I suspect some of you noticed that you haven’t received MuseNews for quite a while. Well I can assure you that it wasn’t because things were slowing down. Quite to the contrary, we have been busier in the past two years then any time in our history.

It all started right after we returned from the Italy concert tour in 2005 when I was invited to assemble a chorus to record the “50 Most Loved Christmas Carols” for Steve Fox and his colleagues. Following the release of the CD these singers appeared with Steve and the Golden State Pops Orchestra at several additional events including their Holiday Pops Spectacular and a concert presentation of “Jesus Christ Superstar” in the newly refurbished Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro. We then joined forces once again at the 2006 Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

In both 2005 and 2006 we also had the distinct pleasure of performing with the Long Beach Symphony as the featured chorus in their annual Holiday Celebration at the Terrace Theater. The General Manager, Janet Nyquist, has been a pleasure to work with and she has again invited me to provide a chorus for their December concerts this year.

Since my last MuseNews the Cypress Masterworks Chorale has performed a variety of choral favorites including Handel’s Messiah, the Bach Magnificat, the Vivaldi Gloria plus some other less familiar works such as Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum and the Randol Bass Gloria.

We presented our 4th annual Mozart Midnight Madness concert on December 4th, 2005. This tribute concert dedicated to the great Viennese “wunderkind” mimics the annual midnight service held every year in his hometown of Salzburg, Austria on the eve of the composers death. Those performances always include his beloved Requiem and the well known motet Ave Verum Corpus. We became so heavily booked in December of 2006, however, that we had to forgo the Mozart Midnight Madness concert this season. I suspect, however, we will resurrect that performance again in the near future - perhaps at five year intervals.

Without question, however, the two outstanding musical events were the incomparable Benjamin Britten War Requiem (2005) and the Bach B minor Mass (2006). Both of these acknowledged masterworks are monumental undertakings for any chorus and we worked relentlessly to bring these concerts to full fruition. Soloists Susanne Montgomery, Nicholas Preston and Steven Pence were brilliant in bringing the difficult War Requiem solo material to life - each singing with studied excellence and soaring artistic passion. The Southern California Children’s Chorus also performed with angelic clarity and precision, adding immeasurably to the overall success of the War Requiem concerts.

With his fire emblazoned Bach to the Future poster, our designer, Danny Dayton, again created one of his signature promotional pieces which set the stage in dramatic visual fashion for our final concert of last spring. Our B minor Mass soloists - Michelle Murray, Megan Starr-Levitt, Holly Harvey, Alvin Brightbill and Benito Galindo - all performed beautifully, and I received particularly favorable comments regarding the elegant rendition of the Agnus Dei by Darryl Taylor, who made his debut appearance as a counter tenor.

Both the War Requiem and the Bach B minor Mass were exciting and demanding musical experiences for everyone involved and proved to be noteworthy high points in the 2005 and 2006 concert seasons.

We also had a great time revisiting the world of theatrical music with our “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” concert, featuring material from both opera and musical theater. Selections ranging in contrast from Spamalot, Wicked and The Producers to Rigoletto, Lakme and The Bartered Bride set the stage for an evening of great singing and memorable moments of unadulterated, slapstick humor. The hysterical opera parody, An Extract of Opera, proved to be an irresistible favorite for most audience members and the perfect vehicle for our comically gifted performers, Barbara Josefsberg, Gail Hantelman, Joey Burgoes and Eric Graeber, who kept smiles on every face as they cavorted through the various farcical situations and histrionics of their respective characters.

And of course, we enjoyed participating in a number of regional choral festivals including the Biola University Invitational, coordinated by Dr. Shawna Stewart; and the wonderful Los Angeles International Choral Festival, created by Dr. Albert McNeal. I was flattered to once again be invited to direct the massed choir for the latter event.

This will be my 27th year as director of the Cypress Masterworks Chorale and I’m very excited at the diverse range of material we will be presenting this season.

The Mozart Coronation Mass is my choice as an elegant yet powerful opening for our 2007-08 concert season. Written in 1779, this Mass was submitted by Wolfgang as an “audition piece” to catch the ear and attention of Austrian Emperor Leopold II at his coronation ceremony. It was again performed two years later for the coronation of Leopold’s successor, Franz II.

The Coronation Mass is one of Mozart’s most popular “sacred” pieces and employs a “festival” orchestra which includes brilliant trumpet passages and powerful trombones - instruments not generally used in traditional Mass settings of the period. Upon hearing the hauntingly beautiful Agnus Dei, experienced listeners will easily recognize, "Dove sono," the Countess' aria from Le Nozze di Figaro (1786). This evocative melody, which began its musical life as an impassioned plea for mercy in the Coronation Mass, eventually evolved into a poignant testament to lost love in Mozart’s enormously successful opera buffa, The Marriage of Figaro.

Without question the Coronation Mass is an example of Mozart at his highest level of musical craftsmanship and dramatic power - at the ripe old age of 23. It will indeed be a pleasure to hear as well as perform this marvelous composition.

In keeping with past seasons the Chorale will also present its annual holiday concert plus a variety concert in the Spring. The performance schedule will conclude with John Rutter’s eloquent setting of the Requiem. We last perform this wonderful piece back 1988, so it will be a delight to revisit this choral gem after an interval of 20 years. It will certainly provide a beautiful conclusion to my 27th season with the Cypress Masterworks Chorale.

One of the focal points of this year is certain to be our summer concert tour to China. We will depart for Beijing on June 22 for a 12 Day - 10 Night tour which will include visits to numerous attractions in and around the capital plus excursions to regional attractions including the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses at Xian.

As always, I consider concert touring to be one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of our musical lives. There are very few experiences that leave such indelible memories as the concert tour. This will be our 12th major tour - 8th “International” trip - and I’m already very pleased with the positive response that I’ve received to my initial e-mail invitation. As our first visit to the Orient, this is bound to be an adventure of particular significance. I do hope that many of you - singers and entourage alike - will give this opportunity special consideration. It will undoubtedly be a remarkable experience that will live in our memories for many years to come.