Concert: Sunday, August 5, 1:30 p.m., Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Listen to entire concert

Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir - Wiener Kammerchor - Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir

Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir
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From Taiwan
Dirk DuHei, Conductor
Accompanists:
Piano: Hsu, Wei-En
Percussion: Lai, Yi-Ting; Hsu, Chien-Ping; Liao, Yi-Ping
Chinese Cornet: Ma, Jei-Hai
[Announcer: Frank Stubbs, Treasurer, WCS6 Board of Directors]

I Am Flying Suite
Sunset
I Am Flying, Chien, Nan-Chang

Rain Chant, R. Murray Schafer
*Commissioned by the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music

Carrying a Heavy Load, arr. Chien, Nan-Chang

The Maiden of Malan Suite
Song of Praise, arr. Chien, Nan-Chang

The Gloomy Moon, arr. Jan, Tien-Hao

The Tuberose, arr. Liu, Wen-Yi

Biography:
Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Founded in 1972, the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir has established an extensive repertoire and a reputation as one of the most prestigious choruses in Taiwan. Members of the Choir are music lovers from all walks of life. The 40-voice Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir is selected to tour at home and abroad from a group of 140 singers. The Choir participates in a variety of international festivals and is active in the government's community efforts by giving highly appreciated concerts in the cultural centers of small towns and villages.

Conductor Dirk DuHei has served as Music Director since 1983. He launched the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation for Culture and Education to promote musical activities in Taiwan and serves as its Director. He also is Professor of Music at the Chinese Cultural University and Conductor of the Taipei Women's Singing Society. DuHei won the National Culture and Art Prize in 1997.

R. Murray Schafer, Sixth World Symposium Commissioned Composer
R. Murray Schafer, born in Sarnia, Ontario, has won international acclaim as a composer, educator, environmentalist, literary scholar, visual artist and provocateur. Through his unique explorations of the relationships between music, performer, audience and setting, he has expanded the appreciation of music and its place in the arts and culture of our time. Many of his compositions and writings are landmarks in the evolution of music and its communication in the 20th century. Schafer's diverse interests are reflected in the enormous range and depth of such works as Loving, Lustro, Music for Wilderness Lake, and the World Sound Project, which united the social, scientific and artistic aspects of sound and introduced the concept of acoustic ecology. His books include E.T.A. Hoffmann and Music; The Tuning of the World; On Canadian Music; The Thinking Ear; On Music Education; and Voices of Tyranny: Temples of Silence.

Vienna Chamber Choir (Wiener Kammerchor)
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From Austria
Johannes Prinz, Conductor
Theresa Gruber, Pianist
[Announcer: Frank Stubbs, Treasurer, WCS6 Board of Directors]

Deutsche Messe in F, Michael Radulescu
Kyrie (b. 1934)
Gloria
Sanctus
Agnus Dei

Christus factus est, Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)

Psalm 74, Ernani Aguiar
*Commissioned for the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music

Was ihr dem Geringsten meiner Brüder tut,
Motet for three choirs (1996)
Herwig Reiter (b. 1941)

From "Three Choruses for Mixed Choir and Piano"
Opus 12: Gott im Ungewitter
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Act Up
(First performance of the American version)
Manfred Länger (b. 1968)

From the "Zigeunerliedern" for Mixed Choir and Piano,
Opus. 103:
Brauner Bursche führt zum Tanze
Röslein dreie in der Reihe
Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn
Mond verhüllt sein Angesicht
Rote Abendwolken ziehn am Firmament
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Biography:
Vienna Chamber Choir
Founded in 1947, the Vienna Chamber Choir has built a strong musical tradition with total commitment and creative experimentation. They have earned a fixed place on the Austrian cultural scene, as well as throughout the world, touring from Japan to Greece and from China to Spain. The Choir has collaborated with great artists and performed as an experienced partner with leading orchestras including Giardino Armonico and the Vienna Symphony.

Director Johannes Prinz studied at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, was a member of the Vienna Boys' Choir and a long-term member of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir. He also is Artistic Director of the Chamber Choir of the Academy of Music in Vienna and Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna.

Ernani Aguiar, Sixth World Symposium Commissioned Composer
Composer Ernani Aguiar has garnered impressive success in Brazil and abroad with performances, recordings and broadcasts of his work. Significant examples of his wide-ranging production are works for a cappella choir, such as Psalm 150 (which has been performed by hundreds of choirs across the U.S.A.); the Christmas Cantata, Missa Brevis IV; the Sinfonietta Prima; and the opera O menino maluquinho. Since 1984, the composition for string orchestra by a Brazilian author played most frequently is Aguiar's Four Moments No. 3. His numerous prizes include the Sharp, APCA and Acorianos awards.

Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir
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From Latvia
Martins Klisans, Conductor
Ugis Praulins, Accompanist
[Announcer: Frank Stubbs, Treasurer, WCS6 Board of Directors]

Rigas Vainags/Riga's Crown arr. Juris Vaivods (b. 1965)

Loliz iza loliz puoga/ Then Sang the Father, Then the Son Liv Folk Song

Die Auserwählte/The Chosen One, German Folk Song

Moja Marysiu, kochaj mnie/ My Marysiu, Love Me, Polish Folk Song

Kristallen den fina/ Like a Crystal That Gleams, Swedish Folk Song

V derevnje bilo Olhovke/ It Happened in the Village of Olhovke, Russian Folk Song

Rigas puikas tiltu taisa/ The Boys of Riga Are Building a Bridge, Latvian Folk Song

Biographies:
Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir
Founded in 1950, the history of the Choir is closely connected with the Emils Darzins Music School. In 1990 it was renamed the Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir to restore the historic tradition practiced from 1240 until 1831, when the Dom Cathedral had its own boys choir. The young choristers regularly participate in services at the Cathedral and do recordings and concerts.

The President of the United States, the presidents of Finland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Turkey, and H.R.H. Prince Charles have all enjoyed performances of the Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir in Riga. The Choir's concert tours include tours to many European countries, the USA, Canada, and Japan.

The Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir hosts the International Boys Choir Festival "Rigas Doms" which offers the public a chance to compare the performance of Riga's singing boys with world-famous boys choirs. The choir has recorded 12 CDs.

Martins Klisans, Conductor
Martins Klisans was born in Riga, November 30, 1967. He obtained his first professional music education in choir conducting at the Emils Darzins Music School, and he continued his choir conducting studies at the Latvian Academy of Music with Imants Kokars. For several years, he was a conductor of the mixed choir "Juventus" and the chamber choir " Sacrum". In 1995, Klisans became the Principal Conductor of the Riga Dom Cathedral Boys Choir, and a teacher at the Riga Dom Choir School. An accomplished tenor, Klisans has performed in Baroque opera and oratorio performance and he is a member of the "Riga Vocal Group."