choral concert was definitely in the loss column. The venue is one of my favorites—the Ukrainian Institute of America, housed in a beautiful mansion on Seventy-Ninth Street at
Fifth Avenue. The concert took place on the second floor, and there were oil paintings on display in there and on the staircase leading up from the lobby. On paper, the program looked pretty interesting—choral music by Canadian composers of Ukrainian descent. The choir was celebrating its 60th anniversary with a tour that included Edmonton, Ottawa, Montréal, Ellenville (NY), and NYC.
The choir (and I’m assuming that they are amateurs) sang in tune, and seemed to be well rehearsed. Unfortunately, their tone was somewhat unfocused and there was little attention paid to vocal blend. Two of the pieces in the first half were composed especially for this 60th anniversary celebration. The first, Ode to Canada, was an a cappella selection that was sung with great fervor. The second piece on the program seemed slightly more controlled, and I liked its style of composition better. Toward the end of the first half, there was some impromptu percussion when a young child started clapping (and not necessarily along with the music). When impromptu vocals were added, the child was, wisely, taken outside of the concert area. To their credit, the choir members maintained their composure throughout.
I stuck it out through the entire first half, but at the intermission, I, too, made my exit. As I said, on paper it looked to be right up my alley. Alas, the execution didn’t live up to expectations. Oh, well—you win some ...
ConcertMeister
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