Seraphic Fire to spread to New York, D.C. and Philly in 2015-16 season

By Lawrence A. Johnson

Patrick Quigley will open Seraphic Fire's 2015-16 season October 14 with Schubert's Mass in G major.

Patrick Quigley will open Seraphic Fire’s 2015-16 season October 14 with Schubert’s Mass in G major.

Seraphic Fire is about to hit the road in a big way.

Beginning with the 2015-16 season, Miami’s chamber chorus will embark on three East Coast residencies in New York, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.

In addition to their regular Miami subscription concerts, Artistic director Patrick Dupre Quigley will lead the chorus and The Sebastian in three different programs in each city.

“Our new Cleveland Orchestra-style residencies in New York, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia represent a bold step forward for Seraphic Fire,” said Quigley on Wednesday. “The residencies will bring three of our larger choral orchestral works into these east coast markets and thrust this organization, as well as the South Florida community, into the national spotlight.”

Quigley quietly moved from Miami to Washington D.C. last August, yet he and Rhett Del Campo, the choir’s managing director, firmly emphasize that South Florida will always remain the home base for Seraphic Fire.

“Seraphic Fire is, and will remain, a Miami-based organization,” said Del Campo. “We will be performing the same number of concerts in South Florida, more in fact, with our New World collaboration. Also Patrick still maintains a residence here in Miami, and spends the same amount of time here as before.”

In its 2015-16 season, the Miami-based choir will once again present eight programs across South Florida, drawing in many instances from some of its most successful repertory of recent years.

In addition to its regular Miami concerts, Seraphic Fire will join forces with the New World Symphony when Quigley lead a performance of Steve Reich’s The Desert Music April 16, 2016.

“Our 2015-2016 season is the most ambitious yet,” said Quigley, “ including the continued partnership with The Sebastians, repeat performances of Mozart’s Requiem and our Grammy-nominated Brahms’s German Requiem, a new collaboration with the New World Symphony, and a world premiere of a commissioned work by Jake Runestad.”

Quigley will open Seraphic’s 2015-16 season October 14-18 with a performance of Schubert’s Mass in G major along with a newly commissioned work by Runestad.

Handel will be in the spotlight in November with The Sebastians joining Quigley and the choir for two of the composer’s majestic Coronation Anthems as well as Charpentier’s Te Deum (November 6-8).

James K. Bass will once again lead the popular “Candlelight Christmas” programs (December 9-13) with Quigley directing the choir in Handel’s Messiah (December 18-20).

Seraphic Fire will open 2016 with another installment of their popular “American Spirituals” program (January 13-17). In February, they will reprise their 2013 performances of the Mozart Requiem with the commissioned “completion” by composer Gregory Spears (February 12-14).

The March 9-13 program will be led by guest conductor Julian Wachner. Director of Trinity Wall Street in New York, Just last week Wachner led rousing and well-received performances of two massive works by Charles Ives and Alberto Ginastera at Carnegie Hall. Wachner will lead a program of music of South American composers including works of Villa-Lobos and Ginastera.

In April, Quigley will revive lead Brahms’ German Requiem in the version for chorus and two pianos, the music that earned the choir 2012 Grammy nominations (April 8-10). And the season will end with a program English cathedral music, including William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices (May 11-15).

Subscriptions for Seraphic Fire’s 2015-16 season go on sale April 15.

The choir’s next program presents music of Bach, Mozart and Palestrina March 11-15. seraphicfire.org; 305-285-9060.

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