VietNamNet Bridge – The Grammy Award-winning Pacific Boychoir will travel to Vietnam to perform at notable venues and institutions such as the HCMC Conservatory Concert Hall and the Worker Theater in Hanoi.
In addition, the choir will participate in an outreach event organized by the United States Embassy at Vinh Phuc Social Services Center outside Hanoi. The event will include a performance, a visit of the facility and time to play with local children.
Known for its rich sound, the boy choir is preparing a diverse and exciting repertoire that ranges from Haydn’s Gloria and Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus to the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun and Paul Simon’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, arranged by Kirby Shaw.
Also known for their spirituals and approach to American classics, the choir will be singing George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm, arranged by Mark Hayes, and an arrangement of Ol’ Time Religion and When the Saints Go Marching In, arranged by Keith McKutchen and Everett McCorvey.
The choir will also learn two traditional Vietnamese songs, which will be featured with the locally renowned Sol Art Choir of Hanoi.
Founded in 1998, the Grammy-winning Pacific Boychoir Academy of California has over 175 boys in seven choirs. In its short history,it has become known as one of the top boys choirs in the world, known for its rich sound, musicianship, phrasing, and talented soloists.
The boys sing everything from Mozart to Cole Porter, from Bach Cantatas to American spirituals. Graduates of the treble program join the sopranos and altos to sing the SATB repertoire.
With the addition of a day school, PBA has become home to the only choir school in Western USA. The choir school integrates a full academic program with daily music instruction for boys in grades 4-8 who love to sing.
Boys in the school get 15 hours of music training every week. The Boychoir’s music staff is composed of experienced professionals committed to diverse repertoire and the pursuit of excellence.
The choir appears frequently with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), having performed under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur, Robert Spano, Charles Dutoit, Herbert Blomstedt, James Conlon, Semyon Bychkov, David Robertson, Don Davis, Donato Cabrera, and Vance George.
The choir recorded Mahler’s Third Symphony with the SFS, which was awarded the Grammy for Best Classical Album in February 2004.
It has also appeared with SFS to perform works by Mahler, Orff, Berlioz, Liszt, Britten, Wagner, and Mendelssohn. In August 2009, the San Francisco Symphony released a new SACD recording of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony that includes the Pacific Boychoir.
In January 2010, this recording won three Grammy awards: Best Classical Performance, Best Choral Performance, and Best Classical Engineering.
The choir has also performed under the direction of maestros Gustavo Dudamel, Jeffrey Thomas, Richard Cock, Roberto Tibiriça, and Vytautas Miskinis.
Some highlights of recent PBA performances include America’s Got Talent, Kronos Quartet’s 40th birthday party, Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in Washington DC, Russian music with Dmitri Hvorostovsky and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the first performances of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers by an American boys choir, music of Duke Ellington with the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, and a cappella pop singles from PBA’s “Continuum” group.
On tour, Pacific Boychoir Academy has been heard across North America, South America, the South Pacific, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Concert Details
Sunday, July 12, 2014
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
HCMC Conservatory Concert Hall
8:00 pm
Free entry
Monday, July 14, 2014
Hoi An, Vietnam
Hoi An Sculpture Garden
8:00 pm
Free entry
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Hanoi, Vietnam
The Worker Theater
42 Trang Tien St.
Performance with Sol Art Choir
8:00 pm
Tickets: Available at The Work Theater and also you can book online at ticketvn.com.
Price: 250,000/400,000/600,000 VND
Repertoire
Laudate Pueri—Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Ave Maria—Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Hail, Gladdening Light—Charles Wood (1866-1926)
Gloria (from Heiligmesse)—Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Cantique de Jean Racine—Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Hallelujah Chorus—GF Handel (1685-1759)
Trong Com—Traditional Vietnamese
Bac Kim Thang—Traditional Vietnames
Here Comes the Sun—Lennon/McCartney, arr. Deke Sharon
The Man Who Sold the World—David Bowie, arr. Calvin Achorn
Sweet Dreams—Annie Lennox, arr. Deke Sharon
I Got Rhythm—George Gershwin, arr. Mark Hayes
Bridge Over Troubled Water—Paul Simon, arr. Kirby Shaw
Ol’ Time Religion/When the Saints Go Marching In—arr. Keith McKutchen and Everett McCorvey
All You Need is Love—Lennon/McCartney (Beatles), arr. K Fox
T. Van