Friday pick: Soli Deo Gloria at University Presbyterian Church
Soli Deo Gloria, Fresno’s women’s chorale, offers a walloping dose of “Celestial Joy” to start the pre-Thanksgiving weekend. The chorale will sing the poetry of St. Francis of Assisi, Hildegard von Bingen (one of music director Julie Carter’s favorites), John Milton, Sara Teasdale and the Bible.
The concert (7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at University Presbyterian Church) highlights harmony in relationships and the grandeur of the natural world. A pre-concert talk is at 7 p.m.
“It will be a fantastic evening of pairs,” Carter says. “We are doing not one, but TWO pieces featuring water glasses (played by running a wet finger around the rim) by Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds celebrating the beauty of the Northern Lights and stars, two pieces with Hebrew text, two settings of Sara Teasdale’s “Joy,” two pieces in Latin, and two more pieces in Latin.”
The ensemble is also singing a South African greeting song; an “absolutely gorgeous” Chilean love song, and bringing back “Immortal Harps,” a commissioned work by Kevin Memley written in 2017.
“The whole program is a real treat you don’t want to miss,” Carter says.
Guest ensemble is the FPU Brass Ensemble directed by George Dougherty.
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Regular readers of The Munro Review know that this top-notch vocal ensemble always gets my recommendation. If you’ve never experienced an all-women’s choral group before, it’s a distinctive and memorable sound, and the singers in Soli Deo Gloria deliver at a very high level of quality.
Tickets are $12/Students; $20/Advance; and $25/Door available at brownpapertickets.com, sdgchoir.com, or from singers.
Mintzworks
Sounds great, but speaking of FPU…No commentary column on the cutting of the programs there?