PCMS presents 'The Crossing'
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society is ringing in the holiday season with the spiritual sounds of an internationally renowned choir. The Grammy-nominated choir, The Crossing, has a sound that's been described as "something of a miracle."
The group performs all over the world but they're from right here in Philadelphia, and when the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society put on a holiday concert with The Crossing last year, Artistic Director Miles Cohen says, it was sold out, "And not only that, it was the most tickets the Chamber Music Society has ever sold for one of our concerts."
So, Cohen says, PCMS decided to bring the choir back this season. "The great majority of people that showed up last year were walking out completely transported. I mean really they were just blown away by the experience," he adds.
The nearly 40-member choir is led by Bucks County-born conductor Donald Nally. They're performing Crossing at Christmas, their annual ode to the holidays.
"They're extremely well blended and they sing almost without any music," says Cohen. "You'll hear comments from people that say it sounds angelic. They'll say it's uplifting. They'll say it's spiritual. They'll say it's meditative."
The program includes a world premiere and a piece called Returning by composer Michael Gilbertson.
"I listened to part of this, and I really thought it was very angelic, very spiritual," says Cohen.
The choir's repertoire is new music and works from the last 10-15 years, most written specifically for them.
"The text is very poetic, they're pulling from modern-day poets mostly," says Cohen, who warns that it's not a traditional Christmas concert. "It'll be music that will feel somewhat familiar but also somewhat different."
And he says it's the perfect escape from the holiday hustle and bustle. "If you just kind of close your eyes and you stay in that moment and you forget the fact that you're in the midst of the chaos and what the holidays are, you can really be transported."
The Crossing will perform Friday, Dec. 15th at 8 p.m. at the Church Of The Holy Trinity in Rittenhouse Square.
The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society Presents: The Crossing at Christmas
Friday, Dec. 15th at 8 p.m.
The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
1904 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
