brahms’ “Der Büchlichte Fiedler,” Schubert’s “Der Erlkönig,” Bolcom’s “Black Max,” and other dark delights. Individual tickets $85; discounted table prices are also available.

Conductor Andrew Lewis is artistic director of Bella Voce. He is also music director of the Elgin Choral Union, artistic director of the Lutheran Choir of Chicago, lecturer in conducting at DePaul University, cantor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, cover conductor for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and founder and artistic director of the Janus Ensemble, a professional chamber choir and orchestra specializing in Baroque and new music. He is a former ensemble member of Bella Voce. He holds a master of music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a bachelor of music degree from Northwestern University. He has studied with conductors Helmuth Rilling, Robert Shaw, Robert Spano, James Paul, Gustav Meier, Stephen Cleobury, Duain Wolf, Dale Warland, Michel Tapachnik, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky.

“Audiences and singers alike can look forward to intriguing programs and beautifully polished ensemble singing, with Andrew Lewis as Bella Voce’s new artistic director,” says Anne Heider, artistic director emeritus. Heider led the ensemble from 1989 until her retirement in 2005.

Beginning with its founding in 1982 as His Majestie’s Clerkes, Bella Voce has delighted Chicago audiences with performances of the classic a cappella repertoire, soon branching out into early music of the Americas, and then into folk songs from all over the world, eventually performing in more than two dozen different languages. In 2004 Bella Voce was honored with the prestigious Alice Parker ASCAP Chorus America Award for programming that was “an adventurous stretch” for both singers and audience, notably the 2002 Midwest premiere of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s “Vigilia.” Over the years, Bella Voce brought such distinguished guest conductors as Sir David Willcocks, Paul Hillier, Simon Preston, and Alice Parker to Chicago and itself appeared as a guest ensemble in concert series from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, to St. Louis, Missouri. The ensemble has recorded for Centaur, Harmonia Mundi, Narada, and Cedille Records; and has two self-produced CDs in release, with another imminent. A particular contribution of Bella Voce to the arts has been its commissions of choral works by Midwest composers including Rami Levin, Frank Ferko, and Gustavo Leone. The latest of these commissions, “Mar,” a setting of a Garcia Lorca poem by Janika Vandervelde, was premiered in the spring of 2005. The change of name from His Majestie’s Clerkes to Bella Voce was accomplished in 2001, in order for the ensemble’s name to truly reflect the breadth of its repertoire.

For more information about Bella Voce and upcoming performances, please call 312-479-1096. The website, www.bellavoce.org, is being updated; it contains information about the group’s recordings, performance history, and directions to the concert venues.

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Bella Voce News Release December 1, 2005
Bella Voce’s latest CD, American A Cappella, now available!

Bella Voce, Chicago’s premier chamber choir, announces the release of its new recording, American A Cappella. The CD is available at www.bellavoce.org for $15 (plus $3 shipping), and can also be purchased at Bella Voce’s upcoming holiday concerts: December 9, 11, and 18 in Chicago, Evanston, and Lisle. American A Cappella was recorded in concert during Bella Voce's 2004-05 season, conducted by Artistic Director Emerita Anne Heider. It is the twelfth recording by the ensemble, which was originally known as His Majestie’s Clerkes.

Says Dr. Heider of her valedictory recording with the ensemble, “A cappella singing in America encompasses a wealth of styles and traditions, and on this recording we visit only a few of them. African-American spirituals appear both in simple traditional harmonizations (‘My Way's Cloudy,’ ‘Down in the River’) and in high-voltage recent arrangements (‘Wade in the Water,’ ‘Been Down Into the Sea’). Two songs from The Sacred Harp, ‘Antioch’ (1850) and ‘Granville’ (1986), testify that traditional shape-note singing is an ongoing tradition. The periodic revisions of The Sacred Harp always add new pieces, and Hugh McGraw, a venerable elder of southern Sacred Harp singing, opines that the reason the book has remained in use for over 150 years is that it always contains the work of living composers. Chicagoan Judy Hauff, composer of ‘Granville,’ tells us that she named the tune for her stop on Chicago’s elevated train. The 19th-century parlor song is represented byWalter Kittredge's ‘Tenting Tonight’ and Stephen Foster's ‘Hard Times.’ Both arrangements hew pretty closely to harmonies that might have been improvised on the front porch or around a camp fire. Kittredge (1834-1905) was a New Hampshire native and self-taught musician whose songs and ballads were sung by both North and South during the Civil War. His ‘Tenting Tonight’ speaks in the voice of fighting men, but was just as popular in parlors and on front porches as in the field. Stephen Foster needs little introduction, since so many of his songs have become firmly embedded in American oral tradition. Foster's friend John Mahon reported that Foster forgot the words of every song he wrote, save one: ‘Hard times come again no more.’”

Several of the traditional works on American A Cappella are arranged by Dr. Heider. American A Cappella also contains works by contemporary American composers commissioned by Bella Voce in recent years. These include Frank Ferko’s “Nunc Gaudeant” from his Hildegard Motets (1993), Gustavo Leone’s “Art of Birds” (2000), “Mar” by Janika Vandervelde (2005), and “Four Choral Songs of e. e. cumming,” by David White (2002). Vandervelde’s “Kylä Vuotti,” which has become a signature work for Bella Voce, is also on the recording.

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Bella Voce News Release October 18, 2005
Bella Voce is Back!

Chicago’s premiere a cappella ensemble regroups with new board – more than $11,000 already raised. Previously scheduled free concert set for Sun. Oct. 30, 3 p.m. at Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall, led by Artistic Director Emeritus Anne Heider. Holiday concerts Dec. 9, 11, & 18 to be led by Andrew Lewis. Spring concerts May 6, 12, 13 to be led by Daniel Robinson.

After a brief period of dormancy, Bella Voce, Chicago’s premier a cappella vocal ensemble, has regrouped and will present a series of holiday concerts (December 9, 11, and 18) and spring concerts (May 6, 12, 13), as well as a pair of autumn concerts in Chicago (Oct. 30) and downstate near St. Louis (Nov. 11).

Bella Voce’s previous board has resigned amicably, a new board is in place, preliminary funds of more than $11,000 have been raised, and the ensemble is looking to the future with optimism and resolve. Bella Voce will once again perform traditional and contemporary, sacred, and secular choral music that inspires and exhilarates its audiences. The newly re-formed ensemble will honor the traditions that won this stellar choral group so many admirers and supporters over the years. It will also expand and explore new repertoire, and will occasionally seek to collaborate with other ensembles to enrich the performance experience of its audiences. Additionally, Bella Voce will strive to attract new audiences and new sources of financial support.

In the spring of 2005 it was announced that Bella Voce (formerly His Majestie’s Clerkes), was disbanding after 23 years of performing and recording. The news was greeted with sadness and dismay by the press and the public – and by the ensemble members. Artistic Director Anne Heider had earlier announced that her retirement would commence following the 2004-05 season; the board opted to disband the group rather than name a new artistic director. (The three finalists under consideration were Andrew Lewis, Clayton Parr, and Daniel Robinson; each was scheduled to conduct a set of concerts in 2005-06.) Ensemble members were informed of the board’s decision after the fact. The final concerts of Bella Voce’s 2004-05 season and the fundraiser-cabaret were enthusiastically received but bittersweet events that left performers and audiences hungering for more.

Several ensemble members essentially refused to accept the news of Bella Voce’s demise. Over the course of the summer, contralto Ruth Thuston and tenor Daniel Fulwiler led efforts to raise more than $11,000. They also recruited new board members, with the cooperation of the former board members and the blessing of Dr. Heider, who has dubbed the new entity “the Phoenix Group.”

The re-formed Bella Voce ensemble will comprise fewer singers (16) and will offer fewer concerts in its first season, with the expectation that vigorous fundraising will eventually enable more singers to be engaged and more extensive concert seasons to be presented. During the 2005-06 season, Bella Voce will perform on these dates in the following locations:

Sun., Oct. 30, 3 p.m., Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall, 78 E. Washington Blvd.:
Former Artistic Director Anne Heider will conduct a sampler program representing all the repertoires, from Renaissance to early American to world music to works by living composers for which Bella Voce has been acclaimed in Chicago’s performing arts scene. The program will include selections from Bella Voce’s newest CD, “American A Cappella” (to be released in late 2005, available at www.bellavoce.org); and an excerpt from Chicago composer Frank Ferko’s “Stabat Mater,” which was commissioned by the ensemble. Free.

Thurs., Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., McKendree College, Bothwell Chapel, 701 College Rd., Lebanon, IL (25 miles east of St. Louis)
As part of the college’s concert series, 12 singers of the newly re-formed Bella Voce will be conducted by Andrew Lewis in a program of Renaissance European and traditional American repertoire, including excerpts of Frank Ferko’s “Stabat Mater.” For more information, please call 618-537-6863, or 314-436-3301. Tickets $7.

Holiday Concerts
A program of primarily Renaissance Christmas motets conducted by Andrew Lewis will be performed at these venues:
Friday, Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m.: St. James Cathedral, N. Wabash @ Huron, Chicago
Sunday, Dec. 11, 3:00 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 616 Lake St., Evanston
Sunday, Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m., St. Procopius Abbey, 5601 College Rd., Lisle
Tickets $25/ $15 seniors and students with IDs.

Spring Concerts
A program themed “Love Sacred and Profane,” conducted by Daniel Robinson, will span repertoire from Renaissance through 20th century (venues will be announced at a later date):
Saturday May 6, Friday May 12, and Saturday May 13.
Tickets $25/ $15 seniors and students with IDs.

Conductor Andrew Lewis is music director of the Elgin Choral Union, artistic director of the Lutheran Choir of Chicago, lecturer in conducting at DePaul University, cantor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, cover conductor for the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and founder and artistic director of the Janus Ensemble, a professional chamber choir and orchestra specializing in Baroque and new music. He is a former ensemble member of Bella Voce. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University. He has studied with conductors Helmuth Rilling, Robert Shaw, Robert Spano, James Paul, Gustav Meier, Stephen Cleobury, Duain Wolf, Dale Warland, Michel Tapachnik, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky.

Conductor Daniel Robinson is music director for the Savoy-Aires, now celebrating the conclusion of its 41st season in Evanston; and of the Great Lakes Dredge & Philharmonic Society, now celebrating its 71st season. Robinson conducts frequently at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Chicago, where upcoming projects include a performance of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” using period instruments in April 2006; and a performance of Handel’s “Carmelite Vespers” in July 2006. He has served as founder and music director of several performing ensembles, most notably Basically Bach. Next June will mark his 40th year as a professional conductor. An Evanston native, Robinson earned an A. B. degree from Harvard University, and an M.A. and D.M.A. from Stanford University. He studied conducting with Richard Rosewall, John Ferris, and Robert Shaw, and also studied voice with Dale Moore.

Beginning with its founding in 1982 as His Majestie's Clerkes, Bella Voce has delighted Chicago audiences with performances of the classic a cappella repertoire, soon branching out into early music of the Americas, and then into folk songs from all over the world, eventually performing in more than two dozen different languages. In 2004 Bella Voce was honored with the prestigious Alice Parker ASCAP Chorus America Award for programming that was "an adventurous stretch" for both singers and audience, notably the 2002 Midwest premiere of Einojuhani Rautavaara's Vigilia. Over the years, Bella Voce brought such distinguished guest conductors as Sir David Willcocks, Paul Hillier, Simon Preston, and Alice Parker to Chicago and itself appeared as a guest ensemble in concert series from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, to St. Louis, Missouri. The ensemble has recorded for Centaur, Harmonia Mundi, Narada, and Cedille Records; and has two self-produced CDs in release, with another imminent. A particular contribution of Bella Voce to the arts has been its commissions of choral works by Midwest composers including Rami Levin, Frank Ferko, and Gustavo Leone. The latest of these commissions, “Mar,” a setting of a Garcia Lorca poem by Janika Vandervelde, was premiered in the spring of 2005. The change of name from His Majestie's Clerkes to Bella Voce was accomplished in 2001, in order for the ensemble's name to truly reflect the breadth of its repertoire.

For more information about Bella Voce and upcoming performances, please call 312-404-3033. The website, www.bellavoce.org, which is being updated, contains information about the group’s recordings and performance history.

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