November 13th at 2 p.m., Founders Chapel, University of San Diego

Hailed as “one of the US’ hottest musical properties” (Gramophone), prodigious young composer Nico Muhly has collaborated with such diverse artists as
Björk and Philip Glass.

SACRA/PROFANA proudly presents the first performance of Muhly’s choral music in San Diego, the multi-movement opus Expecting The Main Things From You, scored for string quartet, percussion, organ & choir. Also on the program is Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s profound meditation on the biblical story of Sarah’s pregnancy, Sarah Was 90 Years Old, and Proverb, a work for two organs, two vibraphones and five solo voices by iconic American composer Steve Reich.

December 8th, 9th & 10th at 7:30 p.m.

In May of 2011, SACRA/PROFANA joined forces with Orchestra Nova to present Arnold Schönberg’s choral masterpiece Friede Auf Erden. Following the success of that collaboration, the two ensembles unite once again to present a unique program of highlights from Handel’s beloved oratorio Messiah.

Tickets and venue information at
www.orchestranova.org.

“I am very happy that SACRA / PROFANA will be singing my piece ‘the little match girl passion.’
I heard a recording of another piece of mine that they sang and it sounded great. I eagerly await!”

Sunday April 1st, 5 p.m.
Torrey Pines Christian Church
8320 La Jolla Scenic Drive North
La Jolla, CA

SACRA / PROFANA is honored to give the San Diego premiere of modern American composer David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning piece. Described by The New Yorker as “one of the most original and moving scores of recent years“, The Little Match Girl Passion is a haunting and evocative narrative based on Hans Christian Andersen’s disturbing tale of a poor young girl who retains her Christian purity of spirit in the face of abuse, neglect and suffering. Based on Bach’sSt. Matthew Passion, Lang’s work is a stark, yet beautiful meditation on the “shocking combination of danger and morality” inherent in the folk tale.

For further information on this important modern work, visit the publisher’s website:www.schirmer.com

This concert is sponsored by Torrey Pines Christian Church, and is free and open to the public.

Please note this event has been postponed until Fall of 2012. Details to come!

Raised in Murrieta, CA, Kelsey came to San Diego to study vocal music and theatre at Point Loma Nazarene University. She has been heavily involved in the music department and has sung with the Point Loma Singers, the upper division chamber choir, since her freshman year. She currently serves as the soprano section leader. This last spring, she traveled with the group on a singing tour of England and Scotland. Kelsey also traveled in the summer of 2007 with a small musical group called “Provision” that was hired by PLNU to play worship music at summer camps and churches all over northern California. In her almost four years at PLNU, Kelsey has been heavily involved in the theater department as well, playing leading roles in such musicals as Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” and plays such as Eugene O’Neill’s “Thirst,” George Bernard Shaw’s “How He Lied to Her Husband” and William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Kelsey will be graduating from Po in May of 2009 with a B.A. in Music with a focus in Voice and a minor in Theater.

Kelsey is excited to be working with this amazing group of singers. As the student intern for SACRA/PROFANA, she will be singing in the group as well as doing administrative work such as fundraising, publicity, scheduling, general organization, and possibly some conducting. Kelsey hopes that this internship organized by the Point Loma Music Department and SACRA/PROFANA will help her reach her goal of professional music performance.

New York-born, New England-bred, and Yale-educated, Krishan Oberoi is a maverick conductor whose passion for unorthodox programming is bolstered by a firm grounding in musical tradition. Oberoi attended the Yale School of Music on a full-tuition scholarship, earning his master’s degree in conducting in 2006. Since moving to Southern California in 2007, he has performed extensively with the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Master Chorale, San Diego Opera and Bach Collegium San Diego. In 2009, Oberoi founded the professional chamber choir SACRA/PROFANA, described as “genre-bending” (San Diego City Beat) and recently praised for their “adventurous repertory… both polished & daring” (sandiego.com).

Under Oberoi’s leadership, SACRA/PROFANA has championed seminal works of modern choral repertoire rarely (if ever) heard in Southern California. These include major works by Arnold Schoenberg, György Ligeti, Steve Reich, Vincent Persichetti, Ernst Krenek, Nico Muhly and David Lang. In April 2012, critic Garrett Harris wrote in the San Diego Reader, “San Diego is fortunate to have a group like SACRA/PROFANA bringing us new music that is of high quality”. The 24-voice ensemble has collaborated with many of San Diego’s leading arts institutions, including Orchestra Nova, Art of Élan, San Diego Museum of Art, and musicians from the SD Symphony at Club Anthology.

As a vocalist, Mr. Oberoi has toured extensively in Europe under such conductors as Helmuth Rilling and Simon Carrington. From 2005-2007, he served as Associate Conductor of the Elm City Girls Choir (Academy Division), the top level of Connecticut’s United Choir School. Mr. Oberoi is currently Youth Director for San Diego Children’s Choir, and Organist at The Immaculata, University of San Diego.

A native of Phoenix, AZ, Matt Whiffen moved to San Diego in the fall of 2000 to attend the University of San Diego. At USD Matt was a member of the esteemed USD Choral Scholars where he was a four-year tenor section leader. In the spring of 2004 Matt received his B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and real estate along with a music minor. Since graduation Matt has worked as Development Assistant at the San Diego Symphony and Development Associate at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. In 2007 Matt played piano and sang regularly for a raucous, inebriated crowd of college students and tourists at The Shout House: Duelling Rock & Roll Pianos. Currently, he is a Student Counselor and Partner at TakeLessons.com, which is the largest provider of music and voice lessons in the U.S. with instructors in over 400 cites.
Matt’s music career has taken him many places and allowed him to experience many different types of music: from Blackpool, England to San Diego, California, from Mozart to Bon Jovi. He has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society since the age of 13 and has won several medals in that time, most notably as a member of the 2007 International Champion Westminster Chorus. Matt has also been active in the San Diego theater community; previous roles include Jesus in Godspell at OnStage Playhouse, for which he received an Aubrey nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Musical; Hair at the Lyceum; and a player for the Mystery Cafe Dinner Theater. Matt is excited for the challenges that lie ahead and is honored to sing next to the very talented members of San Diego’s innovative new ensemble, Sacra/Profana.

Soprano Becca Tang was born and raised in San Diego. She is a recent graduate of UCLA, and received her Bachelor’s in Music Education, specializing in Voice. She also has her teaching credential and is currently teaching private voice and piano lessons in San Diego. She sang for four years in the UCLA Chorale and was also a member of the UCLA Chamber Singers. Becca also had the privilege of participating in the UCLA Opera Studio, performing in several productions, including Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and a world premier of “Lorca, Child of the Moon” by UCLA faculty Ian Krause.

Richard Stanford is a member of the San Diego Opera chorus and a longtime member of the Barbershop Harmony Society. He is a current International Champion just crowned in July 2008 in Nashville with his chorus, the ‘Masters of Harmony’, garnering a gold medal as the best male chorus in the world. Other highlights include singing with Opera Ala Carte, a touring Gilbert and Sullivan company, soloing and performing with his quartet at a weekend of Gershwin backed by John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and a nationwide tour with the ‘Cornerstone Chorale and Brass’ who performed daily all over the United States in the days after Sept. 11. He also performed John Rutter’s ‘Requiem’ at Carnegie Hall with the composer directing. Richard currently solos at the Christian Science Church of Chula Vista, and directs the Heimatklang Choir, a German language choral group based in San Diego.