Choirs and musical programmes 2018

The choir presents a rare combination of well–established traditions and innovative musicianship. Founded as a male–voice choir, it has been part of the academic life in Uppsala since 1830. Reforming as a mixed choir in 1963, they continue to honour the rich Swedish choral tradition as well as highlighting music by contemporary composers. Its heterogeneous repertoire wishes to inspire the listeners not only to enjoy treasured music gifts of the past, but also to discover new music. Through its long history, the choir made many appearances on stages in Sweden and across the globe. They perform their own concerts and collaborate with other artists. In 2014, they carried out a large-scale production of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana together with Swedish Folkoperan. They performed the main entertainment event Floral Transformation during the Nobel banquet in Stockholm in 2005, released the CD Resonanser–Swedish Choral Music New Perspectives in 2009, and won the Swedish Grammis–award the same year for best classical album. During autumn 2015 and spring 2016, Allmänna Sången recorded a new album: Femina Moderna, consisting of music by female contemporary composers.

György Ligeti (1923–2006): REGGEL (Sandor Weöres)
Schott

Antonio Lotti (1647–1740): CRUCIFIXUS ETIAM PRO NOBIS (part of the Nicene Creed 381 A.D. / del Nicejske veroizpovedi A.D. 381)
CPDL

Samuel Barber (1910–1981): REINCARNATIONS, op. 16:
1. Mary Hynes (James Stephens)
Schirmer

Ingvar Lidholm (1921–2017): DE PROFUNDIS (Ps 130)
AB Nordiska Musikförlage

Sofia Gubaidulina (1931): HOMMAGE À MARINA TSVETAYEVA (Marina Tsvetayeva)
IV. Interlude
Edition Sikorski

Peter Cornelius (1824–1874): LIEBE, DIR ERGEB’ ICH MICH, op. 18 (Angelus Silesius)
Carus-Verlag

Per Ekdahl (1974): ACK, ACK OM DET VORE DAG (Swedish folksong / švedska ljudska)
Gehrmans Musikförlag

MARIA GOUNDORINA was born in Novosokolniki in Russia and grew up near Moscow, where she started singing in choirs at the age of seven, taking up conducting when she was fifteen. She studied at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music College and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory (with Boris Tevlin) and later at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Anders Eby, also following courses in musicology at the University of Vienna. Her ideals in terms of choral sound were influenced by these cities and her studies, but also by her own experiences as a singer and conductor. She has been a member of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Chamber Choir, the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and Mikaeli Chamber Choir, and has conducted numerous Swedish choirs, including the Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and the choir of the Royal Swedish Opera. Since 2010 Maria Goundorina has been artistic director of Allmänna Sången. She also teaches choral direction and singing and Russian music at courses in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.

The choir was founded in 1983 by Professor Yang Hongnian, renowned conductor and music educator. In the past 30 years, nearly 5,000 children have been trained in the choir, with about 1,500 Chinese and foreign songs sung at over 1,000 performances worldwide. It has garnered 30 major prizes from internationally prestigious competitions, released 32 CD and DVD albums and 7 collections of children’s choral music.

In 1987, they performed in the 3rd International Children’s Choir Festival in Washington D.C., receiving Highest Appreciation Certificate, signed by the president Ronald Reagan. In 1990, Austrian president Rudolf Kirchschläger praised their performance with these words: “A concert of such brilliance should be heard by everyone in Vienna.” In February 2003, the choir staged a showcase performance at the annual meeting of American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and participated in concerts at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Riverside Church in NYC.

Beijing Olympic Games Bidding Committee picked the choir to perform in Monaco and Moscow, along the bidding process for hosting the 2000 and 2008 Olympics. On August 8th 2008, 66 singers sang The Olympic Hymn at the opening ceremony of the 29th Beijing Summer Olympics. In September 2016, they visited and performed in Israel and Palestine as the Peace Angel as start of “The Song of World Peace” tour.

The choir remains committed to its mission – Love & Devotion. In 30 years, they have regularly appeared in charitable events and free training workshops. They will continue to pursue its artistic goal, sharing love and the beauty of music with all.

André Caplet (1878–1925): MESSE A TROIS VOIX:
1. Kyrie eleison (Ordo Missae – fragment / red sv. maše – odlomek)
Éditions Durand & Cie. Paris

Orbán György (1947): PANGE LINGUA (eucharistic hymn, Tomaso d’Aquino / evharistična himna, Tomaž Akvinski)
Ars Nova

Yang Hongnian (1934): DOUBLE ECHOES (Yang Hongnian)
People’s Music Publishing House

Yang Hongnian (1934): INTRODUCTION & TOCCATA (Yang Hongnian)
Unpublished/neizdano

Zoltán Kodály (1882–1976): HEGYI ÉJSZAKÁK
Editio Musica Budapest

Michele Josia (1974): COME IL RITMO VELOCE
Unpublished/neizdano

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) / Yang Hongnian (1934): THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE (from opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan / iz opere Pravljica o carju Saltanu)
People’s Music

Liu Xiaogeng (1955): WATER BEETLE (Mou Hongen) (Zhuang Minority folksong / ljudska manjšine Zhuang)
Central Conservatory of Music Press

YANG LI is Professor of Conducting at Central Conservatory of Music, Principal Conductor of Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Resident Conductor of the Children and Young Women’s Chorus of National Symphony Orchestra, Director and Conductor of Beijing Philharmonic Choir. He graduated with an “Artist Diploma” from Stuttgart Conservatory of Music in Germany in 1997. In his time in Stuttgart, Yang was the first musician from China to win the Karajan Foundation scholarship.  Over past 10 years, Yang Li led the Children and Young Women’s Choir of the China National Symphony Orchestra to win the top awards in 18 different international choral competitions. He was a juror in many international choral competitions.

Coro Musicanova started performing in 1990. Since the beginning, the choir included varieties of genres and authors in its repertoire, ranging from renaissance to pop music. They performed in various European countries, gaining recognitions and prizes in some of the most important international choral competitions. In 2008, the choir won the first prize at the 6th International Miltenberg Competition. In 2014, Coro Musicanova won several prizes at the 53rd Gorizia International Competition, becoming the best mixed choir. In 2017, the choir won the Grand Prix of the 46th Florilege Vocal de Tours, winning access to the 2018 EGP Finale in Maribor. The choir is highly involved in spreading choral music among young people, strongly believing in the musical and human values of the choral activity. As a consequence, the choir often collaborates with Roman schools, from which the majority of its members come from.

Fabrizio Barchi (1957): LUX PERPETUA (Requiem – fragment / rekviem – odlomek)
Edizioni Musicali ERREFFE

Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566–1613): TRISTIS EST ANIMA MEA (responsory for Maundy Thursday / responzorij za veliki četrtek)
Kurt Pages

Per Nørgård (1932): WIE EIN KIND:
1. Wiegen-Lied (Adolf Wölfli)
Wilhelm Hansen

Daniel Brinsmead (1988): COME SLEEP (John Fletcher)
Santa Barbara

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847): SECHS SPRÜCHE, op. 79:
1. Am Weihnachten (Ps 98)
Julius Rietz

Ko Matsushita (1962): O, LUX BEATA TRINITAS (Saint Ambrose / sv. Ambrož)
Carus-Verlag Stuttgart

Bo Holten (1948): 3 LATIN MOTETS:
3. Haec Dies (Ps 117)
Wilhelm Hansen

Jacobus Handl – Gallus (1550–1591): ALLELUIA. CANTATE DOMINO CANTICUM NOVUM, OM 2,34 (Ps 98,1, 100,1-2, 98,4)
ZRC SAZU

FABRIZIO BARCHI, Coro Musicanova’s conductor, studied at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music of Rome, under the guidance of maestri R. Baratta, D. Bartolucci and A. Renzi, and attended courses held by F. Luisi, A. Zecchi, J. Jurgens, P. Neumann and G. Graden. His début as a choir conductor happened in 1979: since then, he has been conducting choirs, both in musical associations and schools. With his choirs, he was awarded several prizes in regional, national and international competitions. He worked as a musical education teacher from 1980 to 1993, when he assumed the chair of Choral Conductorship at the Conservatory Lorenzo Perosi in Campobasso.

The Resonanz Children’s Choir (TRCC) is an award-winning children’s choir based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Most of its members are students of The Resonanz Music Studio, a music centre led by Indonesian maestro Avip Priatna. He founded TRCC in 2007 and has been mentoring them ever since. Conductors of the choir include Devi Fransisca and Luciana Oendoen.
For the past few years, TRCC has been championing several international choir competitions. In 2012, TRCC became the Champion Children’s Choir in Bali. Next year, TRCC competed at the Hong Kong International Youth and Children’s Choir Competition and won six awards. These, among others, were first prizes in children’s and folklore categories, and the title of ‘Choir of the World’. In 2015, TRCC went to the US and won four awards at the Golden Gate International Choir Festival in San Francisco. In 2016, they won the Children’s choir category and became the grand champion of the Claudio Monteverdi Choral Competition in Venice, Italy. In July 2017, TRCC won the Children’s Choir category and also became the grand champion of the Musica Eterna Roma, in Italy, while in November on the same year, TRCC won the children’s choir category as well as the grand prix of the 49th Tolosa Choral Contest.

Lee R. Kesselman (1951): AD AMORE (from Dante’s Divine Comedy / iz Dantejeve Božanske komedije)
Boosey & Hawkes Inc.

Thomas Luis de Victoria (1548–1611): DUO SERAPHIM CLAMABANT:
1. Duo Seraphim (Iz 6, 3)
CPDL

Robert Schumann (1810–1856): DER WASSERMANN (Justinus Kerner)
IMSLP

Ivan Yohan (1975): SALVE REGINA (Marian antiphon / marijanska antifona)
Unpublished/neizdano

Gwyneth Walker (1947): STEAL AWAY (spiritual)
E.C. Schirmer

Fero Aldiansya Stefanus (1988): 137 HIP-STREET

Avip Priatna (1964)/ Agustinus Bambang Jusana (1970): JANGER (folksongs from Indonesia / ljudske iz Indonezije)
Carus-Verlag

AVIP PRIATNA is one of Indonesia’s most successful conductors. He holds Magister Artium degree from Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien where he studied with Leopold Hager and Prof. Gunther Theuring.
Avip founded The Resonanz Music Studio in Jakarta where he established The Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS), The Resonanz Children’s Choir (TRCC) and the Jakarta Concert Orchestra (JCO). With the BMS and TRCC, he toured internationally and had successfully won numerous awards and prizes at prestigious European competitions. He led the BMS to be the finalist of the European Grand Prix in Choral singing (2013, 2017) as well as TRCC (2018). He has received conductor’s award in different competitions. Under his direction, the BMS often received best interpretation awards – best interpretation for French composition (at Florilège Vocal de Tours, 2001) and for compulsory song (Guido d’Arezzo International Polyphonic Competition, 2010).

Founded in 1989 by Gary Graden to offer the students extended experiences in choral singing, it complements the regular choral education. They soon gained a wide reputation and won several international competitions. A highlight was the invitation to the IFCM Symposium in Ljubljana in 1995, where the Chamber choir represented Sweden. In 1997, the choir was invitated to the Vatican’s yearly Christmas Concert, televised in several countries and seen by millions of people!

The choir rehearses two hours per week after a full school-day and changes 10-12 of its 38 members each year. In 2002, Gary Graden ‘retired’ as conductor and Helene Stureborg took his place.

They have since produced two CDs (God Jul and Ave Maria), were successful in competitions (Tours 2006, Marktoberdorf 2009, Cork 2011), festivals (Usedomer Musikfestival 2005, Concordia Vocis 2010, Europäische Jugendchor Festival Basel 2012), made several tours to Berlin, performed in Berliner Dom, and gave many concerts. In spring of 2010, they toured with Andrea Boccelli in Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm and celebrated 25th Anniversary with Graden and Stureborg.
The repertoire shows a wide range of styles and epochs, with emphasis on contemporary a cappella music.

Jan Sandström (1954): BIEGGA LUOTHE (Lapland yoiks / laponski joiki)
Gehrmans Musikförlag

Robert Schumann (1810–1856): VIER DOPPELCHÖRIGE GESÄNGE, op. 141:
1. An die Sterne (Friedrich Rückert)
Carus-Verlag

Hugo Alfvén (1872–1960)/ Helene Stureborg (1964): VALLVISA (Swedish folksong / švedska ljudska)
Elkan&Schildknecht

Nana Forte (1981): EN EGO CAMPANA (Carmina proverbalia, 45)
Unpublished/neizdano

Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548–1611): REGINA COELI (Marian antiphon / marijanska antifona)
CPDL

HELENE STUREBORG obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Church Music in 1990, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Choral Conducting in 1993 at the Royal University College of Music. She studied conducting with Gustaf Sjökvist, Eric Ericson and Kjell Ingebretsen. Working as a conductor and music teacher at Stockholms Musikgymnasium since 1990, she became the conductor of Kongl Teknologkören at the Royal Institute of Technology in 1994 and held the position until December 2002 when she took over Stockholms Musikgymnasium Chamber Choir. In 2011, she started Helene Stureborgs Chamber choir with former students.

Helene has also been teaching choral conducting at the Royal University College of Music from 1996-2014 and was a member of the Artistic Council of Statens Musikverk from 2014-2017. She is often engaged by the Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and as conducting teacher and choral pedagogue at various courses.