Cappella Gloriana, San Diego's premier 16-voice a cappella ensemble, performs holiday concerts in the week following Christmas this year, on Dec. 30 in San Diego and on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, in Escondido.
The chamber choir appears at St. Paul's Cathedral, Fifth and Nutmeg streets in San Diego, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30 in a program of holiday favorites such as “Gesu Bambino” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as well as lesser-known seasonal gems. Admission is a suggested $20 donation at the door. Cappella Gloriana is Ensemble in Residence at St. Paul's.
The chamber choir does two 45-minute concerts at 9:45 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31, at the California Center for the Performing Arts in Escondido as part of Escondido's First Night celebration. Both concerts will be in the smaller of the arts center's two auditoriums. There is no admission charge for the concerts but the overall Escondido First Night celebration does carry an admission fee. For more information go to the website http://www.EscondidoFirstNight.com
At both events Cappella Gloriana will offer for sale its 2002 holiday CD “O Holy Night: Christmas with Cappella Gloriana.”
The vocal ensemble is a recent recipient of two grants -- one from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the other from BRAVO San Diego. With the Copland Fund monies Cappella Gloriana will sponsor a 2006 competition for new American choral works. As a BRAVO-designated recipient, Cappella Gloriana performed at the organization's annual showcase in November and earned a money award.
More information on the competition and about Cappella Gloriana generally is available on the choir's website, http://www.Cappella-Gloriana.org.
In 2006 Cappella Gloriana plans concerts on Feb. 12 at First United Methodist Church in San Diego; on March 19 the ensemble marks its tenth anniversary season with a concert at St. Andrew's Episcopal church, Encinitas, and on June 16 the singers observe Mozart's 250th year with a concert at St. Paul's combining Mozart works with California mission music of the same period.
Cappella Gloriana performs a cutting-edge mix of contemporary works and early-music classics in concerts that juxtapose Bach, Mozart, Handel, Tallis and Byrd with Britten, Messiaen, Poulenc, Copland and Tavener.
>Under the director of conductor Stephen Sturk, Cappella Gloriana returned to Germany in the summer of 2005 for an eight-concert tour. Sturk and Virginia Sublett are the choir's co-founders and co-artistic directors. The ensemble is named for an allegorical title for England's Queen Elizabeth I.
Here's what they're saying about Cappella Gloriana:
“The chamber chorus impresses with a radiant sound.”
“… the choir demonstrated dynamic range and a sense of internal suspense sung with perfect intonation and tight clusters.”
“The ensemble … demonstrated mastery with sure intonation of the most difficult sound combinations, softest pianos and dissonant clusters.”
Thueringer Landeszeitung
“an extraordinary evening of church music”
Thueringer Allegemeine