Chor Leoni, The Leonids – Erick Lichte, conductor
The Leonids – made up of some of the finest singers in North America – are already making a buzz in the choral world. The debut program of this dreamteam ensemble features phenomenal works, new commissions, and collaborations with Chor Leoni, making this a double-feature of the very best of choral music. You’ll be the first to witness this all-star group, who will return each year like the brilliant meteor shower for which they are named.
Section A $45 | Section B $35 | Section C $30 | Section D $20
Ticketing by Bard on the Beach.
A service charge of $3.68 will be added per ticket.
A constellation of choral stars align in a new supergroup ensemble created by Chor Leoni. Performing independently and alongside Chor Leoni, these luminaries will wow with otherworldly sounds and heavenly harmonies.
Ticketing by Bard on the Beach.
The Leonids have been handpicked by Artistic Director Erick Lichte and have sung with such ensembles as Chanticleer, Cantus, Roomful of Teeth, New York Polyphony, Conspirare, Theatre of Voices, Seraphic Fire, Trinity Church Wall Street, Clarion Choir, TENET, Skylark, and Phoenix Chorale.
Acclaimed to have “a beautiful sound” (The New York Times), bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca is enjoying a diverse career as a soloist and chorister across North America with repertoire from Early to Contemporary Music. He is regularly seen with the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and frequently sings with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.
Bass-baritone Jonathan Woody is a sought-after performer of early and new music in New York and across North America. He has been featured with historically-informed orchestras such as Apollo’s Fire, Boston Early Music Festival, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, earning praise as “charismatic,” “riveting,” and “wonderfully dramatic.”
Baritone Sam Kreidenweis’ stylistic versatility, rich sound, and engaging stage presence have gained him praise internationally. Sam works with the Dublin, Ireland-based Anúna, and appears across the US with ensembles such as Conspirare, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Vocal Arts Ensemble.
Tenor Dann Coakwell can be heard as a soloist with Conspirare on the GRAMMY-winning album The Sacred Spirit of Russia and the GRAMMY-nominated album The Hope of Loving, as well as on Considering Matthew Shepard and the critically praised Zabur. Dr. Coakwell has sung throughout Europe, Japan, and the Americas, under some of the world's most renowned conductors.
Tenor Andrew Fuchs’s wide-ranging repertoire includes an abundance of early music, which he has sung with such groups as Pegasus, Tenet, Artek, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, and New York Polyphony. He recently made his Kennedy Center debut in Monteverdi’s Vespers with The Thirteen and his Lincoln Center debut in Bach’s Magnificat with the American Classical Orchestra.
Tenor Jacob Perry Jr., based in the Washington DC Metro Area, receives praise for his “gorgeous and stylish” interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire (ClevelandClassical.com). He has been featured as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Mountainside Baroque, Tempesta di Mare, and The Thirteen.
A “superb vocal soloist” (The Washington Post) with “impressive clarity and color” (The New York Times), tenor Steven Soph performs concert repertoire spanning the Renaissance to modern-day. He regularly sings with top vocal ensembles including Seraphic Fire, Conspirare, Roomful of Teeth, and more.
Tenor Steven Wilson regularly appears with Handel + Haydn Boston and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra NYC and is a member of the twice GRAMMY-nominated classical a cappella vocal quartet New York Polyphony. He has performed in major venues with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra NYC as the Evangelist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
"This could very well be poet Robert Lax's artistic Credo, his most deep and dear beliefs offered in the most ordinary and open words possible. I found I Want To Write A Book Of Praise to be mine, also, and immediately knew I had to set it."
Poet and mystic Thomas Merton's psalm-like prayer is sensuously set to the music of a tango by Ysaÿe Barnwell.
Marvellous Error! "The piece plays with the idea of wakefulness and dreaming, what is true and what is fantasy, and the suggestion that perhaps what is in our dreams may be our reality as well." A Sound Like This "Erick Lichte and I had a vision for a piece that would beckon the audience to 'listen.' I chose Robert Bly's translations of 15th-century Indian mystic/poet Kabir because they so eloquently and powerfully achieved this goal. They also resonated with me on a deep level, and spoke to my core life philosophy: that one must actively listen, seek, think, hope, and jump into experience."
"My first compositions as a teenager were heavily influenced by my love of Renaissance madrigals, and I return to this inspiration with this song, which sets a joyous text from the apocryphal Book of Enoch. The work is packed with “madrigalisms”—musical figures, textures and harmonies that vividly illustrate the words being sung."
The poem here is by the poet George Herbert and is from his work The Temple which was published in 1633. The three stanzas of the poem carry a dialog between the worshiper and Love, a metaphor for God.
"Dolcissima Mia Vita is written to celebrate the collaboration between Chor Leoni and the Leonids and really gives an opportunity for each choir to shine. The poetry borrows short segments from a Renaissance madrigal written by Carlo Gesualdo. Originally a love song, the poetry is re-interpreted to be a love song for the planet."
"Captain Charles Scammon describes a stunning encounter on the open sea between his ship and a large group of white-sided dolphins. The captain's words speak simply and eloquently, tracing an attractive musical arc, like a wave that surges excitedly then recedes. I adapted Scammon's vivd prose into a sea ballad in which the sailors collectively recount the striking event they experienced."
The sea is a giver and taker of life. These Songs of the Ancient Sea weave together old Estonian runic songs into a cinematic tapestry of life and death upon the ocean.
"My Dear Little Leron is a popular Filipino folk song from the Tagalog region. It is traditionally a work song, representing those who are in the fields harvesting fruits. It is often presented as a children's song, though some parts of the text may have been meant for a more mature audience as some sources also refer to it as a song of courtship."
