Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas Essential Voices USA

• 1Angels We Have Heard on High (arr. D. Chase for choir and piano)03:38
• 2O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel) (arr. R. Nowlin for choir and harp)03:47
• 3Silent Night (Stille Nacht) (arr. J. Clurman and T. Firth for voice, choir and piano)04:38
• 4Love Came Down04:11
• 5Schlichte Weisen, Op. 76: No. 52. Maria Wiegenlied02:14
• 6Whispered and Revealed03:23
• 7Merry Christmas Wishing Well (arr. M. Gilbertson for choir and piano)01:56
• 8We Wish You a Merry Christmas (arr. J. Clurman for voice, choir and piano)00:39
• Total Runtime24:26

Info for Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas

Judith Clurman conducts her acclaimed chorus, Essential Voices USA, in Holiday Harmonies: Sounds of Christmas, the ensemble's third recording for Sono Luminus. This holiday disc includes premiere recordings of new vibrant arrangements of seasonal favorites and new works that were written for the disc by some of America's finest composers. Mezzo Soprano Jamie Barton, Soprano Maureen McKay, Pianist Tedd Firth, and Harpist Stacey Shames are featured performers. Traditional repertoire includes: "Angels We Have Heard on High" (arr. David Chase), "O Holy Night" (arr. Ryan Nowlin), "Silent Night" (arr. Tedd Firth and Judith Clurman), "The Virgin's Slumber Song" (Max Reger), and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (adaptation Judith Clurman). New works include: "Whispered and Revealed" (Nico Muhly), "Love Came Down" (Jennifer Higdon) and "Merry Christmas Wishing Well" (Gene Gilroy, arr. Michael Gilbertson).

Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) was featured under Judith Clurman's baton in the NBC 2014 telecast of Macy's Fireworks Spectacular. The ensemble performs regularly on the Carnegie Hall subscription series with The New York Pops and produces "The Composer Speaks" series at the DiMenna Space for Classical Music. EVUSA was thrilled to participate in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural activities. EVUSA has recorded two other critically acclaimed CDs for Sono Luminus: Celebrating the American Spirit (DSL 92162) and Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit (DSL 92182). Emmy and Grammy-nominated conductor Judith Clurman currently conducts Essential Voices USA (EVUSA), works with the Omaha Symphony on their Sacred Voices concerts, collaborates with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, conducts programs at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, and maintains an active vocal studio in New York City. She has worked with numerous organizations worldwide, and has commissioned works by 65 American classical composers.

The winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award, the winner of both the Main and the Song Prizes at the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a Grammy nominee, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been described by The Guardian as "a great artist, no question, with an imperturbable steadiness of tone, and a nobility of utterance that invites comparison not so much with her contemporaries as with mid-20th century greats such as Kirsten Flagstad." Jamie appears with the world's finest opera companies and symphonic orchestras. She is featured on the CD singing "Silent Night," "The Virgin's Slumber Song," and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Following performances of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, the Washington Post hailed soprano Maureen McKay as the "undisputed star of the show," and further exclaimed, "Armed with a silvery, precisely aimed voice, natural stage presence and the kind of beautifully detailed acting you don't see often enough on the operatic stage, McKay turned in a smart, sexy and thoroughly charming performance."

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this holiday album. It's a magical mix of traditional heart-warming Christmas songs and some interesting new composers – like your favorite hot cider with some tasty new spices!” (Jamie Barton)

Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano
Maureen McKay, soprano
Tedd Firth, piano
Stacey Shames, harp
Essential Voices USA
Judith Clurman, conductor

Essential Voices USA (EVUSA)
Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is widely regarded as one of New York’s preeminent choral ensembles. It comprises a highly talented roster of both seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers. Within this group, Clurman has created a dynamic choral model in which the size of the ensemble is dictated by the unique needs of each project. EVUSA performs regularly on the Carnegie Hall subscription series with The New York Pops and at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. The ensemble was in residence with National Public Radio during the month of February 2011. That same year, the ensemble launched The Composer Speaks, a popular series of informal concerts in workshop format designed to encourage dialogue with composers and lyricists and moderated by Judith. EVUSA performed on the critically acclaimed Sono Luminus CD Celebrating the American Spirit featuring Kelli O’Hara and Ron Raines. In 2011 and 2012, EVUSA “rocked the rock” on NBC’s national broadcasts of the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. A highlight of the 2012–2013 season was EVUSA’s participation in the Presidential Inaugural activities, including a sing-along of the “Sing Out, Mr. President” song cycle at the “Church of the Presidents” in Washington, D.C. The ensemble’s CD was also featured on NPR on Inauguration Day 2013. They performed on Macy’s 2014 Spectacular Fireworks broadcast on NBC television.

Judith Clurman
has conducted and collaborated with world-renowned orchestras, dance companies, and music festivals. She served as Director of Choral Activities at the Juilliard School from 1989-2007, as Co- Director for Harvard University’s Leonard Bernstein: Boston to Broadway Festival, as a faculty member and vocal specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts/Columbia University Institute of Classical Music, and as a Visiting Artist/Conductor at Cambridge University, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Zimriya in Israel, and the Janacek Academy in the Czech Republic. As Associate Music Director of Sesame Street , her work with the Muppets, cast members, and guest artists earned her a 2009 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. Her recording of music by Tania León, with the Son Sonora Voices, was nominated for the Grammy Award. Judith served as founding conductor of the New York Concert Singers and Project Youth Chorus and as music director of Prism Concerts and the 92nd Street Y’s Music of the Spirit program. Judith currently conducts Essential Voices USA, serves as chorus master for the Omaha Symphony Sacred Voices concerts and collaborates with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall.

Ron Raines
born and raised in Texas, Ron Raines attended Oklahoma City University and The Juilliard School. He has had a long and illustrious international career that spans the worlds of musical theater, opera, cabaret, classical music, and television. He most recently appeared as Ben in the critically acclaimed revival of Follies at the Kennedy Center, Broadway, and Los Angeles, for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He was a three-time Emmy and Soap Opera Digest Award nominee for his role as the villain Alan Spaulding on CBS’s longest running daytime drama Guiding Light. He has appeared on four PBS “Great Performances” and on numerous cast albums, and has made two solo recordings. His voice is heard on the Sono Luminus Celebrating the American Spirit CD with Essential Voices USA.

Bruce Ruben
is the Cantor at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue and the Director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. From 1982-2006 he served as the Cantor of Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City. He has taught special classes on liturgical music at the University of Cambridge and The Juilliard School. He studied at Indiana University, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the City University of New York, where he received his Ph.D. in history.

Michael Slattery
made his New York Philharmonic debut this past year. His career highlights include the title role in Bernstein’s Candide at Royal Festival Hall in London; The Very Best of Lerner & Loewe with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; the title role in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; Peter Sellars’ Tristan Project with Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Philip Glass’s Akhnaten with John Adams – both with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His solo recordings include The Irish Heart and Dowland in Dublin, chosen by Opera News as one of the best recordings of 2012. Upcoming projects include Britten’s Curlew River and Roland Auzet’s Steve V , the world premiere of Steve Jobs digital opera, with Opéra de Lyon, and Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Festival Aix-en-Provence.

Larry Hochman
received the Tony Award in 2011 for his orchestrations for the Broadway hit musical The Book of Mormon. He has also received Tony nominations for Best Orchestrations of Monty Python’s Spamalot (also Drama Desk nomination), Fiddler on the Roof, The Scottsboro Boys, and A Class Act. He has written orchestrations for The Addams Family and Jane Eyre, as well as additional orchestrations for many other Broadway shows including Shrek, The Little Mermaid, Chita Rivera: A Dancer’s Life, and King David (Alan Menken & Tim Rice). He is the composer for Nickelodeon’s hit series The Wonder Pets, for which he has received four Emmy awards. Larry has arranged the recordings and concerts for Sir Paul McCartney, Mandy Patinkin, Audra McDonald, Marvin Hamlisch, and others. His original music and arrangements are on the Sono Luminus Celebrating the American Spirit CD with Essential Voices USA.

Booklet for Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas