News
Press Release announcing the 2008 concerts
Global Harmony Community Chorus, the Twin Cities 100-voice choir under the direction of Jennifer M. Anderson, will host “Agua para el Mundo: Water for the World,” three concerts the weekend of February 9 and 10 to benefit WaterPartners International, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization committed to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing countries.
The benefit concerts will be held at North Como Presbyterian Church, 965 Larpenteur Avenue West, Roseville, on Saturday, February 9th at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, February 10th at 3:00 p.m. All concerts are free and no advanced tickets are required.
Global Harmony will specifically focus attention on the work that WaterPartners is doing in Central America where 100% of donations raised during that concert weekend will help thousands of people develop accessible, sustainable, community-level water supplies in that region.
For this fourth season of benefit concerts, Global Harmony received a MetLife Creative Connections award from Meet The Composer, funded in part through Meet the Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program, thus allowing the chorus to collaborate with Jim Berenholtz, composer/performer/ethnomusicologist as a composer-in-residence. Jim has been commissioned to compose a piece for Global Harmony, using pre-Columbian instruments and vocal techniques as well as ancient Mayan texts. Jim will be here for several rehearsals prior to the concert weekend as well as the performances where he will perform on fascinating instruments. While in the Twin Cities, Jim will also present a class on pre-Columbian music.
Global Harmony has built a reputation on performing musically challenging, diverse, and engaging repertoire. Some of the works to be featured during the weekend will include “Cloudburst” by Eric Whitacre, “Congorí Shangó”, a calypso piece arranged by Rolando Brenes, “Take Me to the Water”, arranged by Alice Parker, “La Lluvia” by Stephen Hatfield, and the premier of “Drop by Drop” by Minnesota composer Charles Burdick.
To date, Global Harmony Community Chorus has raised over $44,000 for global relief efforts. In 2007 the “Harmony in the Holy Land” series raised $14,478 for the internationally renowned School for Peace located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was a featured piece. The chorus has performed within the Twin Cities for global justice and peace events, most recently in concert with Craig Taubman to raise money and awareness of the conflicts in Darfur. In 2006 concerts raised funds for Sudan and the chorus hosted Composer David Fanshawe who performed as selections from his African Sanctus were featured.
Global Harmony is an inter-faith, non-auditioned community chorus open to all who wish to sing to make a difference. For more information on the concert weekend or how to be involved, visit www.globalharmonychorus.org.
Global Harmony receives Meet the Composer Grant
Roseville, MN December 6, 2007 – Global Harmony has received a MetLife Creative Connections award from Meet The Composer. This is allowing us to invite Jim Berenholtz, composer/performer/ethnomusicologist as a composer-in-residence. Jim has been commissioned to compose a piece for us, using pre-Columbian instruments and vocal techniques. He is using ancient Mayan texts. Jim will be here for several rehearsals, as well as the performances (he will perform on some fascinating instruments!), and he will present a class on pre-Columbian music.
Press Release announcing the 2007 concerts
Roseville, MN January 16, 2007 – Global Harmony Community Chorus, the Twin Cities 100-voice choir under the direction of Jennifer M. Anderson, will host “Harmony in the Holy Land,” three benefit concerts on February 10 and 11 to support the schools located at Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam.
Known as Oasis of Peace, Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam is located mid-way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The internationally renowned School for Peace provides instruction on conflict management where over 35,000 youth and adults have participated in dynamic programs. The primary and junior high school offer a rare bilingual and bicultural experience for the Palestinian and Jewish students who attend and participate in activities that build understanding, mutual respect and peace.
The benefit concerts will be held at North Como Presbyterian Church in Roseville on Saturday, February 10th at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, February 11th at 3:00 p.m. All concerts are free and no advanced tickets are required. Each concert features Global Harmony Community Chorus. The chorus, now 100-voices strong, has built a reputation on performing musically challenging and engaging repertoire and their 2007 program is no exception. This year’s third annual benefit concert features Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in addition to other diverse and exciting works celebrating peace and the Holy Land, such as Emma Lou Diemer’s “Neighbor, Take This Torch of Peace,” the John Rutter prayer for freedom, “Distant Land” and Global Harmony’s signature closing anthem, Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia.”
Participating in the event will be the quartet Voices of Sepharad, harpist Sara Grudem, Community of Peace Academy High School Choir, Prime Chimers Bell Team, and professional instrumentalists from throughout the metro-area.
Special guest Deanna Armbruster, Executive Director of the American Friends of Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam and co-author of the book Tears in the Holy Land: Voices from Israel and Palestine, will be in attendance, signing copies available for purchase.
In 2006, Global Harmony raised funds through concerts for the largest country in Africa: Sudan. For those concerts, 70 people joined voices in mass choir, and guest instrumentalists along with the world-renowned English composer David Fanshawe participated. In addition, Global Harmony was invited to sing at the JCRC "Million Voices for Darfur" kick-off event at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis, as well as the corresponding rally at the State Capitol. From its inception in 2005 when Global Harmony raised money to benefit victims of the devastating tsunami, this organization has raised $29,768 for global relief efforts.
Global Harmony has been featured on KARE-11 news, in several regional newspapers, and has reached phenomenal success - not only in the tangible monies raised, but also in the intangible connections made within the upper Midwest. North Como Presbyterian Church hosts free educational opportunities open to the public on weekends leading up to the concerts.
The adult education series Conflict and Hope in the Holy Land will be held at North Como from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. On January 21 and 28 “Understanding the Middle East Conflict: A Hope for Peace” is a multimedia program to aid in understanding the geography and historical timeline of the Arab-Israeli conflict, presented by Ed Rapoport from the Jewish Community Relations Council.
On February 4, “Oasis of Peace” will be presented by Deanna Armbruster, to teach about the Israeli village of Neve Shalom /Wahat al-Salam, where Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel live equally in community and are engaged in educational work for peace, equality, and understanding between people.
North Como Presbyterian Church is located at 965 Larpenteur Avenue in Roseville, MN.