Dear Friends,
Welcome to the 105th season of the Bach Elgar Choir! Sadly, this will also be my final season at the helm of one of Canada's senior choral organizations. My years with the Bach Elgar Choir have been a time of musical inspiration and have resulted in many new friends.
I am happy to say that my swansong season will be a splendid one, reflecting the core of great choral repertoire, as well as exploring some exciting new territory. We begin our season in December with Handel's immortal Messiah. This is a work which I have conducted every year with the Bach Elgar Choir. Our performance this year will feature four outstanding soloists, including the sensational Hamilton soprano, Katherine Whyte, the brilliant baritone, James Westman, and rising stars, mezzo-soprano Lauren Segal, and tenor Joseph Schnurr.
In March, we turn our attention to two lesser-known gems - Mass in D by Antonin Dvorak, and Via Crucis, a choral "stations of the cross" by Franz Liszt. Both of these works are deeply-felt religious utterances, and are most appropriate for the Lenten season.
For our grand finale in April, I have chosen two undisputed musical masterworks - Bach's incomparable Easter cantata, Christ lag in Todesbanden, and Mozart's unfinished Requiem, completed by renowned Mozart scholar, Robert Levin.
Please join us for what promises to be another banner season for the Bach Elgar Choir, a centerpiece of Hamilton's cultural life for more than a century. I look forward to seeing you.
Howard Dyck, CM