Exeter, NH (April 1, 2009)—Phillips Exeter Academy continues its annual Gilbert Concert Series with a performance by Emmanuel Music, a Boston-based group of singers and instrumentalists specifically created to perform the complete cycle of Bach’s 200 sacred cantatas. The concert reunites the PEA Chamber Orchestra and Concert Choir with Emmanuel musicians following a two-day residency held earlier this month of rehearsals and musical collaborations. The culminating concert will serve as the final performance of the spring tour, which began on March 14 at the Emmanuel Church in Boston, MA. The concert will be held on Tuesday, April 7, at 7 p.m., in Phillips Church, on the corner of Tan Lane and Front Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Emmanuel Music was created in 1970 to perform the sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach. The weekly cantata performances revealed the works of Bach are the best training for a musician’s technique and soul. The sheer number of concerts of Bach, Mozart, Handel, Schütz, and others by a small core group of performers has made for an unusual unanimity of viewpoint and synergetic rapport, and created an “Emmanuel style” that is recognizable and unique among classical musicians.

Having received critical and popular acclaim for several years for its presentations of large-scale and operatic works by Bach, Handel, Schubert and Mozart, Emmanuel Music is also known for its in-depth exploration of the complete vocal, piano and chamber works of Debussy, Brahms, Schubert and Schumann. A unique aspect of Emmanuel performances is its selection of vocal and instrumental soloists from a corps of musicians who have long been associated with the group. Emmanuel Music has given rise to renowned musicians at the local, national, and international level; its long-standing association with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison has also yielded a wealth of creative artistry. The group has achieved international recognition for its innovative collaborations with such leading visionaries as the Mark Morris Dance Group and stage director Peter Sellars. The group made its European debut in 1989 in Brussels at the Theatre de la Monnaie, and its New York City debut at Lincoln Center in 2001.

The evening’s featured performance will be Bach Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131, and will also include Capriol Suite by Peter Warlock; Charles Ives The Unanswered Question featuring PEA student horn soloists, Caroline Tracey ’09 and Sophia Wronsky ’10; Cool of the Day arranged by John Ratledge and performed by PEA soloists Dulcinee DeGuere ’11, Lisa Deneckere ’10, Tammara Gary ’11, Melina Harris ’09, Maria Ichizawa ’10, Chloe Jang ’09, Molly Liu ’09, and Ji Hye Park ’09; Walk Together Children by Moses Hogan; Schubert Overture to Rosamunde, D. 797; A Red, Red Rose (Robert Burns), by James Mulholland; Sure on this Shining Night (James Agee), featuring PEA performers Eugene Yang ’09 on piano, and Sae Kyoung Jang ’09 on cello; and Duerme negriot by Atahualpa Yupanqui, and arranged by Emilio Solé, with PEA soloists Linnea Shin ’10, Ji Hye Park, and Cristian Scott ’11. 

In 1998, former Academy trustee Clint Gilbert ’47 and wife Jane established the Jane and Clint Gilbert Music Fund to enhance the study and performance of music at the Academy. The Gilbert Fund grew out of the Gilberts’ belief in the value of striving for excellence—be it a personal best, a technically perfect or a visionary performance—through music, especially classical music. Each year, the series brings concert artists of national and international distinction together with Academy students for performances, master classes, workshops and other learning experiences focused on musical excellence. All performances are free and open to the public.

For further information, please call Patrice Baker in the Music Department at 603-777-3453, or visit its webpage for a complete list of upcoming musical events. You may also call the PEA public events line at 603-777-4309, or visit the PEA website. Directions to the Academy are available at 603-777-4330.

Program from tour to include:

Bach Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir BWV 131
Schubert Overture to Rosamunde, op. 26 (D. 644)
Ives The Unanswered Question
Works by Warlock, Harbison, Barber & Lauridsen

Read the concert tour program...  

To learn more about a few recent Gilbert concerts, visit . . .

Trio Globo Concert

The Ying Quartet

African Children’s Choir

Awadagin Pratt

To learn more about Exeter's concert series, please check the Musical Performances calendar page. To learn more about events at Exeter, please check the News & Events section of the website. Or, for a recorded voice line listing upcoming events, dial: (603) 777-4309.

Interested in learning more?

 Hear selections from last year’s Concert Choir tour...

Read about Exeter's Music Department...