Lenox — Cantilena Chamber Choir will perform a program of carols and instrumental music at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, at Trinity Church in Lenox, with works by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds taking center stage. Kevin O’Hara will be guest reader.
Ēriks Ešenvalds is a Latvian composer, born in 1977, widely recognized as one of today’s leading voices in choral music. Educated at the Latvian Academy of Music and later a fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, he is known for gorgeous melodies and harmonies; lush, atmospheric soundscapes; and emotionally impactful writing that often incorporates unconventional instruments such as water-tuned glasses and jaw harps. His best-known works—including “Stars,” “Only in Sleep,” “Long Road,” and “Northern Lights”—are performed by top choirs around the world, making his music a staple of contemporary choral repertoire. Ešenvalds also writes orchestral, chamber, and film music but remains especially celebrated for his evocative choral style.
Now in its 22nd season under the direction of Andrea Goodman, the Cantilena Chamber Choir comprises 24 highly trained singers known for their innovative programming and artistic excellence. The choir has received a multiyear Cultural Portfolio grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for its annual Martin Luther King Jr. program, along with three Choral Arts New England Alfred Nash Patterson awards. The ensemble has performed at Tanglewood, the Mahaiwe and Colonial theaters, Hancock Shaker Village, The Mount, the Berkshire Museum, Hevreh, and WGBY in Springfield. Guest collaborators have included actors Jonathan Epstein, Allyn Burrows, Annette Miller, Benjamin Luxon, and Tina Packer and author Geraldine Brooks. The choir has also worked with the Urban Choral Arts Society, Cambridge Concentus, Aston Magna, the Empire Brass, and six Berkshire public schools. A highlight performance was its live presentation of “The Passion of Joan of Arc” with the original 1928 score at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Andrea Goodman is the founder and director of the Cantilena Chamber Choir. She has held conducting professorships at the Cincinnati Conservatory, New York University, Skidmore College, and the New England Conservatory of Music, where she also led the women’s choir. She directed the annual Saratoga Choral Festival for 18 seasons and has prepared choirs for the Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit. Her guest appearances include the Aspen Music Festival; the Festival de Musique Sacrée in Fribourg, Switzerland; and the Singing World Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. Goodman holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting and is a specialist in Russian choral music, having written her doctoral dissertation on Russian sacred music during the Soviet era. The concert features music that was once forbidden during that time and remains among the composer’s most important contributions to the choral repertoire.
Hear Cantilena Chamber Choir perform carols and instrumental works, including choral works by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, at Trinity Church, 88 Walker Street, Lenox. Tickets and more information are available at Cantilena’s website, by calling (518) 791-0185, or by emailing satbchoir@yahoo.com.
