VOX NOVA CHAMBER CHOIR’S artistic director and conductor, Shannon M. Chase, right, and associate conductor Jennifer Runge are recognized by the audience following a Vox Nova Chamber Choir concert. The music group will perform Saturday and Sunday at the Bowdoin College Chapel.
The program describes the transcendence of the human condition composed by Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Blake Henson, Eriks Esenvalds, and Hubert Bird, among others.
“There were moments during rehearsals when I found myself on the verge of tears, not out of frustration, but because the music is just so beautiful and meaningful,” said Claire Berkowitz, a choir member from Bath. “In this program, ‘Heaven on the Horizon,’ singers and listeners will go on a transcendent journey together. We are singing about heaven and earth, faith and fear and a longing for something that we cannot see. Poetry and challenging lyrics are intertwined with melodies that go deep, harmonies and dissonant chords that create mood and meaning.”
Vox Nova Chamber Choir was founded in 2009 by Shannon Chase and Karen Topp and features members of the Maine Mid-coast musical community, including Bowdoin College faculty and alumni. The group champions the expansive body of modern and contemporary choral music, and seeks to provide singers and audiences with new ways of hearing the oldest instrument in human experience, a news release said.
Chase holds degrees in choral music and music education from the Florida State University, the University of Maine, and the University of Southern Maine. She studied choral conducting and literature under such notable conductors as Rodney Eichenberger, André Thomas, Dennis Cox and Robert Russell and completed professional training with such notable conductors as Helmut Rilling, Anton Armstrong, Donald Nuen, Doreen Rao, Weston Noble, Robert Shaw and Sir David Wilcox.
She has held the position of associate director of choral activities at the University of Oregon, and served on the music faculties of Bowdoin and Colby colleges. Chase is currently director of The Rutgers University Choir and teaches choral music and music education on the faculty of Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. In addition to her frequent work and travel as choral conductor, adjudicator and clinician, Chase maintains a private voice studio, Sotto Voce.
Jennifer Hand Runge received the master of music in choral conducting from New England Conservatory, and the bachelor of arts from Bowdoin College. She has studied conducting under Robert Greenlee, Tamara Brooks, Stephen Kushner, Doreen Rao and James Jordan. Her choral music teaching experience includes Poly Prep Country Day School, Phillips Exeter Academy and The Pingry School. In addition to conducting, she has sung in numerous community choirs throughout the Boston and New York metropolitan areas, and is a charter member of Vox Nova.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at voxnovachoir.com, or at the door. Bowdoin students receive free admission with student I.D.
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