2025 Spring Concert
The Birds and The Bees
The Birds and the Bees draws its inspiration from Renaissance madrigals and chansons. Representing the very beginnings of a notated secular choral tradition, these pieces introduced novel compositional devices and ideas about the relationship between poetry and music. The impact of these innovations on the choral and operatic music extends to the present day.
Though there are few “modern madrigals” in this program, each selection features some element of madrigalism; text painting, onomatopoeia, imitation, chromaticism, irregular phrasing, and thinly veiled eroticism. Largely a cappella, the resulting program alternates between expressions of yearning lyricism and cheeky rhythmic vitality.
Including works by Norman Dello Joio, Morton Lauridsen, Georgiann Toole, Hyo-Won Woo, Carol Nicholeris, Joshua Shank, and Christopher Hoh, The Birds and the Bees is sure to delight and move listeners with its beauty and wit, and to serve as a reminder that what is old is still new.
Painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), The Swing.
Friday June 13th at 7pm and
Sunday June 15th at 2pm
Unitarian Universalist Church,
1 Middle St. Brunswick, Maine
Our winter concert series The Sounding Sea will be held Friday Jan. 31st at 7pm
and Sunday Feb. 2nd at 2pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle St. Brunswick, Me.
The Sounding Sea, Una Voce Chamber Choir’s 2025 Winter Concert Series, is a richly textured program that evokes both our spirit of adventure, and our need to return to the communities and people we love. Replete with images of seascapes, desert landscapes, and urban milieu, the Sounding Sea weaves together a variety of musical styles to highlight and connect poems that reflect a panoply of human experiences.
When asked to reflect on the various themes in the program UVCC’s Artistic Director, VIrgil Bozeman IV, responded thus. “I wanted to explore the tension between the innate desire we have to fling ourselves into the unknown and the powerful need to be replenished by that which is familiar and comfortable. Ironically most of the compositions that evoke a sense of wanderlust are set in musical syntax that feels very traditional, whereas the pieces that romanticize a feeling of connection to home feel very contemporary, like the songs you’d hear in modern musical theater. While there is undoubtedly a high degree of difficulty in this program, it is interspersed with long sections that have a sense of almost breezy simplicity.”
Featuring music by contemporary standouts Jan Sändstrom, Caroline Shaw, Ēriks Ešenvalds, Eric William Barnum, Jake Runestad, Cecilia McDowall, Matthew Lyon Hazzard, and Maine based composer Philip Carlsen, The Sounding Sea is sure to captivate listeners of all ages.
A richly textured program of music that evokes both our spirit of adventure, and our need to return to the communities and people we love.
Check out Virgil's interview with Heather McDougall!!
On January 26th, Una Voce's Artistic Director Virgil Bozeman, was interviewed by Heather McDougall, the host of State of the Art.
State of the Art airs Sundays on Maine Public Classical.
If you'd like to hear more about our group and a more in depth description of our upcoming concert, click the link below to listen to the interview.
As always, thank you to our followers for your support!
We couldn't make this beautiful music without you.
Spring Concert 2024, The Tardy Triumph of Joy; Echoes of the Harlem Renaissance
Artwork:
Beauford Delaney (1901–1979), Untitled, c.1968, gouache and watercolor on paper, 25 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches / 65.1 x 49.8cm, Beauford Delaney Estate Stamp; © Estate of Beauford Delaney by permission of Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, CourtAppointed Administrator; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY
The Tardy Triumph of Joy featured modern and contemporary choral works inspired by the poetry and prose of literary giants from the Harlem Renaissance. Signature works include William Averitt’s Black Pierrot; a striking and angular treatment of seven poems by Langston Hughes, and Margaret Bonds’ masterful setting of W.E.B. Dubois’ Credo. The program also includes music by Margaret Bonds, Rob Dietz, Moses Hogan, and Andrea Ramsey.
Friday June 14th at 7pm and Sunday June 16th at 2pm, at Crooker Theater, 116 Maquoit Road, Brunswick, Maine.
Tickets are $25 for adults. Children under 18 free.
FEATURED SINGERS
Goitsemang Lehobye was born in Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa, and first heard opera during a television broadcast featuring the South African Black Tie Opera Ensemble. After finishing school she joined the Ensemble's “Incubator” Scheme where she began learning the tools of being an opera singer. In 2011 Goitsemang won a scholarship to study with Hanna van Niekerk and Kamal Khan at the University of Cape Town. Productions include La Boheme, Postcards from Morocco, Don Giovanni, and La Traviata. Goitsemang moved to the US in 2017 to continue her studies at The University of Michigan where she is still learning under Professor Daniel Washington. Her career highlights include singing as a soloist with renowned tenors Johan Botha and Neil Shicoff, touring to Argentina as Serena from Porgy and Bess at the Teatro Colon, and being a soloist for the tour of the Minnesota Orchestra to South Africa where she premiered a work by Bongani Ndodana - Harmonia Ubuntu.
Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Marcus King graduated The University of Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education, and a master’s in vocal performance. In 2021, he returned to Opera America’s Sorca Hall making his New York recital debut in the world premiere of Sohrab and Rustom. For 2022, he made his debut with Art Song Colorado as one of the Voices of the Diaspora, a concert featuring the works of Leslie Adams, George Walker and Andre Myers. He also made his debut with Lighthouse Opera of New York’s reading of Twice Upon a Birthday playing the character of Metamorphos. This year he returned to Carnegie Hall in the reading of 9131: A Sing Sing Opera. He also made his debut with Opera Theatre of The Rockies, Colorado as Derrick Wheatt in Blind Injustice. His latest engagement was as a Lakes Area Music Festival Vocal Fellow in Brainerd, Minnesota. He is currently an adjunct voice professor for Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Una Voce performed its Winter Concert series, PORTALS at Unitarian Universalist Church, Brunswick
The start of the 2024 season!
Songs of community, migration, transformation, and new beginnings.
Featured music of Saunder Choi, Dominic DiOrio, Reena Esmail, and Vineet Shende.
Una Voce performed Portals on Friday January 19th at 7pm, and Sunday January 21st at 2pm.
Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle St. Brunswick, ME.
Tickets are $25 for adults. Children under 18 free.
Photo by Karen Crowley-Susani of Energetic Geometry at https://energeticgeometry.com
Temple to Janus, Autun, France.
Una Voce's performs stirring "you whom my soul loves" at Studzinski Hall to close out 2022-23 season
[June 23]
The Una Voce Chamber Choir performed its 2023 spring concert, you whom my soul loves, before capacity crowds at Studzinski Hall on the campus of Bowdoin College June 16 and 18.
Some selected reviews of the performance:
"So great to see the joy in your eyes from a piece so masterfully offered in love."
"Simply said: This is special."
"Hands down one of the most musical, inspirational and exquisite chamber choirs I have ever heard. Ever. Their literature is the very finest you can find, and the musicianship and artistry of it extraordinary."
"Catching this choir has to be a "must do" on anyone's short list of choral ensembles, making the time to hear for themselves."
More information about our 2023-24 season will be announced soon. Thank you for your support!
Una Voce's announces summer program, "you whom my soul loves" set for June 16 & 18 at Studzinski Hal
[May 10, 2023]
The Una Voce Chamber Choir has announced its summer program: you whom my soul loves, set for June 16 & 18 in Studzinski Hall on the campus of Bowdoin College.
Titled after a recurring verse in the Song of Songs, you whom my soul loves is both an imagining of a great love affair and a meditation on the need to have many forms of love in our lives. The program will feature Daniel Pinkham's Wedding Cantata, a 4-movement work for chorus and piano that combines traditional choral polyphony with elements of serialism, and Michael Gilbertson's Born, a haunting and minimalist setting of Wislawa Szymborska's poem of the same name. The program will also include works by Jake Runestad, Gwyneth Walker, Dale Trumbore, Veljo Tormis, Vaclovas Augustinas, Thomas Lavoy, and Dan Forrest.
Una Voce Chamber Choir Performs "Passio" Before Packed Houses to Open 2023 Season
[January 22, 2023]
The Una Voce Chamber Choir presented their moving performance of "Passio" on January 20 and 22 at Meetinghouse Arts in Freeport, Maine. The choir performed before a full house on Friday night and sold-out crowd on Sunday.
Some reviews from concert goers:
"I’m blown away! Thank you so much for Passio. So dark but so inspiring. I reread The Little Match Girl when I came home—and wept. You were wonderful."
"Thank you for the amazing performance of Passio! It was so creative and haunting. What you created with your voices was genius! I’m so glad I was able to be there."
"The concert was one of the most profound and serendipitous ones I have yet attended. The reading of Hans Christian Anderson's story made the music and lyrics stand out in ways I have never experienced."
"I thought tonight's concert was stunning! Gorgeous sound and heartbreaking meaning. Thanks to all of you for all your hard work and wonderful musicianship."
Una Voce Chamber Choir to Present "Passio" on January 20/22 at Meetinghouse Arts in Freeport
[November 29, 2022]
Una Voce Chamber Choir will present its Winter concert series, Passio, on January 20th and 22nd at Meetinghouse Arts in Freeport. From the Latin meaning ‘suffering’ or ‘endurance’, this program will explore the theme of transformation through suffering, as well as our reactions as witnesses and bystanders to the suffering of others.
The signature work on the program will be David Lang’s the little match girl passion. His Pulitzer Prize (2008) setting of Hans Christian Andersen’s childrens’ story is minimalistic in style and musical language; haunting in its paucity of musical material and deeply moving. While Lang’s original setting for four solo voices was first performed in Maine in 2016, in a theatrical setting by Figures of Speech Theater, we believe that this adaptation for SATB chorus will be new to Maine audiences.
Passio will also include works by Francis Poulenc, Ivo Antognini, Javier Busto, Steven Stucky, and Eric Whitacre; pieces that will expand on the central themes of Lang’s work.
Una Voce Chamber Choir Praised for Triumphant Performance of "Ineffable"
[June 27, 2022]
The Una Voce Chamber Choir concluded its 2022 season with a two-night performance of "Ineffable" at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Brunswick.
[View the concert program here]
The concert was universally praised by audiences, cementing Una Voce Chamber Choir's reputation for innovative, creative programming combined with outstanding performance.
A few comments received included
"An inspiring and beautifully performed concert!"
"Best choral concert of recent memory, with virtuosic instrumental accompaniment!"
"We so enjoyed the concert. More than that we were so impressed with the quality of the group’s performance. Everyone’s dedication to the music is very evident."
"What a glorious concert that Una Voce produced. Great music, Brilliant artistry, a varied program…..all of this done at the highest level of performance skill . What a gift. You all should be very proud."
Please stay tuned to unavocechamberchoir.org for information on next season and our January 2023 concert dates!
UVCC Board Votes Unanimously to Proceed with "Intimations of Immortality" Performance, January 22-23
[January 18, 2022]
Read the letter below from UVCC Board President Scott Miller
Hello Friends of Una Voce Chamber Choir:
It is with continued excitement and anticipation that we reiterate our commitment to performing Intimations of Immortality for you this weekend!
Given the state of the COVID virus in Maine, we knew some people had concerns whether this is the right time to perform. The Board of Directors for UVCC met last Friday, January 14, to discuss the concerns and after considerable review and discussion we unanimously agreed to keep our commitment to you. If you would like to read more about the factors that went into this decision, you can do that here.
Please remember to bring your proof of vaccination (including a booster, where applicable) and mask to the concert. The proof of vaccination can be in the form of a card or an authoritative clinical or state document to be admitted. The vaccine will only be considered currently valid if it was administered within six months of the concert date for Pfizer and Moderna, or two months for Johnson and Johnson. Evidence of vaccination status may be paper, photographic, or a generally accepted digital certificate such as ClearPass, as long as the evidence shows the date of the most recent vaccination. Medical exemptions will not be accepted.
Audience members must wear surgical masks, KN95s, or N95s (or an equivalent such as a KF94). The choir will provide disposable surgical masks to audience members who need them.
The centerpieces of the program will be two large works for chorus and strings. Gwyneth Walker’s The Golden Harp opens the concert. Scored for mixed chorus, soloists, string quartet, and reader, it excerpts poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Bright, earthy, and exuberant, Walker’s work expertly illuminates Tagore’s themes; devotion, death as consummation of life, and spirituality that is non-sectarian and inward looking. Anchoring the second half of the program will be Tarik O’Regan’s majestic Triptych. Composed in 2005 for chorus and string orchestra, O’Regan’s work juxtaposes texts from a variety of sources, and bristles with a rhythmic energy inspired by North African musical traditions and reflecting the vibrancy of city life.
The program will also include Alice Parker’s Heavenly Hurt, a slender and modal setting of seven poems by Emily Dickinson scored for four-part chorus and solo cello, and will close with Ola Gjeilo’s Song of the Universal, written for eight-part chorus and string orchestra. For each of the four major works scored for chorus and strings, UVCC will be joined by members and guest musicians of Palaver Strings, an innovative, musician-led ensemble based in Portland. An intimate a cappella set will round out the concert, with works by Z. Randall Stroope and Elaine Hagenberg.
We are limiting attendance to 150 tickets so if you have not purchased tickets as yet please visit our website at unavocechamberchoir.org and click on Tickets!. This will bring you to the Brown Paper Tickets website.
We look forward to seeing you in just a few days!
Scott B Miller
Board President
Tickets on Sale Now For "Intimations of Immortality" January 22-23 at Crooker Theater in Brunswick
[December 18, 2021]
Tickets are on sale beginning today for the Una Voce Chamber Choir's return to live performance, "Intimations of Immortality", January 22-23 at Crooker Theater at Brunswick High School.
Performances will be at 7pm on Saturday, January 22 and 2pm on Sunday, January 23.
About the Concert
The centerpieces of the program will be two large works for chorus and strings. Gwyneth Walker’s The Golden Harp opens the concert. Scored for mixed chorus, soloists, string quartet, and reader, The Golden Harp excerpts poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Bright, earthy, and exuberant, Walker's work expertly illuminates Tagore’s themes; devotion, death as consummation of life, and spirituality that is non-sectarian and inward looking. Anchoring the second half of the program will be Tarik O’Regan’s majestic Triptych. Composed in 2005 for chorus and string orchestra, O’Regan’s work juxtaposes texts from a variety of sources, and bristles with a rhythmic energy inspired by North African musical traditions and reflecting the vibrancy of city life.
The program will also include Alice Parker’s Heavenly Hurt, a slender and modal setting of seven poems by Emily Dickinson scored for four-part chorus and solo cello, and will close with Ola Gjeilo’s Song of the Universal, written for eight-part chorus and string orchestra. For each of the four major works scored for chorus and strings, UVCC will be joined by members and guest musicians of Palaver Strings, an innovative, musician-led ensemble based in Portland. An intimate a cappella set will round out the concert, with works by Z. Randall Stroope, Judith Bingham and Elaine Hagelberg.
Health & Safety Protocols
Fully vaccinated attendees 5 years of age and older will be permitted to attend Una Voce Chamber Choir performances. Concert goers will be asked to show proof of full vaccination upon entry via a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or a photocopy or mobile photo of a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card. Masking is also required inside of Brunswick High School and Crooker Theater. The vaccine will only be considered currently valid if it was administered within six months of the concert date for Pfizer and Moderna, or two months for Johnson and Johnson. Evidence of vaccination status may be paper, photographic, or a generally accepted digital certificate such as ClearPass, as long as the evidence shows the date of the most recent vaccination. Medical exemptions will not be accepted.
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Orth
Una Voce Chamber Choir Announces Return to Singing; Plans for Full 2022 Concert Season
[September 23, 2021]
Una Voce Chamber Choir is proud to announce its return to singing this month with eyes on a full concert season in 2022.
The choir’s return performance, Intimations of Immortality, will represent a step forward for UVCC in scope and ambition, and will be performed at Crooker Theater at Brunswick High School on January 22-23, 2022.
“We are coming back inspired after an 18-month hiatus,” says Artistic Director Virgil Bozeman. “I’m sure that like most groups, UVCC is collectively experiencing both the excitement of the return to our regular rehearsal format, and a little bit of nerves as we “kick the dirt off the proverbial tires”. The fact that we are returning with our most adventurous program yet (and that this prospect excites our membership) tells you everything you need to know about these singers, and why it is such a privilege to work with them.”
The centerpieces of the program will be two large works for chorus and strings. Gwyneth Walker’s The Golden Harp opens the concert. Scored for mixed chorus, soloists, string quartet, and reader, it excerpts poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Bright and exuberant, Walker’s setting further illuminates Tagore’s themes; devotion, death as consummation of life, and the thread connecting spirituality and earthly love.
The program will also include Alice Parker’s Heavenly Hurt, a slender and modal setting of seven poems by Emily Dickinson scored for SATB chorus and solo cello, and will close with Ola Gjeilo’s Song of the Universal, written for SSAATTBB chorus and string orchestra. An intimate a cappella set will round out the concert, with works by Z. Randall Stroope, Judith Bingham and Elaine Hagelberg.
“Our Associate Director Drew Albert and I originally planned Intimations of Immortality for performance in January 2021,” according to Bozeman. “We were already quite fond of the program, and the pandemic has only deepened our connection to this music. The collection of texts encompass responses to fear and trauma that are both universal (Whitman) and deeply personal (Tagore, Dickinson).”
Per updated CDC recommendations, as well as activity-specific guidance from ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), the UVCC Board has adopted a ‘no-vax, no-sing’ policy for the upcoming semester. In order to participate, all singers will attest that they have been fully vaccinated. With the choir fully vaccinated, the group plans to rehearse indoors, with masks out of precaution, beginning on Thursday, September 23.
The choir will also perform a June concert, with title and dates to-be-announced.
Statement from the Una Voce Chamber Choir Board of Directors
[June 2020] This is a very challenging time in our country. We have witnessed the violent murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. Mr. Floyd’s murder, and the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and countless other Black people are the result of a virus that has plagued our country for centuries – racism. We must all confront and work to dismantle the harmful systems that perpetuate inequality.
A plan forward starts with all of us acknowledging that we live in a country built on a system of injustice. What this last month teaches us is that silence is not an option; not for individuals nor for organizations. Each of us, alone and collectively, must stand up and be counted as supporting equality and working to dismantle institutional racism. Black Lives Matter.
Una Voce Chamber Choir stands with every person who exercises the constitutional right to assemble and petition our government for swift and meaningful action to repair broken systems and institutions which lead inexorably to the degradation and humiliation of our fellow citizens. We hope that this new moment of activism brings about long overdue change, and rededicate ourselves, individually and collectively, to help make it so. We are invested in doing this work, and committed to using our discipline and resources to make this future possible.
- UVCC will seek out, study, perform, and highlight music composed by Black and other marginalized artists — especially music that explores neglected, misrepresented, or suppressed elements of history.
- UVCC will prioritize inclusion, equity, and diversity, both within our ensemble and in leadership roles.
- UVCC will continuously reflect on our progress in these areas, and assess its impact on our organization and the communities we serve. We will continue to explore ways to incorporate these ideas into the development of future programming.
We commit to including this work in our strategic plan and defining further targeted action for our organization to take.
For more ways to take action against structural racism, please visit the organizations in this link.
*POSTPONED* UNA VOCE CHAMBER CHOIR TO PERFORM " INEFFABILITY" ON JUNE 13-14 *POSTPONED*
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the performance of "Ineffibility" has been postponed
“Ineffability” draws from a wealth of modern and contemporary textless choral music, with a goal of exploring a range of emotional responses, and creating a concert experience that is as variegated and moving as texted programs. Beginning imitatively, the concert will progress through a period of quiet introspection, before culminating with works characterized by intense human interaction.
This very act of exploration brings us closer to fundamental questions regarding the relationship between music and text. Why do we expect to hear words at a choral performance? Does text impart meaning to music, or merely a single point of view as to the nature of emotional response listeners should experience? The signature work of this program is the previously unpublished Concerto for Cello and Wordless Voices (D144) by Alan Ridout (d. 1996). Other works featured include Arvo Pärt’s Solfeggio, Jehan Alain’s Fantaisie pour Choeur a Bouche Fermeé, and Chanson a Bouche Fermeé and Hyo Won Woo’s Pal-so-Seong (8 Laughing Voices).
UNA VOCE CHAMBER CHOIR TO PRESENT "EVENSONG" ON JANUARY 25-26
Join the Una Voce Chamber Choir as they present music by contemporary composers in their expressions of ancient texts often sung in traditional Anglican orders of worship.
Mark your calendar for " Evensong" on Saturday, January 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, January 26 at 2.30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle Street, Brunswick, Maine.
"Evensong," adapted from the traditional Anglican service of prayers and praise at day’s end, presents living composers who give new voices to timeless liturgies. Meditations are sung in prayer, in praise, in love both divine and human. A few highlights are the 16th Century poetry of St John of the Cross composed by Tarik O’Regan (b. 1978), a chant-like Lord’s Prayer in ancient Aramaic (the language of Jesus) by Ilyas Iliya (b. 1963), St. Augustine’s 4th Century Evening Prayer for voices and jazz duo by Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978), and the Virgin Mary’s praise to God in “Magnificat” by Imant Raminsh (b.1943).
Advance tickets are $15 for adults ($20 at door), $10 for students age 16-21, and free for children age 16 and younger. There is also a Family Ticket (3+ members) for $35 in advance ($45 at the door).
Founded in the fall of 2018, Una Voce Chamber Choir traces its origins to the critically acclaimed Vox Nova Chamber Choir, which concluded its ninth concert season in June, 2018. Directed by Virgil Bozeman IV, Una Voce Chamber Choir debuted to critical acclaim in its 2019 premiere season.
"Evening Song" artwork courtesy of Karen Adrienne