Chicago a cappella (ensemble)

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Chicago a cappella is a classical vocal ensemble. The group is known for its performance of a wide range of musical styles, from medieval and Renaissance music to contemporary classical compositions, jazz, spirituals, and pop.

Chicago a cappella was founded in 1993 by bass Jonathan Miller. Miller's background was in choral performance and musicology, and he envisioned a small professional ensemble whose members could convincingly interpret an unusual variety of musical genres. Although he originally conceived of the group with eight singers, Miller chose two sopranos, two altos, two tenors, and two baritones at the initial auditions, and sang bass himself; the group has most usually performed as a nine-voice ensemble ever since. No longer a regular singing member of the ensemble, Miller continues to serve as artistic director. In 2007, Patrick Sinozich was named the group's music director.

The group gained a following in its early years after several self-produced concerts at the Theater Building in Chicago in September 1993. Chicago a cappella performed as guest ensemble with the established Chicago-based chamber choir His Majestie's Clerkes (later renamed Bella Voce) in 1994 and 1996, further extending its reputation. A recording contract with Centaur Records produced two CDs of Renaissance music, a collection of music for the Christmas season by Italian master Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in 1996, and the first recording of works by the French Renaissance composer Mathurin Forestier (fl. c. 1500) in 1999. The Forestier recording in particular received critical acclaim, with Fanfare Magazine noting: "The nine voices that make up the group display all the professional attributes of world-class ensembles. Jonathan Miller directs convincing interpretations of both works, eliciting lovely vocalism well balanced among the parts...This is an unexpected find, and I urge collectors to search it out."

The group began offering a subscription to its self-produced concert series in Chicago and several suburbs in 1996. The concerts often include music from diverse genres, constructed around a central theme. The ensemble has made tour appearances in 11 states and in Mexico, where they sang at a cultural festival in Tampico in 2000.

Chicago a cappella has become particularly known for its performances of works by living composers. For the ensemble's tenth anniversary concerts in 2003, the group commissioned composer Chen Yi to write a new work. Chicago a cappella recorded the resulting piece, "The West Lake", on their 2005 CD, Eclectric. Another commission, "The Wanderer" by Argentine composer Ezequiel Viñao, was extended in conjunction with the noted men's vocal ensemble Chanticleer in 2006. Five new works were commissioned in 2007-08 as Chicago a cappella's Fifteenth Anniversary Commissioning Series, including works by Rollo Dilworth, Stacy Garrop, and Tania León.

The ensemble's repertoire expanded to experimental rock in 2004, when Chicago a cappella appeared on one track of The Power Out, a CD recording by Electrelane, a Brighton, England-based all-female rock band. The track, titled "The Valleys", received wide acclaim due to its breakthrough use of vocals from a band that had been primarily instrumental. The men of Chicago a cappella reappeared on Electrelane's next CD, Axes (2005), performing on two tracks.

Discography

• Palestrina: Music for the Christmas Season (1996)
• Mathurin Forestier:Missa Baises moy; Missa L'homme armé (1999)
• Go Down Moses: Tracing the Roots of the African-American Spiritual (2001)
• Holidays a cappella Live (2003)
• Eclectric (2005)
• Shall I Compare Thee?: Choral Songs on Shakespeare Texts (2005)
• Christmas a cappella: Songs From Around the World (2008)
• Days of Awe and Rejoicing: Radiant Gems of Jewish Music (2011)

External links

• Official web site
• Chicago a cappella at Allmusic