The American Boychoir to Perform Holiday Concerts with World-Renowned Canadian Brass

The American Boychoir is excited to announce two holiday performances this season with the internationally acclaimed Canadian Brass, the most popular group of its kind.  The two ensembles will join forces and perform both traditional carols and holiday favorites at the Boychoir’s annual Voices of Angels concert at the Princeton University Chapel onSaturday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Home for the Holidays at Richardson Auditorium on Sunday, December 15 at 4:00 p.m.

Celebrate the holidays with the world-famous American Boychoir and guest artist Canadian Brass in two distinct concerts featuring Benjamin Britten’s exquisite Ceremony of Carols. With joyful sounds ringing throughout the majestic Princeton University Chapel, the American Boychoir presents Voices of Angels, a time-honored readings and carols concert with boys in traditional vestments, performed in a space renowned for its sublime acoustics. In contrast, Home for the Holidays, in Princeton’s historic Richardson Auditorium, delivers a family-friendly afternoon with a carol sing-along and grand performance of choir, brass, and organ.

Tickets for both American Boychoir concerts with Canadian Brass range from $20 to $45 and are available from the Princeton University ticketing office at www.princeton.edu/utickets/ or by calling (609) 258-9220. For more information please visit the American Boychoir’s website at www.americanboychoir.org.

Earning the distinction of “the world’s most famous brass group,” Canadian Brass has garnered a successful and storied career after over 40 years of making music.  Formed in 1970 by friends Chuck Daellenbach and Gene Watts, the group is made up of five tremendous brass musicians: Chuck Daellenbach, Achilles Llarmakopoulos, Chris Coletti, Caleb Hudson, and Eric Reed.  The original mission of the group still in effect today was to bring the sound and the excitement of brass music to new audiences through brass standards as well as a wide-ranging library of original arrangements created for them.  Canadian Brass is especially noted for their famous Holiday Concerts at Christmastime and has sold well over 2 million albums worldwide.  Having been the first brass group to take to the stage at Carnegie Hall, they have also performed in China, Australia, the Middle East, and South America.  On numerous occasions Canadian Brass has been invited by the Canadian Government to play with visiting heads of state, becoming one of Canada’s greatest resources and musical ambassadors.  These performances give Princeton audiences a rare opportunity to witness the unparalleled talent of this unique group of musicians alongside the American Boychoir.

 

The American Boychoir has long been recognized as one of the finest musical ensembles in the country. Under the leadership of Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Litton-Lodal Music Director, the American Boychoir has dazzled audiences with its unique blend of musical sophistication, spirited presentation, and ensemble virtuosity. The Boychoir performs regularly with world-class ensembles, including The New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and The Boston Symphony, and is often featured with such illustrious conductors as James Levine, Charles Dutoit, and Alan Gilbert. The American Boychoir is frequently invited to join internationally-renowned artists on stage, and the list of collaborators reflects the extraordinary range of the ensemble: from great classical artists such as Jessye Norman and Frederica von Stade to jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and pop icons Beyoncé and Sir Paul McCartney. The choir’s young soloists are also in high demand and have joined forces with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, and The Spoleto Festival, to name a few. The Boychoir’s standing as preeminent ambassadors of American musical excellence is maintained through an extremely busy touring schedule both nationally and abroad, having just recently returned from a tour to Korea this past September. Its legacy is preserved through an extensive recording catalog, which boasts over 45 commercial recordings and the launch of its own label, Albemarle Records.

Boys in fourth through eighth grades come from across the country and around the world to pursue a rigorous musical and academic curriculum at the American Boychoir School in Princeton, New Jersey. While keeping up with academic demands, the boys balance schoolwork with an intensive touring schedule. In addition to the almost 100 solo concerts, the 2013-2014 season includes a 16-day tour in Korea, a performance of Britten’s War Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra marking the 50th anniversary of the American premiere which the Boychoir (then the Columbus Boychoir) performed, holiday concerts in Princeton with the Canadian Brass, and a performance of Mahler’s 3rd Symphony performed with Princeton University’s own Orchestra and Glee Club.