The San Marino Chamber Choir (SMCC) will be presenting the first concert of its 2012 International Performance Tour to Germany and Istanbul on Sunday, April 1 at 7 pm at Markuskirche in Munich. The 40 students from San Marino High School in the greater Los Angeles area in California bring a wide variety of choral literature along for the 11-day Konzerttournee starting with classics like Biebl's Ave Maria or Bach's "oh Come Sweet Death", but also present work from contemporary American composers like Eric Whitacre and Richard Burchard. Spirituals as well as folk songs from North America, Asia and Europe conclude the musical offerings. The concert is a benefit for the hosting church's own music program and the singers from the USA hope to engage in some form of exchange with youth from St. Markus as well as the audience after the performance. "It is life changing for our singers to perform internationally", explains director Mr. Howard Cheung: "We are honored to share the gift and joys of choral music with the people of Munich and its many visitors." The San Marino Chamber Choir travels abroad annually and has already performed in Taiwan, Japan, Italy, Spain, Austria and Hungary - Stephansdom in Vienna, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome or the Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona or only a few of the prestigious venues the singers performed at. In the USA they have presented concerts to full houses in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City; and the choir is regularly invited to high ranking festivals and competitions. This year's musical theme "Made in the USA" sums up where both the majority of the music as well as the students come from, but it is also meant to challenge the audience's expectations concerning the modern day make-up of American schools. The San Marino Chamber Choir unites singers who origins origins represent many different nationalities, mostly Chinese and Taiwanese, but also Hispanic, Indian and last not least Arabic and German. The concert starts at 7 pm at Markuskirche on Gabelsbergerstr. 6 in Munich. The entrance is free, however seating is limited and thus early arrival highly recommended.
