June 27 to July 8, 2012 – This summer, the New York Choral Society will embark on a musical tour to Sicily. For the 180 member chorus, in its 53rd year, this will be its 14th International Tour and the last one for outgoing Music Director John Daly Goodwin, under whose baton the chorus has sung for 25 years. The chorus received an invitation to Sicily by the renowned Maestro Alberto Veronesi in 2010, after he conducted them in Cavalleria rusticana, and La Navarraise, his debut concert as Music Director of the Opera Orchestra of New York. That memorable production in Carnegie Hall, starred Roberto Alagna, Elina Garanca and Maria Guleghina. Among his other positions, Maestro Veronesi is also Music Director of the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago, Artistic Director of the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana
The New York Choral Society Music Festival will take place June 27 to July 8. Two major concerts are planned. On Saturday June 30th, the chorus will sing at the beautifully ornate Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania. The NYCS will join forces with the Teatro Massimo Chorus and Orchestra performing a program that will include the Verdi Te Deum for double chorus, the Haydn Te Deum and Verdi’s Ave Maria. The important piece, Va Pensiero, promises to stir the audience. On Sunday, July 1 the program will be repeated in Taormina at the fabulous Teatro Greco.
In addition to singing, the chorus will tour the island and meet its people. Among events planned is a dinner on the piazza in the small town of Sant’Ambrogio, where the locals will be the hosts and highlight the local products. Another event will take place at the historic Palazzo Toscana in Catania. In both places, the chorus will hear traditional Sicilian music. Daytrips will include the ruins of Segesta and Siracusa, the beautiful Cefalù and Caltagirone, the mosaics of Monreale and Piazza Armerina, and Mt. Etna. The chorus will learn about the process of winemaking at an Etna winery and producing olive oil at a farm. The trip is designed to highlight the cultural and historical aspects of Sicily’s heritage.
For further information about the NYCS, and tickets to its American Reflections concert, April 20th at Carnegie Hall, go to www.nychoral.org.
