Key Chorale Announces a Season of Coming Together

September 18 – Sarasota: Key Chorale announces its 36^th season, “Come Together,” which includes a combination of online streaming concerts, in person concerts, reconceived rehearsals and events, and newly amended educational and community outreach. Never has their mission been more important than now. Key Chorale is resolved to use creativity and innovation to reinvent and re-imagine the ways they deliver that mission in this unprecedented season and in the seasons to come. 

Artistic Director Joseph Caulkins, recipient of the Arts Leadership Award for Artistic Achievement, continues to produce one-of-a-kind programming, collaborations that inspire, and musical artistry that stirs the soul. This unique season brings the community together to experience the healing and hope of music.

36^th Season at a Glance:

Sept. 21 – Oct. 5: Encore Performance! American Roots: The Gospel Experience,Chamber Singers with the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. Streaming Online Concert.

Oct. 30 – Nov. 22: Together We Rise: Celebrating the Resilience of the Human Spirit, Chamber Singers and Soloists. Streaming online concert.

Jan. 25: Perfect Pitch annual luncheon supporting education and community outreach

Jan. 29: “Bach” Together Again: Bach & Vivaldi, Chamber Singers and Orchestra. Streaming Online Concert. 

Feb. 13: Coronation: Mozart & Haydn, featuring soprano Mary Wilson

March 1: Tomorrow’s Voices Tonight, Student Scholar Soirée and Recital
April 30, May 1 & 2: Cirque des Voix® – The Next Decade of Wonder with the Circus Arts Conservatory 

May: Tomorrow’s Voices Today high school choral festival 

SARASOTA, FL, September 16, 2020 – Key Chorale, Sarasota’s premier symphonic chorus, will celebrate its 36^th season bringing the community together with another season of unique programming that has become their hallmark under the guidance of Artistic Director Joseph Caulkins. On the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic, Key Chorale launched the Come Together Choir – Online Choral Rehearsals as a free outreach that allowed participants to experience the therapeutic benefits of singing – all from the safety of their own home. What originally started as an outlet for their outreach groups like the “Off-Key Chorale” for those living with Parkinson’s and “Where Are My Keys? Chorale for those with dementia, turned into online choir rehearsals enjoyed by more than 400 singers from around the globe. The Come Together Choir is a partnership with Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s, JFCS of the Suncoast, and Key Chorale. In August, nine of Key Chorale’s professional singers came back together to record eight new episodes of the Come Together Choir, Online Choral Rehearsals, Volume Two. These new rehearsals are set to premiere on Thursday, September 24^th at 2 PM on Key Chorale’s YouTube Channel. 

Winner of the 2020 Chorus America Award for Education and Community Engagement, Key Chorale has been re-tooling and re-imagining all of their outreach programs for this season including their annual high school choral festival, their partnership with Visible Men Academy, a school for at-risk K-5 boys, and a student scholar program for high school juniors and seniors. 

“During a time, where many choirs across the country have gone silent, we have found, and will continue to find, ways to bring us together to experience the transformative power of music,” said Maestro Joseph Caulkins. “This 36^th season, titled Come Together, contains several concerts that will be recorded without an audience in order to be enjoyed in the comfort and safety of your own home. We also look forward to having concerts later in the spring with the option to attend live or watch online. Singing and music are essential, and we need them in our lives – now more than ever.”

A pre-season streaming concert kicks off on September 21 with an encore performance of American Roots: The Gospel Experience, a dynamic pairing of Key Chorale and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe exploring the rich tradition of black gospel music in America. These two organizations were blessed to come together at three churches in October 2019 to share this amazing music and honored now to present it in a video version. This high-energy show celebrates the deeply emotional music and movement at the heart of African-American worship. 

The streaming season opener Together We Rise: Celebrating the Resilience of the Human Spirit brings us together to experience the healing and hope of music premieres October 30. The Key Chorale Chamber Singers will present an inspirational program of uplifting spirituals and music that celebrates the resiliency of the human spirit. Joseph Martin’s featured composition, The Awakening, is a journey to healing and joy through the power of music. 

Key Chorale Chamber Singers, orchestra and soloists will come together virtually on January 29 for “Bach” Together: Bach & Vivaldi, performing two of the most festive Baroque works: Bach’s Magnificat and Vivaldi’s Gloria. Trumpet, timpani and jubilant choral writing is ever present in Bach’s Magnificat, his first large-scale work composed for the churches in Leipzig. Vivaldi’s spiritual magnificence and Italian mastery make his Gloria his greatest choral masterpiece. 

Acclaimed soprano Mary Wilson joins the full Chorale for a performance of Coronation: Mozart & Haydn on February 13. Mozart’s Coronation Mass gained its nickname when it was conducted by Antonio Salieri for the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia. Haydn wrote his Lord Nelson Mass, originally titled a Mass in Troubled Times, as Napoleon’s army marched toward Vienna. Soprano Mary Wilson will be joined by Bass-Baritone Jamal Sarikoki, Tenor Matt Morgan and Mezzo Amy Connours. 

April 30 – May 2nd marks the 11^th year of Cirque des Voix®, Circus of the Voices, presented with the Circus Arts Conservatory. This year’s show titled “The Next Decade of Wonder” brings back some of the most unforgettable acts of the past 10 years in this unique fusion of the circus and musical arts. World-class circus artists combine with the 100+ voices of Key Chorale and the musical mastery of the 40-piece Cirque Orchestra in the biggest and boldest production yet.

The season concludes in May as Key Chorale celebrates the power of choral music through an inspired performance by more than 200 singers of all ages, from high school students to seniors. This intergenerational choral festival has inspired countless high school students by encouraging music making at the highest level. Hear the very best repertoire of the season from Booker, Riverview and Sarasota High School choirs performing separately and alongside Key Chorale.

Beyond this full season of musical presentations, Key Chorale will hold its annual Perfect Pitch luncheon supporting education and community outreach January 25, at 11:30 a.m. at the Sarasota Yacht Club. Enjoy performances by Key Chorale’s Chamber Singers, the 2019/20 Student Scholars, and members of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. Our annual Tomorrow’s Voices Tonight, Student Scholar Soirée and Recitalwill be March 1 at the Education & Outreach Center of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. The soirée and recital will showcase solos and group numbers from the Key Chorale Student Scholars as they entertain with songs from Classics to Broadway while the audience enjoying cocktails and light bites. 

“The human spirit has an amazing way of finding the good through our ability to overcome, even when times are as challenging as these,” said Mr. Caulkins. “Keeping a sense of community in a time when we’ve been asked to isolate is a challenge, but we will do all we can to bring us together for a season of healing and hope.”

Season tickets are on sale now through October 30. Visit www.keychorale.org or call (941) 921-4845 to reserve the best seats and to take advantage of the 20% savings. Individual tickets go on sale October 1.