Dale Warland To Lead Westminster Symphonic Choir In Contemporay Choral Masterpieces

Renowned choral conductor Dale Warland will lead the 100-voice Westminster Symphonic Choir in a performance of contemporary choral works Thursday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m. in the Princeton University Chapel. 

Entitled “A Choral Mosaic: Music of Our Time,” the program will include works by some of our era’s most notable composers: Howard Hanson, Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, Stephen Paulus, and Vincent Persichetti. 

Dale Warland has made an indelible impression on the landscape of contemporary choral music both nationally and internationally. During his time with the Dale Warland Singers, he shaped a vocal ensemble known for its exquisite sound, technical finesse, and stylistic range. From this platform, Warland has not only mastered the traditional repertoire, but also expanded it through steady commissions -- in all, 270 new choral works, from more than 150 composers.  

His appearances as a guest conductor have taken him to the podiums of the Swedish Radio Choir, Danish Radio Choir, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble, the Utah Chamber Artists, the Grant Park Music Festival and Israel's Cameran Singers, among others.

Dale Warland served 19 years as director of choral music at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He earned a Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota, respectively, and a Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California School of Music. He has also received honorary doctorates from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. and from Macalester College in Minnesota.

Composed of upper-class and graduate students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, the Westminster Symphonic Choir has recorded and performed with major orchestras under virtually every internationally known conductor of the last 75 years.  Recognized as one of the world’s leading choral ensembles, the choir has sung over 300 performances with the New York Philharmonic alone.

The choir’s 2004-2005 season includes performances of Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Dresden Philharmonic conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Järvi.  With the New York Philharmonic it will perform Handel’s Messiah, conducted by Alan Gilbert, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloë, conducted by Lorin Maazel, and Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust, conducted by Charles Dutoit.  It will also perform Daphnis et Chloë with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Laycock in April.

Admission is free.  For information call Westminster’s box office at 609-921-2663 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.