by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Famed British composer John Rutter’s “Gloria” will be performed as the grand finale of the annual holiday concert by the St. Cloud-based Great River Chorale at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in downtown St. Cloud.
The concert is named “Gloria” after the Rutter work.
Guest artists at the concert will be the Concert Choir and Choristers of St. Cloud State University’s Cantabile Girls’ Choirs.
Members of the choirs hail from throughout central Minnesota, including the Sartell and St. Joseph areas.
“Gloria,” Rutter’s 15-minute, three-movement composition for orchestra and choir has been performed throughout the world as one of the staples during the Christmas season. Rutter is widely acclaimed for the many carols he has written. He was commissioned to write an anthem for the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011 in London’s Westminster Abbey.
The Great River Chorale, founded in 2001, performs concerts year-round, often with area and regional guest artists. It also occasionally gives free outreach concerts, which were described by one critic as “vibrant singing, thrilling brass, inspiring narrations and sing-along carols.”
The Great River Chorale has been featured on Classical Minnesota Public Radio’s Regional Spotlight program and was recently named the principal choral partner of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra.
There are 45 singing members of the Great River Chorale. Its current artistic director is Dr. Mary Geston, an adjunct professor of music at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. She has been a guest conductor in places as far away as South Korea and Taiwan.
To order tickets for “Gloria,” go to the chorale’s website at www.GreatRiverChorale.com and click where it says “Tickets.”
The Great River Chorale performs a concert in a local church.
