Westminster Kantorei will present “Tenebrae,” a celebration of light and darkness featuring choral settings for the Tenebrae service.  Sung by candlelight, this concert features Carlo Gesualdo’s haunting and strange Tenebrae Responsories, as well as Tenebrae settings of François Couperin and Thomas Tallis.  The program will first be performed on Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. in Gill Chapel on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J.  It will also be performed on Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton.

            Founded in 2004, Westminster Kantorei is a chamber choir specializing in music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras with occasional forays into later repertoire, including new works.  The ensemble is composed of 16 of Westminster’s most talented students.  In addition to this performance, the ensemble’s 2004-2005 season included a concert of German Baroque funeral cantatas and a performance at the BachFest at Princeton Theological Seminary.

            The ensemble is conducted by Andrew Megill, a member of Westminster's conducting faculty.  Megill is recognized for his artistry and wide-ranging repertoire that extends from Renaissance music to newly commissioned works.  He has prepared choruses for the American Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, and the Berkshire Opera for conductors including Pierre Boulez, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Alan Gilbert, Neeme Järvi, Zdenek Mácal, Joseph Flummerfelt, Richard Bradshaw and Spiros Argiris.  In addition to serving as artistic director of Fuma Sacra and conductor of Westminster Kantorei, he currently serves as chorusmaster of the Westminster Symphonic Choir and for the Spoleto Festival USA, where he was recently acclaimed for training "the finest opera chorus in the world," and the music director of the Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra.  He has led the Masterwork Chorus, one of New Jersey's finest volunteer choirs, in major choral-orchestral repertory throughout New Jersey and New York, including at Avery Fisher and Carnegie Halls.

            Tickets for these performances can be purchased by calling the Westminster box office weekdays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 609-921-2663.  Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens.  Rider University is located at 2083 Lawrenceville Road in Lawrenceville; Westminster Choir College is located at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton

            Andrew Megill will conduct Westminster Kantorei in a presentation of “Tenebrae,” a celebration of light and darkness featuring choral settings for the Tenebrae service.  Sung by candlelight, this concert features Carlo Gesualdo’s haunting and strange Tenebrae Responsories, as well as Tenebrae settings of François Couperin and Thomas Tallis.  The program will first be performed on Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. in Gill Chapel on the campus of Rider University, 2083 Lawrenceville Road in Lawrenceville.  It will also be performed on Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m.in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton.  Tickets for these performances can be purchased by calling the Westminster box office weekdays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 609-921-2663.  Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens.