DCINY - Distinguished Concerts International New York

New York, N.Y. – August 3, 2015

 

Outstanding music program receives special invitation 

 

Distinguished Concerts International New York City (DCINY) announced today that Dominic Brennan and the Cantus Ensemble have been invited to participate in a performance of The Music of Paul Mealor featuring NY premiere Stabat Mater and a new world premiere on the DCINY Concert Series in New York City. This performance will be on Monday, February 15, 2016 – President’s Day Weekend – in Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Dr. James Jordan. Paul Mealor will be the composer-in-residence. Dr. Jordan will serve as conductor of the performance and clinician for the residency. Congratulations to you and your singers on this wonderful achievement and recognition! 

 

Why the invitation was extended

 

Dr. Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for DCINY states: “The Cantus Ensemble received this invitation because of the quality and high level of musicianship demonstrated by the singers as well as the exceptional quality of their audition recording.

 

It is quite an honor just to be invited to perform in New York. These wonderful musicians not only represent a high quality of music and education, but they also become ambassadors for the entire community. This is an event of extreme pride for everybody and deserving of the community’s recognition and support.”

The singers will spend 5 days and 4 nights in New York City in preparation for their concert. “The singers will spend approximately 9-10 hours in rehearsals over the 5 day residency.” says Griffith. “Not all of the time is spent in rehearsals, since there is so much history and culture to see in New York City. However, the performance is the primary purpose for their visit to the city.” Members of the community are encouraged to give financial support in sending these singers to New York by contacting Dominic at +44 7595 370 317 or via email at dominic.brennan@me.com. 

 

Conductor James Jordan 

 

GRAMMY®-nominated conductor James Jordan is recognized and praised around the musical world as one of America’s pre-eminent conductors, writers and innovators in choral music. The most published performer/author in the world, he has written more than 35 books on all aspects of the choral art. He was described as a “visionary” by The Choral Journal, which cited his book Evoking Sound as a “must read.” His books form the canon for the teaching of conductors and choirs around the world. At Westminster Choir College he is professor and senior conductor and conducts Westminster Schola Cantorum and the internationally acclaimed Westminster Williamson Voices.

 

He has made two recordings of the music of James Whitbourn with the Westminster Williamson Voices on the Naxos label, which have garnered wide critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Gramophone hailed him as a conductor of “forceful and intimate choral artistry.” Regarding the recording Annelies, Choir and Organ wrote, “Jordan’s instinctive understanding of the score makes this a profound and emotionally charged experience.” Reviews have praised the Westminster Williamson Voices as “without peer” (American Record Guide) noting that the ensemble “performed with utmost truth and precision,” and with “supreme artistry” (The Choral Journal), and “sing(s) with a precision and finesse normally found in the best of the UK’s large chamber choirs” (Gramophone). The Arvo Pärt Project has described the Westminster Williamson Voices under his direction as “coming into their own in the American choral scene both here and abroad.”

 

Dr. Jordan’s career and publications have been devoted to innovative educational changes in the choral art, which have been embraced around the world. His writings have shaped far-reaching changes in conducting pedagogy, and the teaching of rhythm applying Laban Effort/Shape to music teaching and conducting. In 2012, he received Rider University’s Iorio Research Prize. His exclusive publisher is GIA Music (Giamusic.com), Chicago. He is executive editor of the Evoking Sound Choral Series (GIA), whose extensive catalog of almost 200 works stands as among the largest and most comprehensive choral series in world.

 

His residencies, master classes and guest conducting have taken him throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Among the institutions where he has taught master classes are The Curtis Institute, Rhoades College, the University at North Texas, the University of Buffalo, Temple University, the University of Arizona, the University of Aberdeen and the U.S. Army Soldiers Chorus. He has conducted more than 30 all- state choirs, and in 2009 he was named to the choral panel for The National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. Jordan serves as artistic director of the Westminster Conducting Institute, one of the nation’s leading summer programs for the training and education of conductors. In the summer of 2013, he inaugurated the Westminster Choral Institute at Oxford, a unique partnership with St. Stephen’s House, one of the Halls of Oxford University. Since its establishment, this program has established itself as one of world’s recognized programs for the teaching of artistry. Students at the Choral Institute live and study in England’s oldest university city, among its dreaming spires and cloistered quadrangles. They work with some of the world’s preeminent thinkers in choral and sacred music and experience first hand the treasures of a university for which choral music has been its lifeblood in an unbroken tradition lasting more than 600 years.

 

He has been honored as a distinguished alumnus at both Susquehanna University and Temple University. He was awarded the distinguished Doctor of Music by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland in November 2014. In 2015, his landmark book Sound as Teacher will be published with GIA Publications.

 

Composer Paul Mealor 

 

Described in the New York Times as, ‘one of the most important composers to have emerged in Welsh choral music since William Mathias... real and original talent’, Paul Mealor’s music has rapidly entered the repertoire of choirs and singers around the world. His music has been described as having, ‘serene beauty, fastidious craftsmanship and architectural assuredness... Music of deep spiritual searching that always asks questions, offers answers and fills the listener with hope...’ His sacred motets, songs and cycles have been performed, broadcast and recorded by artists in the UK, USA and much further afield.

 

Mealor was catapulted to international attention when 2.5 billion people (the largest audience in broadcasting history) heard his Motet, Ubi caritas performed by the choirs of Westminster Abbey and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, conducted by James O’Donnell at the Royal Wedding Ceremony of His Royal Highness Prince William and Catherine Middleton (now TRH The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge) at Westminster Abbey, 29th April 2011.

 

Born in St Asaph, North Wales, UK in 1975 Paul Mealor studied composition privately from an early age with John Pickard, at the University of York with Nicola LeFanu (1994-2002) and in Copenhagen with Hans Abrahamsen (1998-99). Since 2003 he has taught at the University of Aberdeen, where he is currently Reader in Composition, and has held visiting professorships in composition at institutions in Scandinavia and the United States. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and his music is published by Novello & Co Ltd. 

 

DCINY Productions 

 

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) is a production company based in New York City. Our concert series includes choral and instrumental concerts in world-class venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall and Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Founded by Iris Derke (General Director) and Jonathan Griffith (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor) DCINY is driven by passion, innovative vision, a total belief in its artists, and unwavering commitment to bringing forth unforgettable audience experiences. Following our motto “The Art of Performance – The Power of Education”, we focus on the educational process while upholding a high performance standard and provide ensembles and conductors of distinction educational and performance opportunities including select solo performances, rehearsal audit, conductor mentoring and debut performances. 

 

Tickets

 

For more information on tickets, group sales or other special offers, please contact us at 212-707-8566 Ext. 307, or BoxOffice@DCINY.org. 

 

Contact & Interviews 

 

nterviews and press requests may be arranged by contacting Andrew Ousley at Unison Media at 212-707-8566 Ext. 316, or Press@DCINY.org.