Join Key Chorale Chamber Singers and Modern Marimba for Light & Gold

March 20, 2024 – Sarasota

Join Key Chorale Chamber Singers and Modern Marimba for Light & Gold: Luminous and Lavish settings by Eric Whitacre & Morten Lauridsen on Sunday, April 7th at 5 PM.

They will present some of Whitacre and Lauridsen’s most hauntingly beautiful works full of lush harmonies. Hear the Florida premiere of Whitacre’s Child of Wonder and Lauridsen’s masterpiece inspired by light, Lux Aeterna.

Featured Guest Artist will be Key Chorale’s Principal Keyboardist Glenn Priest on organ and piano. He will also be showcased in a fiery and festive Toccata by American composer and organist John Weaver and as organ soloist for Lux Aeterna.

Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen are two of the most popular and performed choral composers of our time. Lauridsen’s works have been recorded on more than 200 CDs, including 5 Gammy nominations, and he has been named an ‘American Choral Master’ by the National Endowment for the Arts and received the National Medal for the Arts in 2007.

Each of the five connected movements in this choral cycle Lux Aeterna contains references to “Light,” assembled from various sacred Latin texts. He composed this work as a universal symbol of illumination at all levels – spiritual, artistic, and intellectual.

Morten Lauridsen’s premiere of Lux Aeterna in 1997 sent ripples throughout the choral world. Its influence on choral music and musicians has been felt far and wide, cementing its status as one of the most performed works of the late 20th century.

One of Lux Aeterna’s biggest fans went on to become a choral rock star in his own right, Eric Whitacre. Whitacre is a Grammy-winning composer and conductor. His pioneering of the “Virtual Choir” idiom has led to the release of 6 virtual choirs with a more than 5 million combined views worldwide.

“His music connects in very powerful ways, his use of harmony is always spine-tingling, always drawing the listener in,” said Maestro Joseph Caulkins. “These two composers did more to change the course of choral music than anyone in the last 100 years. Their music speaks to us in

ways that are at times spiritual, emotional and deeply intimate. And, sometimes, all three at once.”

The Chamber Singers will be joined by four musicians from Modern Marimba, founded in 2019 by Tihda Vongkoth. She loved playing marimba in high school and college, but there were only a few opportunities to hear mallet percussion music outside of academia and large institutions. After realizing a need for curating performances and educational programs by and for all types of marginalized people, she organized a house concert in Sarasota for her neighbors, friends, and the general public and now they present numerous concerts in the region. “During the pandemic, I heard several transcriptions of Whitacre’s music played by marimba quartets,” said Maestro Caulkins. “I was stunned by the colors and how well his choral music translated to the marimba. It was a stunner and I wanted to share some of these transcriptions with our audiences. I know it will be especially captivating in the ear-bathing acoustics of St. Boniface Church, perfect for this kind of music.”

The final work of the program will combine marimba quartet and Chamber Singers performing Whitacre’s hauntingly beautiful Sleep, one of the most moving choral pieces ever written.

Concert takes place:

St. Boniface Episcopal Church

5615 Midnight Pass Rd., Siesta Key

April 7th, 5 PM

Tickets $35-$45 To purchase tickets, visit www.keychorale.org or call 941-552-8768 to reserve.