GREATER NEW HAVEN COMMUNITY CHORUS
Building Community One Note at a Time
Noah Blocker-Glynn, Artistic Director
For Immediate Release:
Greater New Haven Community Chorus to Perform World Premiere
of Commissioned Choral Work at 50th Anniversary Spring Concert
New Haven, CT – May 13, 2014 – Greater New Haven Community Chorus will perform the world premiere of Voices of One, a
commissioned choral piece by award-winning composer Jake Runestad at its 50th anniversary spring concert – Spirit – on Saturday
evening, May 31 at 8:00 p.m. at Battell Chapel on the Yale University campus. A special pre-concert presentation by the composer will
take place prior to the concert at 7:00 pm.
The choral composition Voices of One, is the final stage of the chorus’ year-long creative development process: Photography and
poetry contests encouraged amateur photographers and poets from the Greater New Haven area to contribute to the creative process
through their art forms. Poems, based on winning images chosen in the photo contest, were then offered to Runestad as a basis of the
text for the choral work, which he set to music.
The concert will also include Rejoice in the Lamb by Benjamin Britten, as well as works by Gwyneth Walker, Gerald Finzi and Frank
Ticheli. Tickets are on sale at www.gnhcc.org or at the door the evening of the performance. More program information can be also be
found at their website.
Runestad (b. 1986) is noted for his versatility and wide range of expressive capabilities with music driven by soaring melodies, driving
rhythms, and lush textures. Considered “highly imaginative…with big ideas” (Baltimore Sun) and “stirring and uplifting” (Miami Herald),
Jake has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles such as Seraphic Fire, the Louisiana Philharmonic
Orchestra, VocalEssence, the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble,
Cantus (Minnesota), and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra. A diverse composer, Mr. Runestad’s prolific body of work represents
many genres – including music for wind band, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensembles, jazz ensembles, and opera. He has received
awards and grants from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, the Peabody Conservatory, the Otto Bremmer Foundation,
VocalEssence, the Virginia Arts Festival, the National Association for Music Education, the Association for Lutheran Church Musicians,
and the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota.
Jake Runestad holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University where he studied
with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. He has also studied extensively with acclaimed composer Libby Larsen. Mr.
Runestad currently lives in Minneapolis, MN.
Mr. Runestad, who is also a conductor and has worked with student, volunteer, and professional ensembles across the U.S. will lead a
sight reading workshop for choral singers on May 28 at Hamden High School sponsored by GNHCC. An advocate of new music, he
has conducted the premiere of several of his own works. His acclaimed choral work “I Will Lift Mine Eyes” will be used in the workshop.
Registration for the event can be found at www.gnhcc.org.
Greater New Haven Community Chorus is a non-auditioned chorus of approximately 100 voices which draws its membership from
throughout the greater New Haven area. GNHCC strives to embrace the wide diversity of the community and is committed to making
quality music accessible and approachable for audiences and members alike. Greater New Haven Community Chorus was founded in
1963 as a venture in community singing and continues to perform with pride and distinction.
For more information about GNHCC, please visit www.gnhcc.org or email: info@gnhcc.org.
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Media Contacts:
Katherine McManus
President, GNHCC Board
203.303.4642
info@gnhcc.org
Dennis Burke
Marketing/PR Chair, GNHCC Board
203.303.4642
pr@gnhcc.org