In its 54^th season in 2019-20, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society will chart thrilling sonic voyages, taking a musical journey through America, England, Hungary, Italy, and Vienna during their four-concert subscription series, and travel to England for a 10-day tour in January 2020. Music Director Anthony Blake Clark stated “This prestigious invitation to perform with England’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a high honor and amazing opportunity. It allows Baltimore Choral Arts to share great American choral culture as well as take part in England’s profound choral tradition, culminating in performances with one of Europe’s top orchestras.”

This Choral Arts on Tour theme also extends to the new concert home of Shriver Hall Auditorium. The building has undergone stunning and much-anticipated renovations. This auditorium now provides new comfortable seating, upgraded lighting systems, acoustic improvements, modernized HVAC systems, new restrooms, flooring and ceiling renovations, and beautifully re-finished public spaces.

The season begins in November with a tour of American music, curated by Music Director Anthony Blake Clark. An American Suite: From Billings to Bernstein features great American choral classics, from the 18^th century music of William Billings to the music of Copland and Bernstein, and a world premiere of Anthony Blake Clark’s newest arrangement, Higher Ground.

In December, holiday choral favorites in the historic and inspiring setting of The Baltimore Basilica continue a 36-year tradition with Christmas with Choral Arts. This year, Baltimore Choral Arts will explore the Christmas spirit with the sumptuous sounds of voices and orchestra, broadcasted by WMAR-TV and aired on WYPR and WBJC. Choral Arts and ever-lovable Pepito the Clown bring even more holiday cheer with a Baltimore reimagining of Charles Dicken’s classic novella A Christmas Carol with our concert Christmas for Kids: The Baltimore Scrooge at the Gilman School.

January 10-20, 2020, Baltimore Choral Arts is touring England, highlighted by a prestigious invitation to sing Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s 100^th anniversary celebration. This gala will be led by conducting superstar and CBSO Music Director Mirga Gražinyt?-Tyla. The Baltimore Choral Arts Chorus will also perform at venues in London and Oxford.

Baltimore Choral Arts and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) will collaborate in their second, multi-sensory concert in March with Monteverdi Vespers. The Monteverdi 1610 Vespers’ ambitious take on the Vespers’liturgy will be illuminated by MICA’s graduate students’ artwork and the musical partnerships with the Baltimore Baroque Band, Peabody Renaissance Ensemble, and Washington Cornett and Sackbutt Ensemble, elevating this historically-informed performance with modern context.

The season closes with Mozart Requiem in May, showcasing Hornist Philip Munds in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, and Tenor Steven Soph in Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. The concert ends with Mozart’s emotionally invocative Requiem, one of the iconic works in the orchestral and choral repertoire.

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society is one of Maryland's premier cultural institutions. The Symphonic Chorus, Chorus, and Chamber Singers perform throughout the mid-Atlantic region, as well as in Washington, D.C., New York, and in Europe. The Baltimore Choral Arts Society provides a number of thoughtful and impactful music education programs that serve youth in and around Baltimore. These programs include CoroLAB, a new partnership with Overlea High School’s choral music program; Vocal Fellows, an expanded professional development program for early-career singers; Student Composer Project, a competition for high-school and college composers; and our 36^th annual Christmas for Kids. Through these four primary educational programs, Choral Arts serves the very young to early-career adult musicians.

Music Director Anthony Blake Clark enjoys a reputation as one of the freshest young voices in classical music. Mr. Clark is also Director of Choral Activities in The George Washington University’s Corcoran School of Art and Design, where he conducts the University Singers and vocal chamber ensembles, as well as mentoring student conductors. He has prepared choruses for esteemed maestros Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Simon Halsey, CBE, and Gijs Leenaars for concerts with internationally renowned ensembles, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, and Rundfunk Chor Berlin. At New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, he was recently one of several conductors for David Lang’s 1,000-voice the public domain, working under his mentor Simon Halsey; he returned as chorusmaster for the 2018 premiere of John Luther Adams’ In the Name of the Earth.

Full four-concert subscriptions are available now with an Early Bird discount. PICK2 or More subscription option and single tickets are available Friday, June 7^th. For more information, please visit www.BaltimoreChoralArts.org or call the box office at 410-523-7070 ext 301.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society 2019-20 Subscription Season | Choral Arts on Tour!