Spring 2024

Spring 2024

Spring 2024

All-Night Vigil,

Opus 37

Vespers concert banner with blue background and building sillhouettes

SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 2024 | 3 pm

Perfoming Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, Opus 37

The season’s final concert on April 21, 2024, features an a cappella performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil. His signature choral work, this piece has become a fixture in choral repertoire, standing as the crowning achievement of the “Golden Age” of Russian Orthodox sacred choral music. Much of the melodic material was drawn from ancient unison chants surrounded by the addition of three to ten vocal lines.

The music is for chorus a cappella, the traditional vocal complement in the Russian Orthodox Church. The SLO Master Chorale will perform the All-Night Vigil in a rare concert given without the Master Chorale Orchestra. A dynamically diverse work, members of the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale will be spread out all over the Performing Arts Center stage. The performance will conclude by 4:30 pm, including a 20-minute intermission. Don’t miss our special guest singer and oktavist, Alexander Mayang.

All-Night Vigil is sponsored by Joan Gellert-Sargen.

The concert will be held in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on the Cal Poly campus.

Tickets are available by clicking the link below or by calling the PAC box office at 805-756-4849.

headshot of oktavist Alexander Mayang singing into microphone

Meet Alexander Mayang, guest singer and oktavist. 

What is an oktavist, you ask?

An oktavist is an exceptionally deep-ranged basso profondo, especially heard in Russian Orthodox choral music. This voice type has a vocal range that extends down to an octave and a half below the bass staff (three octaves below middle C). Oktavists, as the name implies, will sing one octave below the written bass part, especially at the end of a music phrase or movement.

ALEXANDER MAYANG is one of the world’s few oktavists, which is the lowest voice role you will find in a choir. The oktavist is integral to the Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil, and you will hear his dark, resonant voice throughout the concert. Alexander is known as XanderTheOktavist online, where through his low notes he has amassed a following of 800,000 followers on TikTok and 250,000 on Instagram.

Beyond the Notes

Beyond the Notes features leading scholars whose presentations highlight the times and culture surrounding the works performed by the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale. The educational events offer an in-depth look at pieces being performed and the background and history behind the music, including the opportunity to meet and learn from a noted expert on the subject, an enhanced understanding of the context of the music, an increased appreciation for the music and live performance, and spreading awareness about the arts.

The San Luis Obispo Master Chorale will host two educational presentations given by Dr. Vladimir Morosan, founder and president of publishing company Musica Russica, as part of its Beyond the Notes series. 

Beyond the Notes is sponsored by Libbie Agran and the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust.

Dr. Vladimir Morosan

Dr. Vladimir Morosan

Dr. Vladimir Morosan is one of the leading experts outside Russia in the field of Orthodox liturgical music. He is Founder and President of Musica Russica, a publishing company specializing in the publication and dissemination of Orthodox choral music throughout the Western world. He is also the director of the Orthodox Sacred Music Reference Library project, the largest online library of Orthodox music. As Founder and Artistic Director of Archangel Voices, a professional-level choral ensemble, he has recorded six CDs of Orthodox liturgical music in English.

He is also the composer and editor of numerous choral arrangements. He serves as Project Lead for music editing and online instruction for the Department of Liturgical Music of the Orthodox Church in America. A tonsured reader in the Orthodox Church, he currently serves as Director of Liturgical Singing at St. Katherine Orthodox Mission in Carlsbad, CA.

Saturday, April 20, 2024 | 3:00 - 5:00 pm

“Music of the Eastern Orthodox Church: What’s up?” presented by Dr. Vladimir Morosan

Explore the traditions of the music of the Eastern Orthodox Church, describe its transcendent qualities, and explain how the music of the Church has transformed over the years.

Location: Indian Hill Clubhouse at San Luis Bay Estates, 6375 Firehouse Canyon Road, Avila Beach, CA

Directions to Indian Hill Clubhouse at San Luis Bay Estates:

Address: 6375 Fire House Canyon Rd, Avila Beach, CA 93424

From the 101 southbound:

  • Take exit 196 for San Luis Bay Dr. toward See Cyn/Avila Beach
  • Turn right onto San Luis Bay Dr. and continue for 1.4 miles
  • Turn right onto Bay Laurel Pl.
  • At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit to enter the gated area through the “Guest” lane; stay on Bay Laurel Pl.
  • Tell the guard your name and that you are attending the SLO Master Chorale event at the Clubhouse
  • After passing through the gate, turn left onto Lupine Canyon Rd.
  • Take the next right onto Fire House Canyon Rd., and the venue will be on your right.
  • Parking is available in the lots on either side of the Clubhouse.

From the 101 northbound:

  • Take exit 195 for Avila Beach Dr.
  • Continue on Avila Beach Dr. for 1.3 miles
  • Turn right onto San Luis Bay Dr.
  • Take the next left onto Bay Laurel Pl.
  • At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit to enter the gated area through the “Guest” lane; stay on Bay Laurel Pl.
  • Tell the guard your name and that you are attending the SLO Master Chorale event at the Clubhouse
  • After passing through the gate, turn left onto Lupine Canyon Rd.
  • Take the next right onto Fire House Canyon Rd., and the venue will be on your right.
  • Parking is available in the lots on either side of the Clubhouse.
Map to San Luis Bay Estates
Sunday, April 21, 2024 | 1:15 pm

“Rachmaninoff and his All-Night Vigil: Inspirations” presented by Dr. Vladimir Morosan

Location: Pavilion, Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo

Free admission with concert ticket

Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Chants Encounter

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2023 | 3 pm

Perfoming Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Chants Encounter

Arvo Pärt: Te Deum
Mass in C minor, KV 427
Per questa bella mano, KV 612
W. A. Mozart

San Luis Obispo Master Chorale’s 2023/2024 season begins on November 19, 2023, with “Chants Encounter.” This performance features Estonian-born composer Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum and W. A. Mozart’s Mass in C-minor. Pärt utilizes the beauty of chant mixed with bell-like chords (tintinnabulation) to create a dramatic rendering of the fourth-century prayer. 

Mozart’s Mass, a wedding gift for his wife, Constanza, is influenced by the choral works of Bach and Handel, as well as eighteenth century opera. This work has all the best of Mozart: beautiful melodies, brilliantly written counterpoint, large choral sound with intimate chamber music. “Chants Encounter” will also include Mozart’s concert aria, Per questa bella mano, for baritone and double-bass. 

Concert soloists include sopranos Alba Franco-Cancél and Amy Goymerac, tenor Jon Lee Keenan, baritone Joel Balzun, and Ken Hustad, double-bass.

“Chants Encounter” is sponsored by Lyn C. Baker and Roger Pond.

The “Chants Encounter” concert will be held in Harold Miossi Hall at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on the Cal Poly campus. 

Featured Artists

headshot of woman with dark curly hair and bright lipstick wearing lace top

Alba Franco-Cancél

Soprano

Puerto Rican soprano Alba Franco-Cancél continues to thrill audiences with her “pure,” “silvery” and “bell-like” sound delivered with her magnetic stage presence and “outstanding acting skills” in both operatic and concert appearances.

Recent appearances include her debut with the Arequipa Symphony Orchestras in Peru; her debut with the Barcelona Festival of Song; as well as her European debut as Christine (The Phantom of the Opera) in Bari, Italy. Other appearances: Sarah (La Llorona) with Opera Cultura; Lucinda (Dark Sisters) with Opera Fayetteville; Queen of the Night with Opera San Luis Obispo; Valencienne Pacific Opera Project; Barbarina with Livermore Valley Opera, and Despina with Opera Neo. In 2018 Alba returned to Los Angeles to perform the leading role in a Los Angeles Original Production of the mariachi opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna.

Franco-Cancél has also excelled and brought life to many roles, including Tytania (Midsummer’s Night Dream); the title role in La Calisto; Gilda; Musetta; Zerlina; Frasquita; La Fée (Massenet’s Cendrillon); Monica (The Medium); Flora (Turn of the Screw), Elle in the one act opera La Voix Humaine, and María (West Side Story) among many others.

Awards include winner of the Mundo Arts International Art Song Competition; semifinalist in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition; finalist in the American Prize Vocal Competition; Illinois Opera Theater Enthusiasts Award; Bella Voice Award (Bel Canto Foundation-Chicago); finalist in the Classical Singer’s Competition; and the Public Choice Award from the MET Opera Auditions.

Alba Franco-Cancél received a doctoral degree in voice from the University of Missouri and a certificate in vocology from the National Center of Voice and Speech. She is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and voice faculty member at Cuesta College.

headshot of woman with dark curly hair wearing blue top

Amy Goymerac

Soprano

Soprano Amy Goymerac has performed leading roles and as a concert soloist both internationally and throughout the US and with companies such as Opera San Jose, Opera San Luis Obispo, Pocket Opera, Valley Opera Performing Arts, Amherst Early Music Festival among others. She has appeared in concert with the Athens Philharmonia, San Luis Obispo Symphony, Redwood Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale, and at the Berkeley Festival among others.

Highlight roles and repertoire include, Suzanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Michaëla (La Tragédie de Carmen), Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Barber), Dona Nobis Pacem (Vaughan Williams), Messiah (Handel), and Maher’s 4th Symphony.

Ms. Goymerac premiered the role of Charlotte in the world concert premiere of Kirke Mechem’s latest opera, Pride and Prejudice. She appeared on her first album To All Women Everywhere under Cambria Records in spring of 2022. She earned her Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor of Arts from Cal Poly, SLO and is currently working towards her certificate in Vocology. She is on faculty with the Cal Poly Music Department and lives on the Central Coast of CA with her husband, two daughters, and puppy. More information at www.amygoymeracsoprano.com.

 

beyond the notes logo with white treble clef and bass clef on red and gray background

Jon Lee Keenan

Tenor

Versatile tenor Jon Lee Keenan is a native of Las Vegas, NV. Influenced by his father, a classical musician and jazz saxophonist, Jon cultivated an early interest in performing a variety of musical styles. After studying classical voice and jazz bass at UNLV, Jon relocated to Southern California to pursue a career in classical singing and to further study vocal arts at the USC Thornton School of Music. In 2007, Jon was selected to join the LA Master Chorale and has been featured as a soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall in each season since. When not singing, Jon can be found playing jazz bass with Citizen Kitten.

headshot of baritone Joel Balzun

Joel Balzun

Baritone

Praised as a “mature artist with a voluminous sound,” baritone and composer Joel Balzun is establishing himself as a mature new voice in the future of music. Highlights of his 2021-2022 season include role debuts as Dandini (La Cenerentola) for Pacific Opera Project and Germont (La traviata) for Opera Santa Barbara and a recital which includes a world premiere by Tom Cipullo. As a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he sang alongside Stephanie Blythe in a concert of Great American Songbook selections and Dawn Upshaw and Sanford Sylvan in Shostakovich’s brooding Symphony No. 14.

His continually-expanding repertoire includes the title roles of Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi, Joseph de Rocher (Dead Man Walking), Marcello (La bohème) the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Prince Yeletskiy and Count Tomskiy (Pikovaya Dama), Albert (Werther), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale) and Valentin (Faust), among others. He has also been successful in numerous competitions, including prizes from Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Los Angeles District and Western Region), CS Music Vocal Competition, Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Houston Saengerbund Vocal Competition and Orpheus National Vocal Competition.

Mr. Balzun studied Music Composition and Vocal Performance at University of Calgary, Biola University, and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his Master’s degree under the tutelage of Jan Opalach and Benton Hess. He currently serves on the voice faculty of Biola University as he completes the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Arts at University of Southern California. http://www.joelbalzun.com/

headshot of Ken Hustad

Ken Hustad

Double-Bass

Ken Hustad is principal bass for the San Luis Obispo Symphony and the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale and also performs with
the Santa Maria Philharmonic and Orchestra Novo. He is bass instructor at Cal Poly University and Cuesta College, as well as
maintaining a private bass studio. 


In addition to playing orchestral and chamber music, he is an active freelance bassist performing with many jazz, rock, blues,
Americana and country artists.


In 2021 Mr Hustad gave the West Coast premiere of Stefan Podell's Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra with the San Luis
Obispo Symphony under Andrew Sewell.
Ken Hustad lives in Morro Bay, California, with his wife Jodie.

Beyond the Notes

Beyond the Notes features leading scholars whose presentations highlight the times and culture surrounding the works performed by the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale. The educational events offer an in-depth look at pieces being performed and the background and history behind the music, including the opportunity to meet and learn from a noted expert on the subject, an enhanced understanding of the context of the music, an increased appreciation for the music and live performance, and spreading awareness about the arts.

The San Luis Obispo Master Chorale will host two educational presentations given by Dr. Andrew Shenton, Professor of Music at Boston University, as part of its Beyond the Notes series. 

Beyond the Notes is sponsored by Libbie Agran and the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust.

Andrew Shenton is a scholar, author, performer, and Professor of Music at Boston University. Born in England, he first studied at The Royal College of Music in London, and holds bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees from London University, Yale, and Harvard respectively. Dr. Shenton is Conductor of Vox Futura and has toured extensively in Europe and the US. He has been the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards and has given more than eighty premieres by composers, including Arvo Pärt. Moving freely between musicology and ethnomusicology, Shenton’s work is best subsumed under the heading ‘music and transcendence,’ and includes several major publications.

Beyond the Notes graphic for Sunday November 16 2023

Saturday, November 18, 2023, 5:00 pm

“The Phenomenal Pärt” presented by Dr. Andrew Shenton

Location: The Bunker SLO, 810 Orcutt Road, San Luis Obispo

Ticketed Event

Arvo Pärt developed a new compositional technique called tintinnabulation which has produced music that resonates with diverse audiences and has consistently made him the most performed living composer in the world. This talk explores his tintinnabuli technique and explains the phenomenon of this transcendent music.

Sunday, November 19 at 1:15 pm

“Defining Genius: Pärt and Mozart” presented by Dr. Andrew Shenton

Location: Pavilion, Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo

Free admission 

What makes a musical genius? Learn how a combination of traditional elements combined with innovative techniques and imagination have produced two extraordinary and impactful works of sacred music that speak beyond their Christian heritage to larger issues of human spirituality.

Spring 2023

Spring 2023

Spring 2023

THE THEATRICAL MENDELSSOHN: ELIJAH

SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023 | 3 pm

Perfoming Arts Center San Luis Obispo

This dramatic oratorio tells the story of the prophet Elijah in a series of scenes, including the resurrection of a youth, a contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah, the plotting of Queen Jezebel against Elijah, and Elijah’s final ascension into heaven. Mendelssohn imitates the great oratorios of Bach and Handel. Conducted by Thomas Davies, Elijah is performed in two parts, with a dramatic overture to begin the action. 

Featured Artists

headshot of woman in black dress with v neck and short brown hair against dark green background

Elissa Johnston

Soprano, as Widow and Angel II

Recently cited by the New York Times for her “especially lovely” singing, Elissa Johnston enjoys diving into repertoire ranging from Bach, Handel and Mozart to Messiaen, Carter and Unsuk Chin.

Elissa’s engagements for the 22/23 season include performances of Peter Sellars staged production of Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, conducted by Grant Gershon at Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the 2023 Salzburg Festival, Schumann’s Liederkreiss Opus 39 at Le Salon de la Musique in La Jolla Ca, performances of Bach’s Solo Cantata no. 202 with Street Symphony in Los Angeles, and the world premiere of James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux with Pacific Symphony, conducted by Carl St. Clair.

Last season Elissa appeared with the L.A. Philharmonic in Die Staat by Louis Andriessen, conducted by John Adams. She also appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in Handel’s Dixit Dominus, with Jacaranda Music in Bach’s Easter Oratorio, and in chamber music performances with Pittance Chamber Music, Le Salon de Musiques, the Hear/Now Festival, and in the music of Bob Dylan with MUSE/IQUE.

In the 20/21 season Elissa performed in several live capture concerts, with Pacific Symphony under Carl St. Clair in Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel in John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music, and with Pittance Chamber Music, in chamber music of André Previn.
Highlights from the 19/20 season include singing arias by Handel and Scarlatti with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with Pacific Symphony, and Bruckner’s Mass in F Minor with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Elissa made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2018 with the Pacific Symphony under Carl St. Clair, singing the role of Sarada Devi in Philip Glass’ The Passion of Ramakrishna, as part of Carnegie’s yearlong celebration of Philip Glass’ 80th birthday.

Other recent appearances have included the west coast premiere of Reena Esmail’s This Love Between Us, the world premiere of Michael Daugherty’s To the New World, Mahler’s 4th Symphony, Samuel Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915, Messiaen’s epic song cycle Harawi with pianist Vicki Ray, David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 2, Brahms Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria, Stravinsky’s Les Noces, and world premieres of Chinary Ung’s SPIRAL XII and AURA.

Elissa is a member of the ensemble in Peter Sellars production of Di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro with the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Grant Gershon, which has appeared in performances worldwide, including at the Salzburg Festival, the Ravinia Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival and the Auckland Arts Festival.

headshot of woman in black shirt against dark gray background

Susan Azaret Davies

Alto, as Angel I and Jezebel

Susan Azaret Davies holds bachelor and master of music degrees in piano performance and accompanying from the University of Southern California where her principal teachers were Carol Rosenberger and Gwendolyn Koldofsky. She enjoys an active career as a pianist and singer.

Her festival appearances include the Oregon Bach Festival, Festival Mozaic, the Cabrillo Festival, Idyllwild Summer Arts and the Festival Internacional de Musica de Morelia, Mexico. She served as the music director/pianist for the Educational Opera Association of Los Angeles, which won an Emmy for its KCET television special “Opera for Children”.

She has appeared as mezzo-soprano soloist in oratorio performances in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Beverly Hills, San Luis Obispo, Fremont, and Eugene, Oregon, and as collaborative pianist in recitals throughout California and in Carnegie Hall, New York City. She is principal keyboard player for the San Luis Obispo Symphony, accompanist for the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale and choir director/organist at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Pismo Beach. She resides in Pismo Beach with her husband, Tom, when not visiting their two grown sons, Peter and Andrew.

headshot of woman in black shirt against dark gray background

George Gorrindo

Tenor, as Obadiah and King Ahab

A Central Coast native, George studied music at Cuesta College before transferring to Indiana University and receiving his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance.

In addition to the Master Chorale, George has sung with many local ensembles, including Opera SLO, Resonance, Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan, Cuesta Voce, and the Cuesta Chamber Singers, among others. He serves as a Choral Scholar for St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in SLO, participates in Cal Poly’s annual Bach Week, and has been a featured soloist for Orchestra Novo, Cuesta Concord Chorus, Allan Hancock College, and the New World Baroque Orchestra.

headshot of man with goatee in black suit jacket with white shirt and black tie

Daniel Eifert

Bass, as Elijah

Daniel Eifert is a recurrent soloist with the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale of California where he has performed Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, and Haydn’s
Creation. He is a former member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus, making appearances as a soloist under the baton of Riccardo Muti and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Daniel made his solo Carnegie Hall debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Orff’s Carmina Burana in 2012. He has been featured with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Apollo Chorus of Chicago, and the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.

Daniel enjoys a continuing collaboration with the Bach Institute of Valparaiso University, with past performances including Bach’s St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Mass in B Minor, and the Christmas Oratorio.

In October 2017, Daniel joined the Valparaiso University Chorale with the Leipzig Baroque Orchestra in Germany for a celebration of the 500 th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. He earned degrees from Valparaiso University and the University of Minnesota. Daniel currently resides in Wisconsin with his wife and three children.

Beyond the Notes

Beyond the Notes features leading scholars whose presentations highlight the times and culture surrounding the works performed by the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale.

Beyond the Notes is sponsored by Libbie Agran and the Shanbrom Family Foundation.

Marian Wilson Kimber

Marian Wilson Kimber

Professor of Musicology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Marian Wilson Kimber is Professor of Musicology at the University of Iowa. Her publications have treated the biographies and reception of Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, exploring Mendelssohn’s works for piano and orchestra and Hensel’s Romantic piano cycle, Das Jahr. As part of the 2009 celebrations surrounding the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn’s birth, Wilson Kimber was the keynote speaker for a conference held at Seoul University under the auspices of four Korean universities. 

Her article, “The ‘Suppression’ of Fanny Mendelssohn: Rethinking Feminist Biography,” has been one of the most frequently read articles published in the journal Nineteenth Century Music. Wilson Kimber’s research also explores women’s roles in America’s concert life. Her book, The Elocutionists: Women, Music, and the Spoken Word (University of Illinois Press, 2017) won the H. Earle Johnson Subvention from the Society for American Music. Wilson Kimber is a founding member of the duo Red Vespa, which performs comic spoken word pieces by women composers.

Saturday, April 22, 2023, 7:00 pm

“Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and the Problem of a Woman in Music” presented by Dr. Marian Wilson Kimber

Location: San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo

Composer Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was restricted from having a professional career due to her gender and upper-class status. In spite of this, she became an important musical figure in the nineteenth century and a symbol of women’s struggle for equality.

Sunday, April 23, 2023, 1:15 pm

“Felix Mendelssohn Composes His World” presented by Dr. Marian Wilson Kimber

Location: Pavilion, Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo

Felix Mendelssohn’s romantic music drew on his lifelong engagement with his German musical heritage as well as theater, literature, and poetry. An amateur painter, Mendelssohn also composed music that reflected the natural landscape he encountered in his many travels.

Fall 2022

Fall 2022

Fall 2022

The French Connection

Sunday, November 20, 2022 | 3:00 pm

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Originally slated for April 2020, the SLO Master Chorale was thrilled to finally present “The French Connection” on November 20, 2022, featuring more than 100 voices accompanied by a full symphony orchestra performing the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré and the Gloria by Francis Poulenc. In addition, Fauré’s well-known Pavane separated the two larger works. Guest soloists were Amy Goymerac, soprano, and Ben Kazez, baritone.

Featured Artists

Amy Goymerac

Amy Goymerac

Soprano

Ben Kazez

Ben Kazez

Baritone

Beyond the Notes

The SLO Master Chorale hosted two educational presentations given by Dr. Carl B. Schmidt, Professor Emeritus of Music History and Culture at Maryland’s Towson University, as part of the “Beyond the Notes” series to enlighten the community about the significance of each masterwork and the lives and times of the composers.

Beyond the Notes is sponsored by Libbie Agran and the Shanbrom Family Foundation.

Saturday, November 19, 2022, at 7:00 pm

“La Belle Époque: The Arts in Paris During Fauré’s Lifetime” will enlighten attendees about life, people, and the arts in Paris at the turn of the 20th century.  
Location: San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, 1010 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo


Sunday, November 20, 2022, at 1:15 pm

“Poulenc and Paris: An Embarrassment of Artistic Riches” will discuss the life, times, and friends of Francis Poulenc.
Location: Pavilion, Performing Arts Center, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo

Spring 2022

Spring 2022

Spring 2022

The Poets Speak

Sunday, April 24, 2022 | 3:00 pm

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

This wonderfully diverse concert, The Poets Speak, will include three musical masterpieces by one of England’s most revered composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams, inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman and George Herbert. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Vaughan Williams’s birth in 1872, the SLO Master Chorale will perform Fantasia on the “Old 104th” Psalm TuneFive Mystical Songs, and Dona nobis pacem.

Featured Artists

Joel Balzun

Joel Balzun

Baritone

Alba Franco-Cancél

Alba Franco-Cancél

Soprano

Beyond the Notes

Dr. Eric Saylor

Dr. Eric Saylor

Professor of Music History and Musicology at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa

Dr. Eric Saylor is Professor of Music History and Musicology at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

A specialist in British music of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he is the author of English Pastoral Music: From Arcadia to Utopia, 1900–1955 (University of Illinois Press, 2017) and the forthcoming Vaughan Williams (Oxford University Press, 2022), the first entirely new life-and-works biography on the composer published in over half a century.

He is also co-editor, with Naomi André and Karen M. Bryan, of Blackness in Opera (2012), and of The Sea in the British Musical Imagination (2015), with Christopher Scheer. His research and writing has been published widely throughout North America and Europe, including for the Grove Dictionary of American MusicOxford Bibliographies Online, and the British Library’s “Discovering Music” online exhibition. He is a former president of the North American British Music Studies Association, and in 2019 served as a Visiting Research Fellow at Merton College, Oxford. His other areas of scholarly interest include historiography, intersections of music and politics, and shape-note hymnody.

Speaking Event I:

The Composer in Wartime: Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Music of Conflict

Friday, April 22 at 6:00 PM
Room 218, Davidson Music Center, Cal Poly

War and conflict formed a backdrop to much of Vaughan Williams’s life and career. His military service in the Great War and his contributions to life on the home front during World War II inspired both immediate creative responses—in works such as the Pastoral and Fifth Symphonies, the chamber opera The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains, and Thanksgiving for Victory —and later ones powerfully informed by his experiences, including the oratorio Sancta Civitas, the cantata Dona Nobis Pacem, the Sixth Symphony, and Job: A Masque for Dancing.

This presentation will explore the nature of Vaughan Williams’s service at the front and at home, and the ways in which his experience with and understanding of conflict shaped his musical and expressive idioms.

Speaking Event II:


The Letter and the Spirit:
The Religious and Visionary Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams

Saturday, April 23 at 3:30PM
First Presbyterian Church, Wilson Hall
981 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo

There is no small irony in the fact that Vaughan Williams’s contributions to sacred music reveal a powerful understanding of and respect for religious faith, given his own lack of it. Yet in making his many contributions to hymnody and other genres of liturgical music—as well as non-liturgical pieces with sacred themes—Vaughan Williams hoped to elevate listeners to the same level of inspiration that he experienced when composing, or when he engaged with the works of visionary artists like Walt Whitman, George Meredith, William Blake, John Bunyan, and George Herbert. This talk will examine the complex and often contradictory nature of Vaughan Williams’s conception of religious belief, and the different artists and works that informed his own creative responses to such visionary and mystical topics.

Fall 2019

Fall 2019

Fall 2019

Classically Speaking

Sunday, November 24 at 3:00 PM

Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Requiem, KV626
Exsultate, jubilate, KV165

Igor Stravinsky
Symphony of Psalms

Featured Artists

headshot of woman with dark curly hair and bright lipstick

Alba Franco-Cancél

Puerto Rican soprano Alba Franco-Cancél thrills audiences with her in both operatic and concert appearances. Most recent appearances include her European debut as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera; Sarah in La Llorona with Opera CulturaQueen of the Night with Opera San Luis Obispo, Despina with Opera Neo, Valencienne with Pacific Opera Project in The Merry Widow; and Barbarina with Livermore Valley Opera.  

On 2018 Alba returned to Los Angeles to perform the leading role in a Los Angeles Original production of the mariachi opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna.  Other roles include Frasquita, Tytania, Calisto, Gilda, Musetta, Zerlina, Monica, Flora, and María in West Side Story among many others.

Recent awards include Semifinalist in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition and Finalist in the American Prize Vocal Competition. Other awards include Illinois Opera Theater Enthusiasts Award; twice recipient of the Bella Voice Award from the Bel Canto Foundation in Chicago; Finalist in the Classical Singer’s Competition; and the Public Choice Award from the Metropolitan Opera Council auditions.

Alba received a Doctoral degree in Voice from the Conservatory of Music of the University of Missouri under the guidance of world-renowned tenor Vinson Cole. She also holds a MM from the University of Illinois, and a BM from de Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico. Ms Franco-Cancél is currently Opera San Luis Obispo 2019-2020 Resident Artist and a member of the voice faculty at Cuesta College.

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Susan Azaret Davies

Susan Azaret Davies holds bachelor and master of music degrees in piano performance and accompanying from the University of Southern California where her principal teachers were Carol Rosenberger and Gwendolyn Koldofsky. She enjoys an active career as a pianist and singer. Her festival appearances include the Oregon Bach Festival, Festival Mozaic, the Cabrillo Festival, Idyllwild Summer Arts and the Festival Internacional de Musica de Morelia, Mexico.

She served as the music director/pianist for the Educational Opera Association of Los Angeles, which won an Emmy for its KCET television special “Opera for Children”. She has appeared as mezzo-soprano soloist in oratorio performances in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Beverly Hills, San Luis Obispo, Fremont, and Eugene, Oregon, and as collaborative pianist in recitals throughout California and in Carnegie Hall, New York City.

She is principal keyboard player for the San Luis Obispo Symphony, accompanist for the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale and choir director/organist at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Pismo Beach. She resides in Pismo Beach with her husband, Tom, when not visiting their two grown sons, Peter and Andrew.

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Paul Osborne

Paul Osborne has been a choral conductor, tenor soloist, and composer/arranger on the central coast since 2006. He received his degree at Concordia College in Moorehead, MN, where he studied choral conducting with René Clausen.

He is currently the Chorus Master for Opera San Luis Obispo as well as Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan, the Ensemble with the Central Coast Youth Chorus, and the worship leader at Paso Robles Church of the Nazarene. He performs locally with the San Luis Obispo Master Chorale, Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan, and in the annual “Bach in the Mission” concerts with the Cal Poly Early Music Ensemble.

By day, he can be found pouring wine at Adelaida Vineyards and Winery in Paso Robles. He resides in Atascadero, CA, with his wife Katrina and daughter Emily.

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Gabriel Manro

Gabriel Manro has performed the roles of Don Carlo in La forza del destino with West Bay Opera and Andrei Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov with Utah Festival Opera. He made his professional operatic debut as Third Inmate in Jake Heggie’s ground-breaking opera Dead Man Walking for Opera Pacific with Frederica von Stade. He went on to perform the role of Inquisitor in Opera Pacific’s Candide. Mr. Manro has also appeared in numerous world-premiere operas: as The Computer in Los Angeles Opera’s The Fly by renowned film composer Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings Trilogy); as The Chauffeur in Opera Santa Barbara’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell); and as Angry Voter in Los Angeles Opera’s Il postino, release on Sony Classical DVD. Manro created the role of President Lincoln in Golden Gate Opera’s world-premiere Civil War Epic: Lincoln and Booth.

Most recently, he was Joel Lynch/Father Jackson in the European Premiere and Telecast of William Mayer’s: A Death in the Family at the Hungarian National Theater. Mr. Manro made his European operatic debut as Doctor Bartolo (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with Corfu Opera in Greece.

Recently, Mr. Manro returned to the operatic stage after a musical run as Jafar in Walt Disney Company’s Aladdin directed by Francesca Zambello. Engagements include Muscovite Trader (The Ghosts of Versailles) with Los Angeles Opera, Tonio/Alfio (Pagliacci/Cavaleria Rusticana) with Opera San Luis Obispo, and The Mousling (Alice in Wonderland) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

In May, 2017 he sang with the SLO Master Chorale as soloist in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. He also performed in May 2016 as baritone soloist in San Luis Obispo Master Chorale’s concert featuring Joseph Haydyn’s Missa in Angustiis (Nelson Mass) and Handel’s Dettingen to Deum.

Beyond the Notes

Mozart struggled as he worked on his final composition, a Requiem Mass, which he began to fear was for his own funeral. Accompanying our performance of this legendary masterpiece will be lectures by scholars who will explore two perspectives: the rumors and scandals followed by the more likely cases of Mozart untimely death at the age of 35.

Dr. David Levy

Dr. David Levy

Wake Forest University

Mozart’s Requiem: Myths, Motives, and Movies

Friday, November 22, 6:00 pm
Davidson Music Center, Cal Poly, Room 218

David B. Levy is professor of music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, where he has taught since 1976 and served as chair of the department of music and associate dean of the college. Levy also served as program director for Wake Forest’s overseas program in Vienna. he received his Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Rochester in 1980. A prominent Beethoven scholar, he is the founder of the New Beethoven Research conferences that bring Beethoven scholars together from around the world.

Levy has written articles and reviews for several prestigious journals, including 19th Century Music, Beethoven Forum, Historical Performance, Music Library Association Notes, andis the author of Beethoven: the Ninth Symphony. he also contributed to Berlitz Studies (Cambridge university press), the Dictionnaire Berlioz (2003), andthe second edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.  Levy also has been the program annotator for the Winston-Salem Symphony for close to 40 years and began his duties as program annotator for the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (New York state) in 2015. He is currently nearing completion of a monograph on all nine of Beethoven’s Symphonies for Yale University Press.

Philip Mackowiak, MD

Philip Mackowiak, MD

University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. Mackowiak has authored three books on the subject of historical pathology:

Patients as Art: Forty Thousand Years of Medical History in Drawings, Paintings, and Sculpture

Publisher: Oxford University Press; (2018)

Post Mortem. Solving History’s Great Medical Mysteries

Publisher: American College of Physicians (2007)

Diagnosing Giants: Solving the Medical Mysteries of Thirteen Patients Who Changed the World

Publisher: Oxford University Press (2013)

Why Mozart Died So Young? A physician’s perspective

Saturday, November 23 at 7:00 pm
San Luis Obispo County Library

Philip A. Mackowiak is director of medical care at the Veterans Administration Maryland Health Care System in Baltimore. An expert in infectious diseases, he is credited with debunking a fact so widely taken to be gospel that it stood for more than a century—that normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. What’s more, the medical school drew international recognition after he organized the first Historical Clinicopathological Conference 11 years ago.

Dr. Mackowiak has become so interested in history and the deaths of famous people that he is reinventing himself as a medical historian. “I am still an administrator and a teacher; and I still see patients,” he says. “But I have devoted a lot of my free time to reading and thinking about history.” History, for Dr. Mackowiak, is a road map that “helps one regardless of profession by understanding where one came from.”

Eleven years ago, Dr. Mackowiak read an account of Edgar Allen Poe’s bizarre death. He thought it would make an interesting subject for an Historical Clinicopathological Conference. “It was such a terrific success.” Dr. Mackowiak says. Since then he has hosted additional Historical Clinicopathological Conferences, plumbing the depths of history to debate the mysterious deaths of Alexander the Great, Beethoven, Mozart and Claudius. He even revisited the trial of Joan of Arc to determine if she was mentally competent for her alleged criminal acts. The conference “has become my passion,” Dr. Mackowiak says.