Lenox — You may know Anthony Trecek-King from his appearances on the Emmy-nominated WGBH television series “Sing That Thing” or from one of his talks at TEDx Boston. Or maybe you’ve seen him conduct at the Sydney Opera House or Carnegie Hall or a dozen other prominent venues. Then again, you may know him from your time as a student at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, where he serves as Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Activities. And if you are a member of the chorus for the Handel and Haydn Society or San Francisco Symphony, then you’ll remember him from his performances with those ensembles.
And if you haven’t heard of him at all, then you are overdue for a rewarding discovery on Sunday, May 28, when Trecek-King conducts the Great Barrington-based Berkshire Choral International (BCI) Chorus in works by Mozart, Brahms, Whitacre, and others at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall. (Make that two discoveries if you are unfamiliar with Eric Whitacre).
All we know about the program for May 28 is that it includes those three composers in works exploring the meaning of the word “home.” This wouldn’t be much to go on were it not for the fact that Mozart and Brahms are authors of some of the most sublime choral music ever created, and Eric Whitacre is a composer of contemporary choral works known for their lush harmonies, intricate textures, and expressive melodies. In other words, he writes choral music that people enjoy listening to (as opposed to the all-too-common other kind of contemporary choral music). Whitacre was a rock musician before he ever thought about choral music. But in college, he sang in a choir just once and was hooked. (He didn’t even know how to read music.)
Whitacre’s signature style is best exemplified by the Christmas piece “Lux Aurumque” (Light and Gold), which appears on his first recording as both composer and conductor on Decca Records, “Light & Gold.” The album won a GRAMMY Award in 2012 and became the No. 1 classical album in the U.S. and U.K. charts within a week of release. Hearing Eric Whitacre’s music for the first time is a wondrous and immense pleasure. So if you love choral music, then you owe it to yourself to hear Whitacre’s works performed in a great room by a great choir.
If you are a Roald Dahl fan, then you may recall that Anthony Trecek-King has had dealings with the foxes, chickens, and other animals depicted in Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s staging, with Odyssey Opera, of the family opera “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” (Not to be confused with the 2009 Wes Anderson animated feature.)
A word about awards: One Pulitzer (for Zhou Long’s “Madam White Snake”) and one GRAMMY (for “Fantastic Mr. Fox”) have gone to projects with ensembles under Trecek-King’s direction, and his work with Boston Children’s Chorus earned the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the Presidential Committee on the Arts.
Hear Berkshire Choral International perform a program of Mozart, Brahms, Whitacre, and more at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall on Sunday, May 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available here.
