Simon Carrington was a co-founder
of the extremely popular King’s Singers before he became director of
choral activities at the University of Kansas in 1994. For the next
seven years, he taught and shared his deep knowledge of choral music
with some promising vocal students, three of whom were inspired to
found the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers.
This choral group will
perform its second annual concert at noon Saturday at Grace and Holy
Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th St., and at 8 p.m. Saturday at First
Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence.
When
Carrington left KU in 1991 to become the director of choral activities
at the New England Conservatory in Boston, he left behind a legacy of
great music that three of his former students wanted to continue. Two
years ago, Craig Kenkel, Jeffrey Carter and Amy Waldron decided to put
together a choir that would come together for one week a year for
intensive rehearsals with Carrington, which would lead to a public
concert.
“We told Simon that three of us have come up with a
plan,” Waldron said, “and he said OK. I was blissfully ignorant of what
we were getting into. It’s just amazing that of all the places a choir
like this could exist, it’s right here. We bring in the cream of the
crop from around the world. One of our singers is from China.”
The
ensemble of 24 singers will perform a wide-ranging program designed to
show off the diversity of choral music and Carrington’s influence.
Waldron,
the ensemble liaison and member of the executive committee of the
board, is excited about the selections.
“We’re doing so many
wonderful things,” she said. “Three lovely, romantic Elgar pieces, a
really colorful work by one of the best contemporary composers, James
MacMillan, and a piece by the Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis.”
Waldron
is especially excited about the Tallis.
“I love Tallis,” she
said. “There are so many rhythmic surprises dotted in and around that
make it really fun to sing, like having the opportunity to laugh while
performing classical literature.”
Also on the program is a world
premiere. The ensemble held a composition competition earlier this year
and received 104 entries from 10 countries. At the concert, they’ll
perform the winning entry, “What Do You Think I Fought for at Omaha
Beach” by Melissa Dunphy. The concert will conclude in King’s Singers
style with a work that was once arranged for the quirky vocal group but
never performed by them.
“Simon found it handwritten in his
library,” Waldron said, “but somehow it was forgotten, and they never
got around to singing it.”
Too bad. The Who’s “Pinball Wizard”
has the King’s Singers written all over it.
Patrick Neas is program director and host of
the morning show for Classical KXTR, 98.1 FM HD2, 1660 AM and streaming
at www.KXTR.com.
