Continue reading New Jersey Choral Society presents festive “Home for the Holidays”
Tag: New Jersey Choral Society
New Jersey Choral Society Celebrates Holidays with “Caroling, Caroling Around the World”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the New Jersey Choral Society’s festive holiday concert “Caroling, Caroling Around the World” will take you on an uplifting international musical journey. You will be transported to Germany, Norway, France, Ireland, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine, Great Britain and Spain where you will hear stirring and traditional ethnic carols such as I Saw Three Ships, Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, Sussex Carol, Riu, Riu, Chiu, Good King Wenceslas, and Wexford Carol.
The New Jersey Choral Society, based in Ridgewood, will be holding auditions for their 2021-2022 season
New Jersey Choral Society Upcoming Presentation of Fire and Rain
Continue reading New Jersey Choral Society Upcoming Presentation of Fire and Rain
Singing in a choral group can strengthen feelings of togetherness, regulate your heart rate, and reduce stress …
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Choral Society asks ,”Remember when you sang in your high school chorus? It turns out that choral singing has benefits beyond just making music! “
Singing in a choral group can strengthen feelings of togetherness, regulate your heart rate, reduce stress levels and depression, improve symptoms of Parkinson’s and lung disease, improve feelings of social well being and maybe even increase life expectancy.
Read all about it in the article linked below and then audition for the New Jersey Choral Society for its 39th season. Auditions are being scheduled now for August and September.
Just call us at 201-379-7719 or email us at music@njcs.org. Our audition committee will give you all the information!
New Jersey Choral Society Pops Spectacular
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Choral Society Pops Spectacular , what’s It All About ? Iconic Songs By Hitmaker Burt Bacharach And Legendary Music By Leonard Bernstein, Including “Choral Suite From West Side Story”Sat, March 02, 2019Time: 3:00 PM Location: West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe St. Ridgewood, NJ 07450
New Jersey Choral Society -POPS SPECTACULAR
“what’s it all about”
Iconic Songs by Hitmaker Burt Bacharach
and Legendary Music by Leonard Bernstein,
Including “Choral Suite From West Side Story”
Saturday, March 2nd from 3:00pm and 7:30pm
West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood.
$25 for Adults
$22 for Students/Seniors
Add $10 at the door
Child and group pricing available
New Jersey Choral Society Presents “Festival of Lessons and Carols”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Please join us for the “Festival of Lessons &Carols”
NEW JERSEY CHORAL SOCIETY
NJCS FESTIVAL
YOUTH CHORUS
Noelle Dachis Conductor
Continue reading New Jersey Choral Society Presents “Festival of Lessons and Carols”
New Jersey Choral Society presents The Key of B – Billy Joel, The Beatles and Beautiful
February 16,2018
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington Township NJ, The New Jersey Choral Society continues its Jubilee Season with The Key of B- Billy Joel, The Beatles and Beautiful. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of artist-in- residence Linda Sweetman-Waters, the NJCS Pops Spectacular highlights iconic music of legendary artists Billy Joel, Carole King and The Beatles. Performances will be held on Saturday, March 10 at 8:00 pm and on Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 pm at the Immaculate Heart Academy, 500 Van Emburgh
Ave., Washington Township.
Ms. Sweetman-Waters will be featured on piano, accompanied by the Pops Spectacular Band.Several talented soloists and a vocal ensemble from the chorus will also perform. The concerts will include classic songs such as Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” “Everybody Has a Dream,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” a medley of hits from The Beatles including “In My Life,” “Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Yesterday,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Got to Get You into My Life,” as well as songs from Carole King’s best-selling album, Tapestry, and the Broadway musical, Beautiful.
Advance tickets are $25.00 for adults and $22.00 for students, seniors, and patrons with disabilities (add $10.00 if purchased at the door). A 10% discount for groups of 10 or more is also available. Come one hour prior to performance time for The Inside Line, a complimentary lecture for all ticket holders, presented by Seth Saltzman. For reservations or more information, visit www.NJCS.org or call the New Jersey Choral Society at (201) 379-7719.
Established in 1980, the New Jersey Choral Society is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs. Under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, NJCS performs three major concerts annually in Bergen and Essex counties. They have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House and have toured internationally in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia, England, France and Italy. In 2017, they received “honorable mention” in the Jersey Arts People’s Choice Awards for “Best Choral Group” in New Jersey.
Immaculate Heart Academy is wheelchair accessible. Funding has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Ridgewood musician and singer, Rita Blacker joins New Jersey Choral Society
November 2,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Composing and arranging music is a recent, yet exciting, development in the life of Ridgewood musician and singer, Rita Blacker. Since childhood, music has been a significant part of Blacker’s life. Coming from a musical family, she began playing piano when she was three years old and started training formally at age nine. Her piano training and singing continued at Paramus High School and at the University of Maryland where she received a BA in Piano Performance. She also plays the flute and violin, having taken lessons for a few years on each, and is self-taught on the guitar.
In September 2003, Blacker joined the prestigious New Jersey Choral Society, an auditioned community chorus based in Ridgewood, in order to fill a musical void in her life. Eventually, because of her strong musical background, she was appointed Vice President of Artistic Planning and assisted the Artistic Director and Conductor, Eric Dale Knapp, with music selection for each concert.
In 2017, Knapp asked Blacker to write an original piece of music to celebrate the NJCS Jubilee season, which is celebrating artist-in-residence Linda Sweetman-Waters’ 30th anniversary with the chorus. Knapp found a prayer titled “Grant Us Peace” from The Gates of Prayer: the New Union Prayer Book, a standard liturgical work for the Reformed Judaism Movement, and asked Blacker to arrange a musical composition for this prayer. She feels that this prayer of peace is timely for our country, because it was written for and read by a rabbi at a UN special meeting on global peace. “The prayer has us look inward to find strength to set an example to the rest of the world that we can live in peace,” says Blacker. It asks us, continues Blacker, “to set an example and show the world how we hold out our hands toward friendship, strengthening bonds between us.” She used the text from the prayer and composed and arranged music for it. “Grant Us Peace” will receive its world premiere during the New Jersey Choral Society’s holiday concert series, Celebration of Carols, on Saturday, December 2 at 8:00 pm and Sunday, December 3 at 3:00 pm at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, 30 North Fullerton Ave, Montclair, as well as Tuesday, December 5 at 7:30 pm at the West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe St., Ridgewood.
Blacker has composed previously for the New Jersey Choral Society. In 2013, Knapp asked her to write a piece of music for the NJCS holiday concert, Ceremony of Carols. Excited by the prospect of composing music, she began reviewing winter poetry and came across the well-known poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, inspiring her original composition “Snowy Evening.” Due to the success of that piece, Knapp invited her again in 2016 to compose a work for the holiday concert, which featured Claudio Monteverdi’s Magnificat, a work based on the Marian Vespers or evening prayers. Blacker decided to write a piece connected to the spiritual themes in Magnificat. The biblical story of Hannah, a scorned and barren woman who prays to God for a child and miraculously gives birth to Samuel, inspired her to write the composition “Hannah Prays,” which received its world premiere in December 2016.
Aside from these composition opportunities, Blacker also collaborated in 2015 on arranging three contemporary pieces for the Echoes, a women’s a cappella group, at Lehigh University where her daughter Rebecca was a student. She assisted with new arrangements of “Levels” by Nick Jonas, “Soldier” by Gavin DeGraw and “Ghost” by Ella Henderson, which the Echoes (including her daughter Rebecca) performed in the spring of 2015. She also wrote a small violin part for the New Jersey Choral Society and credits this composition with “opening up the path to her future.”
Outside of her commitments to NJCS, Blacker teaches piano lessons at Music and Arts (formerly Victor’s House of Music) in Wayne and offers private piano lessons at her home in Ridgewood. She has also sung with Sirene, a women’s a cappella group, and has performed at “Ridgewood Unplugged,” an annual fundraising event offered by Ridgewood musicians to raise money for the Ridgewood Schoolhouse Museum. Blacker also works as an Interior Designer with an AA degree in Interior Design from Berkeley College. She owns RFB Design LLC, which specializes in space planning and renovations.
When asked if she plans to write more music, Rita replied “Composing music inspires and challenges me to write more.” She explains that “music is the passion that ignites the soul and breathes meaning and purpose into her life. It will always be an integral part of my life, because of its ability to heal, unite and transport.”
Advance tickets for performances of Celebration of Carols featuring Blacker’s composition “Grant Us Peace,” are $30.00 for adults and $25.00 for students and seniors. For reservations or more information, visit www.NJCS.org or call the New Jersey Choral Society at (201) 379-7719.
New Jersey Choral Society Youth Choir Auditions
August 24,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, We are very excited to announce New Jersey Choral Society’s 2017-18 Jubilee Season Celebrating Linda Sweetman-Waters’ 30th Anniversary Season! We will be studying Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, join in song with a “Celebration of Carols” and launch our first Global Rhythms youth concert. We will be auditioning students grades 6-12 for two separate youth choirs this year, Choraleers (our treble ensemble) and Chorale (our SATB chorus).
Auditions will be held on Monday, August 28th from 4-6 pm at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 169 Fairmount Road, Ridgewood, NJ. (Please visit our website at https://njcs.org/current-njcs-si…/njcs-youth-chorus-auditions where audition materials are posted. Materials need to be emailed to the director at youthchoir@njcs.org and audition fees can be delivered at audition. Once forms are submitted, an audition time will be assigned by the director. Students must schedule an audition time prior to audition. Feel free to email with any questions you might have. Please share this opportunity with any friend or student that would benefit from study in our program!
One parent remarked after hearing a concert June 2016: “This experience has been amazing for [my daughter] and for us! She loves to sing but was reluctant in the beginning. That reluctance has turned into an absolute love of singing with NJCS and The Festival Youth Chorus!!!” At the conclusion of this concert year, six students were featured on Belle’s recent Pop Single entitled “Unified” (which can be viewed at https://www.bellesongs.com). A number of our families traveled to Italy to watch their students perform in Verdi’s Requiem at Teatro Sociale and remarked that it was a “life-changing experience.” It is our hope to impact the youth of Northern New Jersey in a similar and profound way.
New Jersey Choral Society White Party
Mon, August 28, 2017
Time: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Location: Stella Artisan Italian, 18 E. Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Cost: 250
Celebrate the last days of summer and support The New Jersey Choral Society at NJCS White Party. Maestro Knapp invites you to enjoy a summer evening at Stella Artisan Italian featuring an inspiring culinary journey by award-winning Executive Chef Heather Bertinetti Rozzi.
Hosted by Eric Dale Knapp and the NJCS Board of Trustees as a fund raising event in support of the Jubilee Season, celebrating Linda Sweetman-Waters 30th Anniversary Season as Artist-in-Residence with NJCS.
Come enjoy passed canapes, four course dinner, complementary wines and prosecco with entertainment by guest artists Metropolitan Opera bass, Richard Bernstein and Linda Sweetman-Waters, piano.
Dress in your favorite white summer attire.
$250 per person
Limited Seating’Tickets available only at www.njcs.org
New Jersey Choral Society “Summer Sing” evenings in Ridgewood
June 6,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Choral Society invites singers to join them in “Summer Sings,” featuring the vibrant and dramatic Verdi Requiem. These events will be held on June 13, June 20 and June 27, 2017 from 7-10pm at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 169 Fairmount Road, Ridgewood, NJ. The Summer Sings will be conducted by Artistic Director, Eric Dale Knapp, with Linda Sweetman-Waters, accompanist. Participants may attend individual evenings or all three. Bring your own Verdi Requiem score and pay at the door with check or cash. The admission fee for Summer Sings is $10 per rehearsal or $25 for all three sessions.
Summer Sings are an open reading of world-renowned masterworks. Attending NJCS Summer Sings are a great way to meet current members, especially for those who may be considering auditioning for the regular season. Established in 1980, the New Jersey Choral Society is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs. Under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, NJCS performs three major concerts annually in Bergen and Essex counties. They have performed at Carnegie Hall and the White House and have toured internationally in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Australia, England, France and, this summer, in Italy. For more information on Summer Sings, email music@njcs.org.
NEW JERSEY CHORAL SOCIETY Holiday Concert
Location: West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe Street, Ridgewood NJ 07450
NEW JERSEY CHORAL SOCIETY
NJCS Festival Youth Chorus, Noelle Dachis, director
Brass and Percussion Ensemble
Linda Sweetman-Waters, organ
Eric Dale Knapp, conductor
Begin your holiday celebrations with joyous music of the season, featuring…
Keep Your Lamps – Andre Thomas
Magnificat – Claudio Monteverdi
O Nata Lux – Morten Lauridsen
Nativity Carol – John Rutter
O Come All Ye Faithful – arr. Sir David Willcocks
I Was Glad – Hubert Parry
including our popular audience sing-along!
photo by Noah Dachis
Advance tickets: $25/ $22 senior & student/ $12 children under 12
10% discount for groups of 10 or more (Add $5 at the door)
Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 8pm
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Montclair, NJ Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 3pm
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Montclair, NJ
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 7:30pm
West Side Presbyterian Church
Ridgewood, NJ
New Jersey Choral Society to perform Opera with Teatro Grattacielo
October 6,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The New Jersey Choral Society is excited to announce their collaboration with New York’s Teatro Grattacielo for a concert production of Vittorio Gnechhi’s opera, “Cassandra”, on October 8, 2016. The performance will be held at The Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 524 West 59th Street, NY, starting at 8:00pm. The New Jersey Choral Society Festival Youth Chorus will participate on-stage in the part of the “bambinos”.
The New Jersey Choral Society, based in Ridgewood, NJ, is one of the state’s most prestigious choral groups, well-known for presenting outstanding and unique programs of diverse repertoire. Since its founding in 1980, NJCS has grown to an ensemble of about 90 auditioned singers from around the tri-state area. The choir performs under the baton of dynamic conductor Eric Dale Knapp, accompanied by Linda Sweetman-Waters. The NJCS Festival Youth Chorus, formerly established in 2015, is directed by Noelle Dachis.
Teatro Grattacielo, founded in 1994 by current Artistic Director, Duane Printz, produces performances of works in the Italian operatic repertoire that are rarely heard in the United States. Ms. Printz was honored this year by Opera Index for her work with these forgotten masterpieces. The premiere of Vittorio Gnecchi’s “Cassandra” was conducted by Arturo Toscanini in 1905, but fell into obscurity within 10 years. The October 8, 2016 performance will be conducted by Maestro Israel Gursky.
Advance tickets are $25.00 and $50.00. For more information visitwww.grattacielo.org. Tickets are available at www.ticketcentral.com.
The New Jersey Choral Society presents “O Fortuna – A Celebration of Hope and Joy”
Ridgewood NJ, Experience the crashing of cymbals, the power of over 100 voices, and thesonority of two pianos and a percussion ensemble as the New Jersey Choral Society presents “O Fortuna – A Celebration of Hope and Joy” featuring Carl Orff’s epic masterwork “Carmina Burana.” The Connecticut Choral Society and the NJCS Festival Youth Chorus, directed by Noelle Dachis, will join NJCS in this exciting performance, which will be held on Saturday, June4 at 8:00 pm at the West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe St., Ridgewood.
The exhilarating program, under the direction of Eric Dale Knapp, focuses on Carl Orff’s scenic cantata “Carmina Burana,” based on 24 medieval poems, which cover a wide range of topics, including the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the ephemeral nature of life, the joy of the return of spring, and the wonders and joy of food, drink and physical love. This eclectic collection was written in Latin, Middle High German and French and included fragments of musical notation suggesting it was used as a songbook in 11 th and 12 th centuries.
Messages of goodwill and humanitarian understanding are also represented in the diverse program through such inspirational works as “Lux Aeterna” by Abel Di Marco, “Peace” by Daniel Brewbaker, the profoundly moving “Inscription of Hope” by Z. Randall Stroope, and the musically inventive “Sizzle!” by Nathan Daughtrey.Pianists Linda Sweetman-Waters and Ruth Draper, along with a Percussion Ensemble, will accompany the choruses. Guest soloists Megan Knapp (soprano), Nathan Munson (tenor) and Peter Kendall Clark (baritone) will also be featured. A procession of 90 local Boy and Girl Scout troops as well as a local Color Guard presenting flags of the world will open this spectacular concert.
Advance tickets are $35.00 for adults and $30.00 for students, seniors, and patrons with disabilities. (Add $5.00 at the door). A 10% discount for groups of 10 or more is also available. Come one hour prior to performance time for The Inside Line, a complimentary lecture for all ticket holders that provides an intimate and entertaining preview of the music. For reservations or more information, visit www.NJCS.org or call the New Jersey Choral Society at (201) 379-7719.
The West Side Presbyterian Church is wheelchair accessible. Funding has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.