Escondido Choral Arts Foundation
Striving to enrich lives through the study of music
and the sharing of musical experiences
The Center Chorale
Music Bringing Us Together
The Center Chorale is an ensemble of choral singers, endorsed by the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, performing choral literature of past masterworks and Twentieth and Twenty-first Century compositions in a variety of styles. The ensemble partners with the Center Children's Chorus in promoting vocal music in our community. The Center Chorale is dedicated to excellence in performance and education and also to
preserving the tradition of singing as an expression of art.
The Center Children's Chorus
Sing and Be Inspired
The Center Children’s and Youth Chorus, at the Center for the Arts, Escondido, provides opportunities to learn about music in a friendly and fun environment. Musical literacy and participation in the art of choral singing with their peers, as well as in combination with the Center Chorale are goals of this children's chorus. We perform several times during our season in many different venues in our community including the beautiful California Center for the Arts concert hall and performance theatre.
The Escondido Choral Arts Foundation is proud to announce its first concert of the 2024-2025 Season:
Ode to Joy, Two Hundred Years of Great Composers.
The concert will include a performance of the Ode to Joy, a segment of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the 200th anniversary of the work being completed, along with a selection of works from several other talented composers. It will be held at 7:00 p.m., on November 22, 2024 at the California Center for the Arts. The performance will include works performed by the Center Chorale and the Pacific Coast Chorale. There will be four guest soloists including Baritone soloist DeAndre Simmons, Tenor Soloist John Nettles, Mezzo Soprano Maria Caughey, and Soprano Caroline Nelms. They will be joined by an orchestra accompaniment. John Nettles and Diego Guerro will conduct the concert.
Escondido Choral Arts will be performing pieces chronologically, beginning with music from the Baroque period including Vivaldi and Bach, and continuing with three contrasting Mozart pieces, followed, of course, by Beethoven. Although these pieces are historic to our contemporary minds, when they were first conceived and performed, they were extremely innovative to their audiences. As conductor John Nettles explains, “I always tell the performers you have to put yourself in that mindset, and then the audience will feel like they’re hearing something fresh and new for the first time.” There will be several recognizable pieces including Mozart’s Ave Verum, and of course the Ode to Joy itself.
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is one of the most well-known and well-liked pieces today, but that was not always the case. When it first debuted in Vienna, Austria it received mixed reviews. Beethoven was almost completely deaf at that point, rendering him unable to properly conduct. Musicians who felt the violin part was too complicated to play simply set down their bows, and sopranos who could not sing all the high notes simply dropped out. It was also extremely long. The piece gained popularity long after than Beethoven’s death. It was innovative in many ways, but specifically because it was the first time a famous composer had included voices in a symphony. The Ninth Symphony in its totality is a captivating journey from turmoil into joy.
Tickets are on sale now for the concert which will be held at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The concert is set to be performed on Friday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets range from $10-$27. You can purchase tickets by going to www.artcenter.org, or calling 800-988-4523.
Sincerely,
John Nettles, Artistic Director
Escondido Choral Arts Foundation
Your contribution helps sustain the Escondido Choral Arts program in fulfilling our mission to enrich lives through the art of choral singing and providing musical opportunities in the community. Sponsoring a concert, contributing to the organization, or becoming a sustaining member are all very much appreciated. We hope you will join us for all our events for the 2024-2025 Choral Season Your support is greatly appreciated.
Thank YOU!
