DEARBORN, Michigan – A concert celebrating two decades of choral music under the direction of G. Kevin Dewey will be held on Saturday, May 19 at 3 p.m. in the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. at Greenfield, Dearborn.
Twenty years ago, Dewey formed two new groups that have enriched the musical landscape in metro Detroit: Vanguard Voices & Brass and Renaissance Voices. Both groups have amassed critical accolades, maintained aggressive performance seasons, recorded several hours of music and toured internationally. Vanguard Voices has also commissioned and premiered dozens of new choral works.
Vanguard Voices
“It’s time to celebrate all we have accomplished and look forward to the next decade of great music,” said Dewey, who is also director of vocal music at Henry Ford Community College.
The celebratory performance will feature each group individually and in combination with the others. Alumni from both Vanguard Voices and Renaissance Voices are invited to participate in select pieces as well.
Renaissance Voices
“Both choirs will perform favorites from their repertoire – songs that both audience and alumni will remember,” said Dewey. “It will be a concert that is both about where we have been as well as where we are going.”
Four selections will be drawn from commissioned works or from winners of the Vanguard Premieres Choral Composition Contest, which has brought more than 30 new choral works to the concert hall in the past decade. A particular highlight is “Sing to the Lord a New Song” by Dearborn native Steven Errante, a 2003 work for choir and brass, commissioned by Vanguard Voices in 2003. Four additional selections are composed by Dewey.
Other works in the program were composed by Claude Debussy, Dan Forrest, Jester Hairston, Gustav Holst, Pavel Tschesnokoff, Franz Biebl, William Byrd and others. Musical styles range from Gregorian chant through Tudor sacred polyphony to American spiritual and jazz.
Reserved tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students and are available by calling (313) 943-2354 or visiting www.dearborntheater.com.