The 2009 INCANTATO PERFORMANCE TOUR
TO SPAIN & PORTUGAL FOR THE YPAS TOURING CHOIR
On their 2009 Incantato Performance Tour to Spain and Portugal, the YPAS singers present two very special formal concerts, sing in three masses at stunningly beautiful and last but not least famous cathedrals, and you will also have some informal singing opportunities.
The "informal singing opportunities" means that they have given you permission to sing a few pieces from your repertoire. While it would be nice just to walk into those amazing venues and just sing, the reality is that even for an informal concert, permission has to be asked and granted. We encourage our groups to take advantage of every opportunity while abroad. This may sound like a lot of work for the singers on your trip, but as a singer each event will bring you closer and will truly open your heart to the music and history! Each time you sing your repertoire it will change and tell you something new, especially dependent on your new environment and acoustics!
The first performance will be a recital in Segovia at San Juan de los Caballeros Church at 7 pm. on Saturday, March 28, 2009 followed by a welcome dinner. The next day, the YPAS Touring Concert Choir will present another recital at the beautiful León Cathedral at 12:30 pm. Sunday, March 29, is also they day for the first of two highlight concerts - in the Chamber Music Hall of the Auditorio Principe Felipe of Oviedo. The YPAS Choir will be joined with singers from the Youth Choir of the Prince of Asturias Foundation.
Tuesday, March 31st: Evening Mass in the Santiago Cathedral.
This was the place, Dr. Glasscock really wanted to sing in, and YPAS is going to be the featured guest choir for the evening High Mass on March 31, 2009. Now a little something about this amazing venue: The Santiago Cathedral in located in Galicia, Spain. This cathedral is reported to be the burial site of Saint James, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. During 1070 while Alfonso VI of Castile was in power this great cathedral sprang into life. Due to the lapses in construction the cathedral wasn’t completed until 1122. Although during the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries many expansions and embellishments were made.
Thursday, April 2nd: Morning Mass in the Lisbon Cathedral. The Lisbon Cathedral is the oldest church in the city. Contruction begain in 1147 and hosted as a Mosque. When the city was captured early in the 12th century by Christian crusaders (led by Portugal's first kind, Afonso Henriques), the structure was rebuilt and it became the first church in Lisbon. It has suffered through several earthquakes and has gone through renovations, so now it displays many different architectural styles within its walls. Click here for more information and pictures.
April 2nd: Finale Concert and high Mass in the Basilica of Estrela. Click here for Wikipedia's entry on that beautiful church.
And last not least, on April 3 at 6 pm, YPAS will be the featured guest choir for a very special High Mass at the Catedral La Almudena in Madrid
The Almudena Cathedral serves as one of Madrid’s fabulous and affordable tourist sites. Saint Maria de la Almudena was the one of Madrid patron saints and the source of the cathedral’s name. The cathedral has a strong and passionate history, starting around the late 18th century. Although the cathedral had an early beginning it wasn’t completed until 1993. Unlike many other cathedrals in Madrid or Toledo (Spain’s former capital) the Almudena Cathedral is famous for its modern beauty and grand size. The Cathedral is 104m long and 76m wide (113 yards long and 83 yards wide)!
ABOUT THE CHOIR AND DIRECTOR DR. TIMOTHY GLASSCOCK
Dr. S. Timothy Glasscock is finishing his eighth year at The Youth Performing Arts School, where he functions as the Director of Vocal Studies and teaches Vocal Development, Repertory Choir, DuPont Manual Chorus, Concert Choir, and Chamber Choir. He also serves a Production Director to the musical productions. As Artistic Director of The Louisville Chorus, the Southeast United States’ longest-thriving choral arts agency, he is a well-known figure in artistic circles in The U.S. With a Bachelors and Masters degree in music from The University of Louisville and a Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of Kentucky, his experience is wide and varied. Dr. Glasscock is in demand nationally and internationally for conducting and guest solo performances. His biography can be found on the World Concert Artist Directory, and he is a member of the Conductor’s Guild, American Choral Director’s Association, Kentucky Music Educator’s National Conference, Chorus America, The College Music Society, National Pastoral Musicians, and various other professional organizations.The Youth Performing Arts School Touring Concert Choir consists of vocal majors and other singers admitted by audition only. This ensemble covers a wide variety of music from all periods of musical history. Renaissance motets, baroque cantatas, classical masses, romantic and 20th century choral/orchestral masterworks—all these genres and more comprise the core repertoire of the touring ensemble at YPAS.
This choir has performed at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France, at St. James Episcopal (first musical position held by Leopold Stokowsy) in London, Rochester Cathedral, Cathedral of Saint Mark’s in Venice, Italy, Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore, and Sancta Susanna, the American parish in Rome, Italy, The Haydnsaal at Esterhaze, Mirabell Gardens, and various other prestigious venues throughout Europe. The choir has sung for presidential inaugurations, television commercials, sung back-up for touring world-famous performers, and made commercial CD recordings alone and with professional arts organizations. Each Spring, the Concert Choir performs a major work in cooperation with The Louisville Chorus. These collaborations have included the Durufle, Mozart, and Brahms requiems, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and Serenade to Music, and will be performing Haydn’s Creation in April.Nearly 80% of YPAS vocal graduates go on to pursue a career in the arts, and each year 90% of those attending college go on to major music departments across the country with full or near-full performance scholarships. The Youth Performing Arts School ensembles have consistently received distinguished ratings and can be found performing throughout the Louisville-metro area all year long
The Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) founded in 1977, is a part of the Jefferson County Public School District and serves students in grades nine through twelve. As a magnet school under DuPont Manual High School, YPAS has diverse student population from throughout Jefferson County exhibiting talent and interest in dance, drama, technical theatre, vocal music, instrumental music, and piano. Further classes are offered in musical theatre, music theory, and jazz improvisation. At the heart of the YPAS facility is an 886-seat formal proscenium theatre with excellent acoustics and state-of-the-art production equipment. In addition, a 200-seat experimental theatre provides a more intimate setting for chamber presentations, dramatic works, and non-traditional productions. Facilities include a suite of ensemble practice rooms, dance studios, a costume shop, a scene shop, drama studios and other enhancements exceeding those found in many college settings. A computer lab and a fine arts library round out the resource-rich environment available to students of this school. YPAS has enriched the cultural and educational environment of Louisville and the Commonwealth with graduates earning scholarships to universities and conservatories throughout the nation.
You can also check out YPAS on wikipedia
The school's website is also very informative.
AMOR ETERNO IS THE CONCERT TOUR THEME BASED ON A SPECIAL COMPOSITION BY RICHARD BURCHARD
A Song of Eternal Love with have its European premiere on March 29, 2009 in the Chamber Music Hall of the Oficina Municipal de Congresos of Oviedo as the YPAS Choir will be joined with singers from the Youth Choir of the Prince of Asturias Foundation.
About the composer:
Richard Burchard is Associate Professor and Music Department Chair at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. He teaches Composition and Arranging, Music Technology, Music Theory
and World Music. Burchard also teaches in the KIIS Program (Kentucky Institute for International Studies) in Salzburg, Austria.
Burchard's music consists primarily of choral works including over thirty commissioned pieces. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States and Europe having had world premieres in Salzburg, Austria and Rome, Italy. In 2006 Burchard released his first CD of original choral music, New Music for Choir, featuring ten new compositions. In addition to choral music, Burchard composes experimental and ambient electronic music specifically for modern dance companies and Internet media companies and was named the Kentucky Music Teachers Association Commissioned Composer for 2008.
Visit www.richardburchard.com for more information and music samples.
