The Rose Ensemble Announces 2009-2010 Performance Season

The Rose Ensemble Announces 2009-2010 Performance Season

Free opening concert: Friday, Sept. 11, St. Paul

 St. Paul, Minn.—The Rose Ensemble is pleased to announce its 2009-2010 performance season, opening with a free public concert at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul on Friday, September 11 at 8 p.m.  Season highlights include the release of the group’s ninth recording, a collaborative performance with the English octet Voces8, and a special guest appearance by The Tallis Scholars, the world’s most celebrated early music choir.  With support from the Beim Foundation and the American Masterpieces program of the Minnesota State Arts Board, The Rose Ensemble will also present a statewide tour of early American music.

Tickets are available through The Rose Ensemble’s box office at 651.225.4340 and online atwww.RoseEnsemble.org.  Student and senior discounts are offered at every regular season event.

FREE ROSE ENSEMBLE SHOWCASE CONCERT

·          September 11, 2009, 8:00 PM | Central Presbyterian Church,  St. Paul

The opening concert of our The Rose Ensemble’s 2009-10 Season is FREE!  This special full-length performance features the most popular music from The Rose Ensemble’s celebrated international concert tours.  In one thrifty night out, hear this renowned professional ensemble perform music from ancient Hawai‘i, Renaissance Europe, early America, the medieval Mediterranean and more!

*CD-RELEASE CONCERT*  IL POVERELLO: The Life & Deeds of Saint Francis of Assisi

·          October  2, 8:00 PM | Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, St. Paul ($35, $25, $17)

·          October 3, 8:00 PM | Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis ($35, $25, $17)

The Rose Ensemble’s ninth recording celebrates the life of a twelfth-century luminary:  St. Francis of Assisi, immortalized in story andsong for over eight hundred years.  Through music that ranges from transcendent medieval polyphony to rousing Umbrian folk melodies, we tell of the saint’s humble and human beginnings, his miraculous deeds, and his love of all the earth’s creatures.  Special Milanese guest artist Isacco Colombo—a sensational virtuoso on Italian bagpipes, shawm, fife and tabor—joins The Rose Ensemble’s own consort of instrumentalists on harp, vielle, hurdy-gurdy, psaltery and percussion.  

 CHRISTMAS IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND

·          December  17, 7:30 PM | Cathedral of Christ the King, Superior, WI ($23)

·          December 18, 8:00 PM | Nativity of Our Lord Church, St. Paul ($35, $25, $17)

·          December  19, 8:00 PM | Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis ($35, $25, $17)

·          December 20, 7:00 PM |Church of St. Bartholomew, Wayzata, MN ($35, $25, $17)

Imagine grand candlelit halls, lavish feasts, the swirl of sumptuous fabrics in stately dances . . . and escape into the regal elegance of the Elizabethan era.  The Rose Ensemble’s popular holiday concert returns with carols and motets by the beloved English Renaissance composers Thomas Tallis, Robert Parsons, William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons, accompanied by lute and viola da gamba. 

*CANDLELIGHT CONCERT with special guests VOCES8*

VOICES OF VENICE & ROME: The Glory of Italian Renaissance Choral Music

·          February 4, 2010, 7:30 PM | Cathedral of Christ the King, Superior, WI  ($23)

·          February 5, 2010, 8:00 PM | Church of Christ the King,Minneapolis, MN ($35, $25, $17)

·          February 6, 2010, 8:00 PM | Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis ($35, $25, $17)

·          February 7, 2010, 5:00 PM | St. Paul Seminary School, St. Mary Chapel, St. Paul ($35, $25, $17)

The Rose Ensemble and Voces8 (of London, England) blaze through the extremes of the vocal spectrum in a spine-tingling concert by candlelight.  This collaborative performance features movements from Palestrina’s famous Missa Papae Marcelli, works by Tomás Luis de Victoria, and virtuosic compositions for twelve, sixteen and even twenty individual voice parts.  Don’t miss these two award-winning choirs as they illuminate the mystery of Rome and the power of cosmopolitan Venice. 

*The Rose Ensemble presents THE TALLIS SCHOLARS*

“YOUR MOST SECRET THOUGHTS ...” Choral Masterpieces of the Flemish Renaissance

·         Thursday, March 25, 2010, 7:30 PM | Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis ($45, $35, $23)

“The rock stars of Renaissance vocal music” (New York Times) return to Minneapolis for the first time in ten years!  Director Peter Phillips and The Tallis Scholars revitalize the dark sonorities, lush chords and complex textures of early music from Flanders and France.   In this nationally-touring program, the famous ensemble presents a mass by Jean de Mouton, a Magnificat by Nicolas Gombert, and a beautiful choral Ave Maria by Josquin Desprez: rarely-heard works that define the high Renaissance style. 

*GREATER MINNESOTA TOUR*
AND GLORY SHONE AROUND: Early American Ballads, Hymns, Dances & Spiritual Songs

·          November 27, 7:30 PM | Peace Lutheran Church, Hutchinson, MN  ($12/$9)

·          November 28, 7:30 PM | Gethsemane Episcopal Cathedral, Fargo, ND  ($12/$9)

·          December 15, 7:30 PM | Center for the Arts, Fergus Falls, MN  ($12/$9)

·          December 21, 7:30 PM | Chisago Lake Lutheran Church, Center City, MN  ($12/$9)

·          December 22, 7:30 PM | Bethel Lutheran Church, Willmar, MN  ($12/$9)

Return to America’s folk roots with colonial carols, Southern shape-note tunes, Shaker hymns and the traditional harmonies that gave birth to bluegrass! 

ABOUT THE ROSE ENSEMBLE: Founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble reawakens the ancient with vocal music that stirs the emotions, challenges the mind and lifts the spirit. The St. Paul, Minn. group tours internationally with repertoire spanning 1,000 years and 25 languages, including new research in Middle Eastern, European and American vocal traditions. The Rose Ensemble is the recipient of the Chorus America Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and was a first-prize winner at the 2007 Tolosa International Choral Competition in Spain (part of the European Choral Grand Prix). The Rose Ensemble toured Europe by invitation four times in 2008, and was invited to return to Germany, Italy and France in 2009 and 2010. The Rose Ensemble’s nine recordings have earned international praise and receive regular airplay on National Public Radio and the European Broadcasting Union.