We have long wanted to celebrate St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, on or near her November feast day. Four years ago, Sanford Dole composed a major work setting John Dryden’s 1687 poem A Song for St. Cecilia for orchestra, symphonic choir, and soloists, but the scale of the work made it challenging to present. This year he created a chamber version for organ, piano, and percussion, and we’re excited we can finally share it with you!
Also on the program are excerpts from Henry Purcell’s Hail, Bright Cecilia, which sets a different ode to our favorite saint, and the grand Te Deum by Antonín Dvořák​ in a chamber version Sanford created especially for this concert

​We believe that art can make a difference! In this program we present an array of unaccompanied choral works from around the world. We hope that this musical conversation among works by composers from Scandinavia, Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, and the Southern Hemisphere will inspire you and, by expressing the common human aspirations and love of music across diverse styles, will help foster peaceful relations among people from all nations.

​Ever since our 2011 concert of music by West Coast composers, “Pacific Passions,” BCG participants have been sharing fond memories of that show. Now, more than a decade later, it is time to revisit our region's choral scene, expanding our scope to include accompanied pieces. On this program we present Morten Lauridsen’s Ubi Caritas et Amor, Kevin Memley’s Gloria in Excelsis Deo, Dale Trumbore’s Threads of Joy, David Conte’s Ave Maria, and Sanford Dole’s Glory to God for All Things, plus works by exciting, up-and-coming West Coast composers Saunder Choi, Reena Esmail, ​Amy Gordon, John Muehleisen, Zanaida Robles, Karen P. Thomas, and Eric Tuan. ​