A surrender to Nature; a fascination with the past; a turn towards the exotic; a longing for the infinite; a celebration of national identity; an emphasis on the expression of emotion. Join Vocalis as it explores the diversity of the Romantic period, with music by Brahms, Grieg, Bruckner, Rachmaninov and more!
Vocalis Chamber Choir
James Burritt, Director
Tickets: $10 general; $5 Burchfield Penney members
Dedicated professionals based in Buffalo, New York. Vocalis is committed to performing great a cappella music of all eras, and to cultivating an awareness of the art of choral singing. Comprising 20 voices, the choir strives to inspire, educate and enlighten our audiences through an intimate and moving concert experience. Now in its 12th season, Vocalis has established itself as one of the finest ensembles in New York.
Members of Vocalis are music educators, church musicians, and other talented professionals from Buffalo and beyond. The choir presents eight to ten concerts a year in the Buffalo area, and has traveled to Toronto, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Albany and New York City. In 2011 and again in 2012, Vocalis performed on the closing concert of the Music Niagara Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Vocalis has collaborated with the choirs of St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, the Amherst Symphony Orchestra, Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, and Camerata di Sant' Antonio.
From the beginning, Vocalis' programming has been wide-ranging and diverse, featuring both great choral masterpieces and less well-known gems from throughout the ages, along with exciting contemporary works such as James MacMillan's Cantos Sagrados. In 2011-12, Vocalis' 10th Anniversary Season, a 'Spotlight WNY' concert presented compositions from Western New York's thriving artistic community. The choir ended its first decade with 'Triumph and Majesty', featuring Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Handel's Coronation Anthem Zadok the Priest, and the world premiere of Venite LaudemusDominum by English composer Andrew Smith, commissioned by Vocalis in celebration of its first ten years.
The 2012-2013 season included a collaboration on the music of Monteverdi and Vivaldi with the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra, the festive annual Christmas concert in the glorious acoustic of the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Buffalo, and a performance on the inaugural concert series for Buffalo State College's new recital hall. Our thrilling season finale featured music for string orchestra and choir with members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, in works by Bach and Beethoven, and the WNY premiere of Tarik O'Regan's moving Triptych.
Highlights of the 2013-2014 season included a concert tour to Cleveland, a collaboration with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra presenting the music of Mozart and Rutter, and a summer tour of England, with engagements at Southwark Cathedral, Grosvenor Chapel, the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, Ely Cathedral, and the Cambridge Summer Music Festival.