The Arizona Masterworks Chorale (AMC) presents its final concert of the 2022-23 season, “Passport to Travel,” with performances May 20-21.
“Passport to Travel” is a musical tour of the nations around the Baltic Sea to hear choral masterworks from six award-winning contemporary composers, and then it’s home to America for one of our nation’s most beloved works.
The concert is full of beautiful and accessible pieces performed by choristers and soloists in AMC’s distinctive style, drawing the listener to an ineffable experience of sheer beauty of sound and poetry in the performance.
Two Arizona premieres are featured, including one that will challenge the audience to stretch their ears and imaginations. It’s a journey through a mystically minimalist experience, much like meditation, and adds an unexpected dimension to the program.
Choral and solo voices are placed in several configurations around the hall, and you’ll hear organ, percussion, tuned water glasses and Tibetan singing bowls to enhance the overall musical experience.
In the Baltic States, choral music is an integral part of culture and national identity. On the musical tour, guests will hear works in English and Latin by internationally renowned composers from Latvia (Ēriks Ešenvalds and Raimonds Tiguls), Lithuania (Vytautas Miškinis), Estonia (Arvo Pärt), Poland (Paveł Łukaszewski) and Norway (Phoenix favorite Ola Gjeilo), concluding with a return to America (Samuel Barber).
The Phoenix-based Arizona Masterworks Chorale has been performing in the Valley since 1979. Members are highly trained vocalists, many with extensive professional experience as soloists and choristers.
There will be two performances of “Passport to Travel.” One will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20 at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, located at 6300 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix, and the second concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 21 at Ascension Lutheran Church, located at N. Mockingbird Lane in Paradise Valley.
Tickets are $15 to $20, with youth under 18 free when accompanying a paid adult. Tickets are available for purchase at the door or online at arizonamasterworks.com/go/passport-to-travel.
