Simon Carrington is one of the world's choral music treasures: he co-founded and then sang with the renowned The King's Singers for twenty-five years; as a double bass player he performed under the batons of a Who's Who of conductors, including John Eliot Gardiner, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Benjamin Britten, Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Carlo Maria Guilini, Otto Klemperer, Ricardo Muti, Georg Solti and George Szell. Following his retirement from The King's Singers, he headed choral activities at the University of Kansas (1994 - 2001) and the New England Conservatory (2001 - 2003), and was professor of choral conducting at Yale University (2003 -2009), from which institution he is now professor emeritus. Even his short bio http://simoncarringtonchambersingers.com/About-Simon-Carrington.php is much more detailed and impresive than the highlights listed here.
Yesterday, at noon at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City and at 8 p.m at First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence, the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers presented their second critically acclaimed concert, "Go Song of Mine," the title extracted from one of the Elgar songs in the concert. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/29/1979522/review-simon-carrington-chamber.html This ensemble, formed mostly of singers from Mr. Carrington's ensembles of the past, gathered from all over the country to spend three days rehearsing with the maestro, perform these two concerts, and return to their busy lives.
Tucked into the middle of the program were two fine pieces, "Come away, sweet love," by 16th Century composer, Thomas Greaves, and "Clear and gentle stream," by Gerald Finzi from the first half of the 20th Century. These were artistically performed by twenty-four local high school students who formed a master class to be molded by Maestro Carrington. A third piece, contemporary composer, Bob Chilcott's "Everyone Sang," was performed by the youth and professional adult choirs, together; the combined sound of the fourty-eight singers created a warm full sound to round out the youths' participation.
Truman High School's Audrey Dunshee said the group rehearsed just four hours before meeting Mr. Carrington, and rehearsed with him another four hours. John Meyer, from Shawnee Mission East, stated that he learned a great deal about choral blend in that short time. Mr.Meyer is headed for the Conservatory at U.M.K.C. to major in vocal performance. What neither of them said, but probably understood, is that these few hours formed an experience they will likely never forget, which may affect the course of their entire professional careers. These kids have just touched the stars.
Many major musical masters who come to Kansas City offer similar life-expanding opportunities to young musicians. The adults around these promising youth frequently need to take the lead for these experiences to happen.
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