Tickets on sale for this diverse musical program, spanning five centuries,
and introducing St. Andrew’s new organist, Jonathan Gregoire, on the church’s 77-rank Létourneau organ
The Choir of Clare College of Cambridge, England, one of the leading choral groups in the world, will perform with the St. Andrew UMC Chancel Choir and new organist, Jonathan Gregoire, on the 77-rank Létourneau instrument, on Sunday, September 28, 7 p.m., in the sanctuary of St. Andrew, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas.
“The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, is known as one of the finest university choirs in the world,” said Chris Crook, Minister of Music & Worship, St. Andrew UMC. “When we received the call asking if we were interested in hosting them, it was a no-brainer. This is exactly the type of musical performance that flourishes in our incredible space. We built this sanctuary to share concerts like this with the community.”
Founded in 1971, the choir leads services three times a week in the college chapel and keeps an active schedule recording, broadcasting, and performing widely throughout the world including tours in the United States of America, Australia, Japan, China, Russia, the Middle East and throughout Europe. In 2000 it became the first Oxbridge mixed voice choir to perform at the BBC Proms, singing Bach’s “St. John Passion”. The choir has collaborated with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in performances of Handel’s “Jephtha,” under the direction of René Jacobs; with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius,” under Edward Gardner; with the Israel Camerata in Bach’s “Weihnachtsoratorium”; and also with the Academy of Ancient Music, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, and the Schubert Ensemble. The choir gives frequent performances at many international festivals, including the Potsdam Sanssouci Music, Munich Opera, and Spitalfields Festivals and the Early Music Weekend at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. The choir regularly contributes to the Choral Evensong broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. In addition to live performances, the choir has produced an impressive catalogue of recordings.
“The director, Graham Ross, was gracious in offering the St. Andrew Chancel Choir a chance to perform jointly with the Clare Choir,” added Crook. “We will be performing together William Byrd’s ‘Ave Verum Corpus’, Hubert Parry’s ‘I Was Glad’ and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘Antiphon.’”
Throughout the year, the choir performs a wide range of repertoire with an ongoing commitment to contemporary works. It has commissioned and premièred works by composers including Herbert Howells, Sir John Taverner, John Rutter, Jonathan Dove, Tarik O’Regan, Gabriel Jackson, Nico Muhly, and the College’s Composer-in-Residence, Giles Swayne.
“Another exciting feature of this concert is the introduction of St. Andrew’s new organist, Jonathan Gregoire,” added Crook. “Jonathan has been asked to accompany the combined choir on the church’s 77-rank Létourneau organ but also be featured on a solo organ selection, Louis Vierne’s ‘Carillon de Westminster.’ Jonathan is completing his DMA at Arizona State University and officially joins the St. Andrew staff in mid-October. Folks can find out more about Jonathan at www.jonathangregoire.com. It is difficult for us to contain our excitement about his coming, so to show him off in this way makes us very proud.”
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and are available at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=47265.
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St. Andrew United Methodist Church is a vibrant, growing, intergenerational church. Begun in 1986, St. Andrew is located on a 21.214 acre campus at the corner of Plano Parkway and Mira Vista and includes a sanctuary, education, music and nursery wing, completed in 2003. Nearly 2,000 come together every weekend through six different worship services: Saturday Night Alive!-5:30 p.m.; Sunday Early Service-8:00 a.m.; Teaching Service-9:30 a.m.; and Traditional Service-11:00 a.m.; The Well contemporary worship at 9:09 a.m. and 10:39 a.m. St. Andrew is an outward-focused church striving to lift the world around us toward God and provides a number of local and global mission opportunities including the Seven Loaves Community Center, which provides a myriad of services to qualifying residents of all Collin County zip codes directed at improving lives and breaking the poverty cycle. A number of caring ministries are in place to support members in all phases of life from support groups to career care in addition to ministries focused on each age group. Additional ministries include a strong music program with choirs, instrumental groups, as well as the Academy of Music, offering private lessons. St. Andrew provides each individual with opportunities to connect to the community and contribute their unique gifts to the congregation's spirit. St. Andrew United Methodist Church is located at 5801 Plano Parkway, Plano, TX 75093. Additional information can be found at www.standrewumc.org