Summer Concerts: King's Singers

Program:

Founded at King's College in Cambridge in 1968, the King’s Singers are one of the world's most sought-after and acclaimed vocal ensembles. Known for presenting diverse programs encompassing a wide range of repertoire, they have performed throughout North America in such prestigious venues as New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in the major halls of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and at major American music festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, the Hollywood Bowl, Wolf Trap and Interlochen. In addition to the King’s Singers’ countless a cappella recitals, the ensemble has appeared with the symphonies of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Worth, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Toronto, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra, and the New York, Boston and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. The ensemble is a perennial favorite of the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, with whom they have performed as part of the Olympic Arts Festival at the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City. The Washington Post has written: “The singing was technically breathtaking, luxuriously beautiful and musically intact.”

Internationally, King’s Singers uphold a strong presence across most of the globe. The group has performed in the major halls of London, Paris, Rome, Salzburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, Budapest, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Beirut, Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, Seoul, Tokyo and Mexico City, among others. They have toured throughout almost every European country from Iceland to Turkey and have ventured as far abroad as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

This renowned ensemble shows its versatility by working with other fine musicians on collaborative projects. Their widely acclaimed 2005 recording, “Sacred Bridges,” with the Middle Eastern musicians of Sarband, was chosen as Editor’s Choice by Gramophone magazine. Other collaborations have included performances with pianist Emanuel Ax and percussionist, Evelyn Glennie, jazz with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Lebanese folksongs with the singer Fadia El-Hage and Spanish Renaissance music with The Harp Consort. As part of a strong commitment to music education, the King’s Singers frequently teach as part of their international performance schedule, giving presentations and master classes. They are the Prince Consort Ensemble in Residence at the Royal College of Music in London and sustain a bi-annual teaching post at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Germany.

The King’s Singers have explored new music since their inception and continue to maintain this tradition. Over the past three decades, they have commissioned over 200 works from a host of prominent contemporary composers including Richard Rodney Bennett, Luciano Berio, Peter Maxwell Davies, György Ligeti, Steve Martland, Gian Carlo Menotti, Krysztof Penderecki, Ned Rorem, John Rutter, Gunther Schuller, Toru Takemitsu and John Tavener. American composer Libby Larsen wrote a set of songs for the King’s Singers, “A Lover’s Journey”, which was premiered at their 2001 Valentine’s Day concert in New York City.
This extraordinary vocal ensemble is equally at home singing Renaissance madrigals, transcriptions of orchestral classics, folk music in various languages and popular songs. This wide-ranging repertoire is reflected in the ensemble's more than 70 recordings, which have won several Grammy nominations. In January 2001, King’s Singers received another Grammy award nomination in the category of “Best Classical Crossover Recording” for Circle of Life (RCA Victor), an orchestral recording featuring popular songs from hit films with the Metropole Orchestra of Holland conducted by Carl Davis. Chanson d'Amour, a collection of international love songs, reached the top ten on the Billboard crossover charts. Other recordings in the canon run the gamut from Annie Laurie – Folk Songs of the British Isles to Good Vibrations, featuring unique arrangements of pop songs by Paul Simon, Billy Joel and Phil Collins, among others.

In 2005, they commemorated the 400th Anniversary of the infamous attempt to blow up the British seat of Government, The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, with a successful tour and the CD, “Treason and Dischord”, a recording of music contemporary to the period, now released in the U.S.A. Another new release is a performance DVD, “From Byrd to the Beatles”, which contains comments from the singers. Also featured on the DVD is a fascinating look behind the scenes in the recording studio, as the six King’s Singers tackle the technical feat of singing the 40-part “Spem in Alium” by Thomas Tallis, with over dubbing to create a wall of harmonic sound. The completed track is now available as the first King’s Singers’ single.
In addition to their sold-out concerts in recital, orchestral and festival venues worldwide, the King’s Singers’ efforts to share their artistry extend to numerous workshops and master classes with choral ensembles, including student, amateur and professional groups. “King’s Singers: A Workshop “ an educational program produced by Hal Leonard,is now on DVD as well as video and features excerpts from master classes and concerts held in Dallas’s Meyerson Symphony Center. This follows the earlier video “The Art of The King's Singers”, a documentary-style program showing the everyday life of the sextet on the road, as well as in rehearsal, performance, and master class settings.

The King’s Singers are familiar to American television audiences through their numerous television appearances, including Evening at Pops with the Boston Pops; their own six-part series entitled The King's Singers Madrigal History Tour, broadcast on A&E; an Emmy award-winning ABC Christmas special with Julie Andrews, Plácido Domingo and John Denver; and numerous appearances on the The Tonight Show and NBC’s Today show. Parents and children alike recognize them from their appearance on PBS's Newton's Apple, and from a special promotional spot produced by PBS, which features the King’s Singers’ signature song, You Are the New Day. The ensemble has been heard frequently on the American Public Radio and National Public Radio networks, including NPR’s Performance Today and Minnesota Public Radio's Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, and St. Paul Sunday Morning.

www.kingssingers.com