Seraphic Fire & Firebird Chamber Orchestra

About This Show

Locations:
St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, 126 S.E. 15 Road, Miami FL 33129
St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, 100 N.E. Mizner Boulevard, Boca Raton, FL 33429
All Saints Episcopal Church, 333 Tarpon Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
Miami Beach Community Church, 1620 Drexel Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139
First United Methodist Church, 536 Coral Way, Coral Gables, FL 33134

PROGRAM I
Simple Gifts: Sublime Choral Music that Inspired America
"’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free." These powerful words from the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts inspired Aaron Copland to write his most memorable work: Appalachian Spring. With beautiful sincerity, these hymns are a direct link to America’s early history and an inspiration for composers over the ages. Seraphic Fire opens its 11th Season with a celebration of refreshingly simple Americana, with music from the Shaker tradition, as well as Copland, Samuel Barber, Morten Lauridsen, and others. The earnest joy of this music is the perfect departure point for an incredible season.
October 17, 2012 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
October 18, 2012 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
October 19, 2012 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
October 20, 2012 8:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
October 21, 2012 4:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach

PROGRAM II
Bach & Monteverdi: The Psalms of David
From the music of Claudio Monteverdi to the double choir motets of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Book of Psalms has been the bedrock upon which the Western music tradition has been built. Virgil Thomson’s setting of Psalm 23, My Shepherd Will Supply My Need, communicates the psalms’ comforting beauty, while Johann Pachelbel’s Jauchzet dem Herrn (Psalm 100) displays the psalmist’s unbridled joy. Seraphic Fire celebrates the many faith traditions who have found exaltation and solace in the poetic words of King David.
November 14, 2012 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
November 15, 2012 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
November 16, 2012 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
November 17, 2012 8:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
November 18, 2012 4:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach

PROGRAM III
Silent Night: Seraphic Fire’s Candlelight Christmas Concerts
Nominated for a 2012 GRAMMY award!
From the traditional opening strains of Adeste Fideles (O Come, All Ye Faithful), Seraphic Fire’s annual a cappella candlelight Christmas concerts are one of the highlights of the cultural season. The world’s
most beloved yuletide hymn, Silent Night, will serve as the centerpiece for this year’s Christmas musical celebration. Beautiful Gregorian chant, timeless carols, and glorious motets create a holiday soundscape that transport the listener across time and space. Selling out months in advance, the only way to be guaranteed a seat for this sublime concert experience is to subscribe today!
December 12, 2012 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
December 13, 2012 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
December 14, 2012 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
December 15, 2012 8:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach
December 16, 2012 4:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale

SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Handel’s Messiah
Hallelujah! By popular demand, Seraphic Fire’s annual performances of Messiah return. Messiah has been playing to sold-out houses since 1743, and this year will be no different. Experience live the most popular piece of Classical music of all time with the glorious voices of Seraphic Fire and the virtuoso playing of the Firebird Chamber Orchestra.
December 21, 2012 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
December 22, 2012 8:00pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
December 23, 2012 4:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale

PROGRAM IV
Gregorian Chant: Ave Maria
Beginning before sunrise and continuing deep into the night, ritual chanting of the Divine Office was a hallmark of a medieval cleric’s life. The undulating, meditative sound of Gregorian plainsong echoed hourly through the cloisters of an 11th century monastery. From Compline hymns sung in the darkness to the Salve Regina sung by religious warriors on the battlefield, the singers of Seraphic Fire intone the otherworldly chants to the Virgin Mary that were part of everyday medieval life.
January 16, 2013 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
January 17, 2013 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
January 18, 2013 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
January 19, 2013 8:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
January 20, 2013 4:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach

PROGRAM V
Dido and Aeneas
Love. Passion. Treachery! Seraphic Fire and the Firebird Chamber Orchestra bring to life one of the greatest love stories in history. England’s first operatic masterpiece, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas continues to delight audiences across the globe. At the center of this celebrated opera is the hauntingly beautiful aria "When I am Laid in Earth," which has been sung by celebrated singers like Jessye Norman, Maria Callas, and Dame Joan Sutherland. Lauded for centuries, Dido and Aeneas returns to South Florida in Seraphic Fire’s celebrated staging of this passionate score.
February 22, 2013 7:30pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
February 23, 2013 8:00pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
February 24, 2013 3:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton

PROGRAM VI
Vivaldi & the Soprano: Vocal Fireworks
Featuring Seraphic Fire soprano Kathryn Mueller
During his time as the maestro of music at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, Antonio Vivaldi wrote many of his most extraordinary works for the young women in residence there. These compositions revolutionized the Baroque cantata, a style that contains some of the most dramatic and virtuosic pieces ever written for the human voice. The musicians of the Firebird Chamber Orchestra are joined by critically-acclaimed soprano Kathryn Mueller for an exciting program celebrating the female voice.
March 20, 2013 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
March 21, 2013 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
March 22, 2013 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
March 23, 2013 8:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
March 24, 2013 4:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach

PROGRAM VII
The Golden Age of Spain: A Legacy of Spanish Music
Seraphic Fire celebrates 500 years of Spain in Florida with music that accompanied Ferdinand & Isabella’s explorers across the ocean. Days before Easter Day, 1513, Ponce de Leon and his crew first set eyes upon the coast of Florida. Although he never found the fabled Fountain of Youth, Ponce de Leon established the New World’s first continental colony at St. Augustine. Seraphic Fire sings the rapturous Misa El Ojo of Aragonese composer Francisco Peñalosa and the genius text settings of Salamanca’s Juan del Encina in a concert illustrating the compositional magic woven by the Spanish masters.
April 10, 2013 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
April 11, 2013 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
April 12, 2013 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
April 13, 2013 8:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
April 14, 2013 4:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach

PROGRAM VIII
Cathedral Classics
Encounter the sublime in this concert of favorite choral masterpieces including Gregorio Allegri’s haunting Miserere, Randall Thompson’s timeless Alleluia, as well as pieces selected by our audience. Concert-goers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite a cappella choral music over the centuries and hear it performed by Miami’s own GRAMMY-nominated choir. Whether it be Thomas Tallis’ If Ye Love Me or Maurice Duruflé’s Ubi Caritas, you will decide what we sing!
May 8, 2013 7:30pm St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church, Miami
May 9, 2013 7:30pm St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton
May 10, 2013 7:30pm First United Methodist Church, Coral Gables
May 11, 2013 8:00pm All Saints Episcopal Church, Ft. Lauderdale
May 12, 2013 4:00pm Miami Beach Community Church, Miami Beach

Show Details

Dates: Opening Night: October 17, 2012 Final Performance: May 12, 2013