Renaissance Voices presents "Love Songs, Old and New"

Renaissance Voices will perform at the Brunswick Unitarian Universalist Church on Saturday, May 11 at 7:30 pm as part of the Concerts for a Cause series.  All proceeds from the concert will be donated to  Mid Coast New Mainers Group and Oasis Free Clinics.

Renaissance Voices is a 24-voice, auditioned, a cappella chorus based in Portland, Maine. They were founded in 1995 by a group of Maine singers on tour in London. The original idea for an auditioned, Portland-based, a cappella ensemble still guides their choices today.  Although their emphasis is the a cappella performance of early European music, in recent years they have broadened their repertoire to include other origins and periods from the 11the century to the present day, including compositions by a Maine-based composer, John Newell, and UK woman composer in the UK, Tamsin Jones,  and compositions by our their own director Harold Stover. . Concerts also feature short readings that complement the themes of the musical selections. Renaissance Voices is comprised of both professional and experienced amateur musicians and enjoys an ever-widening fan base throughout Maine.

Harold Stover has been their conductor since 2001. He is a Julliard graduate, a distinguished composer, and an organist / choirmaster of one of the most respected choirs in NYC. From 1968 to 1992 he served as Organist and Choirmaster of Second Presbyterian Church in NYC, where he directed the church’s amateur and professional choirs and was founder and director of the “Music at Second” concerts. In 1986 the church’s music program was the subject of an hour-long profile on the nationally syndicated radio program IBM Salute to the Arts.

He also served on the faculty of the New York School of Liturgical Music, where he taught organ, choral conducting, sight singing, music theory and church music history. In 1995 he was appointed to the faculty of the Portland Conservatory of Music, where he teaches organ and music theory.

He has played organ recitals to critical acclaim in both the US and Europe, appearing in many distinguished church recitals series and concert hall organ recitals including Merrill Auditorium at City Hall in Portland.

His compositions include keyboard music, choral and vocal music, chamber and orchestral music, electronic music, and two film scores. His liturgical music has been widely performed by choirs across America.

For this spring concert, the theme will be “Love Songs, Old and New.”  Renaissance Voices will be playing works by John Dowland, Thomas Morely, Edward Elgar, Selections from the Great American Songbook and more.

“…each of the group’s concerts is a carefully faceted jewel.”

—Christopher Hyde, Maine Sunday Telegram
 

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at door, Students & Children: $5

Available at the Church office, at Gulf of Maine Books, or online at  https://ticketstripe.com/renaissance  beginning April 1, 2024.