Weekly Kickstarter: The Philadelphia Singers’ Recording of Randall Thompson’s Requiem
We cover all kinds of great local geekiness in our weekly Kickstarter focus here on Geekadelphia, but I don’t think we’ve ever touched on choral geeks.
What? That’s totally a thing.
Those that follow the scene will no doubt be familiar with the incredibly talented Philadelphia Singers, our very own professional chamber chorus founded in 1972.
The organization performed Randall Thompson’s Requiem live back in March, and is now ready to record this rare piece for posterity. The details, directly from the Singers:
Randall Thompson is one of the United States’ pre-eminent composers of choral music. Yet, Requiem, one of his essential masterworks, has never been recorded, depriving both the public and the academic music community of the ability to completely assess his oeuvre. Since The Philadelphia Singers had the opportunity to perform this work last season at a concert, our organization is uniquely placed to carry out this recording with the quality and attention to detail that it deserves.
The Philadelphia Singers will record Randall Thompson’s Requiem on June 1st and June 2nd at Gould Rehearsal Hall, a facility of the Curtis Institute of Music, in collaboration with Dr. David Pasbrig, a recording engineer and professor at Temple University. The recording will be produced in collaboration with Naxos Records who will then distribute the recording electronically as well as making 1,000 copies available for purchase in the Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Singers performed this rare choral music on March 3, 2012, the first time this valuable piece had been performed in its entirety in almost 30 years. The recording will preserve this overlooked masterwork to ensure that the discography of one of America’s preeminent composers is finally complete and available to the public.
We’re big fans of pop culture and art here at Geekadelphia, but it isn’t often we have the opportunity to support such a storied, traditional organization. Not sure it’s for you? Take a listen to this incredible rehearsal session of the Philadelphia Singers and the Orchestra and see how you feel.
The Project: The First Ever Recording of Randall Thompson’s Requiem”
Creators: The Philadelphia Singers
The Sweet Spot: $15 will get you acknowledgement on the website and in the concert program, and $100 will nab you the credit, a CD of the performance, and a pair of tickets to the liver performance of Requiem on Monday, May 27th, 2013.
Funding Deadline: January 4th, 2013
More Info: Read up and learn more about the meaning of the piece over on the Kickstarter, dig deeper over on the Philadelphia Singers’ site, and check out their YouTube channel.
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