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River City Voices presents Cancel Choir
 

Imagine that you just found out your favourite composer is a murderer (and got away with it). Or the songwriter you’ve been following for years just dropped a track fat-shaming his best friend. And a global conflict has suddenly made the guy who composed your wedding march really unpopular. What do you do?

Welcome to CANCEL CHOIR, where River City Voices dishes the dirt on your favourite classical musicians (and some favourites you mightn’t have met yet) in a concert that blends a showcase of the blockbuster classics relished by die-hard choral and opera fans alike, with an exploration of the contemporary cultural questions that cross from social media to the concert hall.

It’s a short, sharp and spiky show that contemplates the artist versus the artwork  and asks the big questions - how do we view old works with contemporary eyes and understandings? Why do we cancel some artists and not others? And what’s the cost?

River City Voices’ Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Sarah Penicka-Smith, has been enjoying the rehearsal process, including the choristers’ hot debates over some of the music. ‘River City Voices feels strongly that part of our remit in Western Sydney is to offer different ways into the choral repertoire - and sometimes that means challenging assumptions that once a piece of art is deemed to be great, that’s the only lens through which we can view it. Our conversations together show that not all beautiful music is an easy listen for every chorister, depending on their cultural background or personal experience. While I’m a fan of every piece and composer on our program I’m also keen to be honest about their histories, which are sometimes quite complicated.’

Concert program includes songs by 16th Century composer Carlo Gesualdo, Beethoven (including excerpts from his Symphony No. 9 Finale), Puccini, Wagner, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and contemporary Ukrainian composer Natalia Tsupryk.

River City Voices

Conductor: Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith

Pianist: Dr Philip Eames

Macarthur Girls High School Choir

TWO shows:  3.30pm and 7.30pm

 

Event details

Venue: Macarthur Girls High School, Main Hall, off Stewart Street, Parramatta
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/cancel-choir
Start Date: Saturday 17 August 2024

Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange disability parking/access.

 

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