Skip to content

The Sounds Of War And Peace: Chapter 1

Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall

Acts

Francisco Núñez, Composer/Conductor
Music for Future Peacemakers
Featuring Distinguished Concerts Orchestra 
and Distinguished Concerts Singers International

Jonathan Willcocks, Composer/Conductor
A Great and Glorious Victory (Carnegie Hall Premiere)

Also Featuring:

Daniel Shirley, Tenor

Participating Groups

Appleton West High School - Chamber Choir

Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde

Fulmore Middle School Advanced Girls Choir

Camerata California

Members of Cantori Domino

Pennsylvania Youth Chorale

Chichester Singers

Thomas Pullen Middle School Choir

Voices from the City of Birmingham Choir

University Park Elementary School Choir

First Presbyterian Church Choir

Fairfield County Children’s Choir

Hickory Choral Society

Johns Creek Presbyterian Church Choir

Portsmouth Choral Union

West Ranch High School Choir

Special Guests

Artist's Name

Francisco Núñez

Artist's Name

Jonathan Willcocks

Artist's Name

Daniel Shirley

Participating Group Directors

Daniel Shirley

Appleton West High School - Chamber Choir
Kevin Meidl

Appleton West's Chamber Choir is the top performing choir at the school. They represent a choral tradition that is now in its second century of musical excellence. As the resident concert choir, and artistic ambassadors from the school to the world, Kantorei has performed hundreds of concerts in the last three decades across America and in some thirty countries world-wide. Their high artistic standard and special zest for the performance of choral music has endeared them to audiences across the globe.

Kantorei has recorded a dozen compact discs and tapes representing all styles of choral music. Their recent disc "Christmas" features all freshly commissioned arrangements of familiar carols of the season. They have performed with orchestras including the renowned Milwaukee Symphony under the baton of Margaret Hawkins and Lee Erickson. The ensemble has sung for state and regional conventions of MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the American Choral Directors Association, the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association, and for many collegiate and regional choral festivals. The choir has premiered works by American and international composers, and hosted dozens of major artists, conductors, composers, and teachers as part of their "Evening With . . . " concert series.

Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde
Paige Mathis
Atlanta's premier choir for children and youth - provides a diverse and challenging learning environment that inspires intelligent thought, artistic creativity, and personal growth for 200+ talented children ages 7-18.

The Choir has traveled extensively, singing in all the cultural capitals of North America and Europe and winning invitations to the most prestigious choral festivals. This past summer, Youth Chorale won a gold diploma at the World Choir Games!

AYS remains committed to music literacy, commissions of new American choral works, support of local musicians, presentation of innovative concert formats, free workshops for educators, and outreach to underserved children.

Pennsylvania Youth Chorale
Eileen Finley

The PYC is a community nonprofit children's choir based in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, PA. It was founded by Artistic Director, Eileen Finley, in 1977. The choir performs a varied program of great art music, international folk songs in different languages, contemporary American music, Broadway tunes, and has had the privilege of performing such major works as Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana", Randall Thompson's, "Place of the Blest", Humperdink's "Hansel and Gretel" (selections), Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater", Bach's "St. Matthew Passion", and Britten's "St. Nicholas Cantata" and "A Ceremony of Carols".

This year the Senior Choir was selected by Distinguished Concerts International of NY to perform in a Treble Choral Festival in Carnegie Hall under the direction of the world renowned composer and conductor, Francisco Nunez.. This is the third time the PYC has been honored with an invitation to perform in this illustrious concert hall.

In the past the choir has performed in many other historic venues such as: the Senate Rotunda in Washington, DC; the Capitol Rotunda in Madison, WI; Faneuil Hall and Old North Church, Boston, MA; Historic Williamsburg, VA; the United States Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis, MD; Walt Disney World and SeaWorld, Orlando, FL; Bass Hall, Fort Worth, TX; York Minster and Gloucester Cathedral, England and Parliament House, Ottawa, Canada. The PYC has performed in 25 states and 6 Canadian Provinces, in the British Isles and in Germany.

The Chorale has produced 12 CDs: "PYC 20th Anniversary", "From Sea to Shining Sea", "Let There Be Peace", "Music Hath Charms", "Earth Song", "Prodigy: Beyond Genius", "Raise Your Voice!", "My Name Is Music" "The Sound of Music", "Come to the Music", "From Bach to the Beatles and Beyond" and "Songs Without Borders". The PYC can also be heard singing the world premiere of Robert Maggio's "Rachel and Her Children" on the Albany Records release of "The Wishing Tree".

Chichester Singers
Jonathan Willcocks
The Chichester Singers are an established part of musical life in Chichester and West Sussex, having been formed 60 years ago. They perform under the musical direction of Jonathan Willcocks, one of the UK’s foremost choral conductors and composers, and have nearly 140 singing members. He has been their Musical Director since 1979, during which time their repertoire has included a broad range of music from the great choral classics to contemporary works, performed with first-class professional soloists and orchestras. Most of their concerts are given in Chichester Cathedral and they have performed several of Jonathan’s works, including A Great and Glorious Victory. One of the many enjoyable aspects of being a member of the choir is the opportunity to take part in their concert tours to European countries. In recent years Jonathan has conducted the choir’s concerts in cathedrals and churches in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro and Malta. Their next tour takes place in 2014, when they are giving concerts at venues beside Lakes Maggiore and Orta in northern Italy.

Thomas Pullen Middle School Choir
Dawn Ba'th

Thomas Pullen Middle School Chorus - Thomas G. Pullen Academy is a K-8 school that provides the student body with an environment that promotes high academic standards through a rigorous arts program that enables students to reach their artistic potential. Each year the chorus majors are given various unique opportunities to perform, showcase their training and enhanced vocal skills. In 2011, the chorus performed at the BET Honors program supporting recording artists Common and Anthony Hamilton. Annually, they perform as members of the Prince Georges County Honors Chorus, performing at either the Kennedy Center or the University of Maryland alongside some of the greatest middle and high school talent in the county.

Also, the chorus competes yearly in the Maryland State Chorus competition receiving the highest scores for their performance. After completion of the eighth grade many of the chorus students are selected to continue their vocal training at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Suitland Center for Visual and Performing Arts and the Baltimore School of the Arts to name a few.

Voices from the City of Birmingham Choir
Adrian Lucas

Since 1921, the City of Birmingham Choir has constantly thrilled and entertained audiences with a wide and often adventurous repertoire. Singing first in the historic Town Hall and, more recently, in the magnificent acoustics of Symphony Hall the choir has also enjoyed an enormously productive musical partnership with the city's internationally famous orchestra, the CBSO.

The choir includes most of the major choral works in their repertoire plus more challenging and newer compositions. The standard of performances draws consistent praise from both critics and audience.


The Choir is committed to supporting choral music making and has participated in Making Music's Adopt-a-composer scheme as well as running singing competitions and workshops for people of all ages. Currently they are helping to develop the next generation of choral performers with Voice Factory - an enterprising scheme providing vocal training for the Choir and encouraging the participation of young people in singing.

Hickory Choral Society
Don Coleman

Johns Creek Presbyterian Church Choir
Alicia Ward
Alicia Ward has served as a church musician for over 35 years, previously serving churches in Louisiana, Alabama, Washington, New York, and North Carolina. Since moving to Atlanta in 1995, Alicia has served as a staff singer at St. Matthew's Lutheran, Haygood United Methodist, and Covenant Presbyterian, and served as full-time Director of Music at Norcross Presbyterian from 1999 to 2004 prior to coming to Johns Creek Presbyterian. She resides in the Peachtree Corners area and is the mother of four children. Professional memberships include Presbyterian Association of Musicians, American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, YouthCUE, American Choral Directors Association, and Choristers Guild.

Portsmouth Choral Union
Jonathan Willcocks

With the appointment of Jonathan Willcocks as Musical Director in 1975 the Portsmouth Choral Union found itself with a dynamic young professional who espoused higher standards of singing, better stage presentation and more formality in auditioning both new and current members. He also operated with humour and a lightness of touch welcomed by both members and audiences; these influences rapidly became characteristic of the Choir as a whole. He was already composing and it was not long before the Choir commissioned and performed in 1980 his song-cycle Voices of Time. Since then Willcocks has continued to develop the repertoire widely, occasionally including his own compositions such as Riddle of the World, Worcester Mass, Magnificat, Great is the Glory, and Lux Perpetua and successfully finding the mix of works necessary to satisfy audiences, critics and members alike. He also widened the field of orchestral players employed by the Choir, and has played a large part in the the continuing development of Southern Pro Musica, now a widely-respected professional orchestra with whom the Choir frequently appears.

The tradition of encouraging younger people to take part in PCU concerts has continued. Outstanding young soloists emerging from the major national Music Conservatoires, and the 100-strong Hampshire County Youth Orchestra, are frequently employed, and works for combined adult and children's choir included in the programme when possible. With generous help from Southern Arts and Portsmouth City Council a Te Deum, by Portsmouth composer Ian Schofield, was commissioned and completed for premiere performance on 9 November 2002.

West Ranch High School Choir
Molly Peters