Houston Chamber Choir

The Houston Chamber Choir is a professional chamber choir based in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Robert Simpson.[1] The ensemble regularly presents a five-concert series of diverse, innovative choral programming throughout the Houston region. They have appeared nationally at the American Choral Directors Association convention, the Chorus America convention, Spoleto Festival USA, Trinity Church in Manhattan, and Yale University. The choir has also has toured internationally in Mexico and Wales.

Houston Chamber Choir
Choir
Houston Chamber Choir, April 2017
OriginHouston, Texas, United States
Founded1995 (1995) (28 years ago)
FounderRobert Simpson
GenreRenaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern
Music directorRobert Simpson
AwardsList of awards and accolades
Websitehoustonchamberchoir.org

The choir won its first Grammy Award for the 2019 recording Duruflé: Complete Choral Works.[2]

Recordings
  • The Blue Estuaries: American Choral Music (Zephyr, 2001)
  • Ravishingly Russian (MSR Classics, 2009)
  • Psalmi ad Vesperas (MSR Classics, 2012)
  • Soft Blink of Amber Light (MSR Classics, 2015)
  • Rothko Chapel: Morton Feldman, Erik Satie, John Cage (ECM, 2015)
  • Behold the Star! Christmas at the Villa (2018)
  • Duruflé: Complete Choral Works (Signum Classics, 2019)
  • Bob Chilcott: Circlesong (Signum Classics, 2022)

Collaborations

The Houston Chamber Choir has performed and collaborated with some of the world's leading artists, including Anton Armstrong, Jamie Bernstein, Alex Blachly, Marguerite Brooks, Dave Brubeck, Simon Carrington, Bob Chilcott, Cynthia Clawson, Manfred Cordes, Ken Cowan, Joseph Flummerfelt, María Guinand, Paul Hillier, Kim Kashkashian, Christian McBride, Bill McGlaughlin, Kim Nazarian, Peter Phillips, Elena Sharkova, Steven Schick, Anthony Trecek-King, and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine).

Commissions

Beyond the known and celebrated choral works, the Houston Chamber Choir is also a champion of contemporary choral music, having expanded the repertoire with nearly a dozen commissions of new works. All but one of the compositions from Soft Blink of Amber Light are works commissioned and premiered by the ensemble.[3] Composers commissioned by the choir include Dominick DiOrio, Jocelyn Hagen, Daniel J. Knaggs, Christian McBride, Christopher Theofanidis, David Ashley White, and Mark Buller.

Awards and accolades

In 2015, the choir was the winner of The American Prize for Choral Performance.[4]

Its two 2015 albums, Soft Blink of Amber Light[3] and Rothko Chapel: Morton Feldman, Erik Satie, John Cage[5] have been met with international acclaim.[6][7][8] The Rothko Chapel project, recorded in partnership with Da Camera of Houston Artistic Director Sarah Rothenberg,[9] was a US Billboard Top 10[10] and UK Top 20[11] Classical Album and was named one of the Best Classical Recordings of 2015 by the Chicago Tribune.[12]

The choir is the recipient of the 2018 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence given by Chorus America.[13]

The 2019 recording Duruflé: Complete Choral Works was the choir's first Grammy Award Nomination[14][15] and it won the Grammy for Best Choral Performance.[16]

The Houston Chamber Choir was selected to perform as one of the twenty-four choirs at the World Symposium on Choral Music sponsored by the International Federation for Choral Music in Auckland, New Zealand, in July 2020.[17]

References
  1. "Mission & History". Houston Chamber Choir. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. "62nd Annual Grammy Awards". GRAMMY.com. January 26, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  3. Evans, Everett (January 8, 2016). "Houston Chamber Choir Wins National Honors". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  4. Rothko Chapel: Morton Feldman, Erik Satie, John Cage at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  5. Vittes, Laurence (January 2016). "Sounds of America". Gramophone. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  6. Kenyon, Nicholas (November 22, 2015). "Feldman, Satie, Cage: Rothko Chapel CD review – hypnotic and moving". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  7. Gill, Andy (November 13, 2015). "Morton Feldman/Erik Satie/John Cage, Rothko Chapel - album review". The Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  8. Da Camera - Recordings & Video. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  9. @wayneashleymusi (23 July 2017). "#TB to @houchamberchoir's 1st ever appearance on the @billboard charts!! #RothkoChapel was a Top 10 Top Classical album. #Houston #houarts" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "Official Specialist Classical Chart Top 30". Official Charts. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  11. von Rhein, John (December 4, 2015). "The Best Classical Recordings of 2015". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  12. "Chorus America's 2018 Awards Recognize Outstanding Choruses and Individuals". Chorus America. April 4, 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  13. "Houston Chamber Choir's 'Duruflé: Complete Choral Works' receives Grammy nomination for 'Best Choral Performance'". Houston Chronicle. November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  14. Denise Warner (November 20, 2019). "2020 Grammy Nominees: The Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  15. 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees. The Recording Academy, Accessed December 2, 2019.
  16. "Choirs". World Symposium on Choral Music 2020. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
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