ERIC STARK BEIJING & HONG KONG Choir Festival MAY 2019 www.kiconcerts.com
Your World of Music
Leon Chu, conductor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Chorus Dear Friends Beijing and Hong Kong are cities of great history, culture and future. They boast many fine venues, outstanding ensembles not to mention the food and informative touring opportunities. I am honored to have the opportunity to present fine American choirs alongside Chinese friends in a program featuring U.S., classical and Chinese repertoire knowing that exchanges of this nature prepare our students for an increasingly interconnected and global world. Your choir is invited to join singers from Butler University to travel with me to China. Following our rehearsal and concert program in Beijing, we will travel to Hong Kong to sing with the Chinese University of Hong Kong Chorus where I regularly teach and conduct. It will be a great joy to combine the choristers from around the US with my many singing friends in Beijing and Hong Kong for this festival. Both Beijing and Hong Kong represent very different pieces of the Chinese mosaic and, understanding both, helps understand a great deal about the China of tomorrow. I travel to this region often and can attest to the life changing experiences festival travelers will have there. Please consider joining me on a fun, educational, safe and very musical program in two of the great cities of Asia. Dr. Eric Stark Artistic Director & Conductor Beijing/Hong Kong in 2019 with Eric Stark Page 3
LEADER DR. ERIC STARK In a dynamic career that combines performance, scholarship and collaborative leadership, conductor Eric Stark has earned the admiration and respect of colleagues, critics, students and peers as an established choral-orchestral specialist. He has conducted in the Oriental Art Center Concert Hall in Shanghai, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, MD, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, and on performance tours in Greece, Italy, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay. In May 2012, he led over 300 musicians in an acclaimed performance of the massive Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem) by Hector Berlioz with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. His December 2007 Washington DC debut with the Washington Chorus was met with critical acclaim ( Eric Stark had the chorus singing crisply and brightly.its rich, close harmonies shimmering. Washington Post). In June of 2010, he traveled to Shanghai to conduct Brahms s Ein deutsches Requiem in the Shanghai Oriental Art Center Concert Hall. Stark has led performances choral-orchestral works including the Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem), Britten s War Requiem and Saint Nicolas, Mendelssohn s Elijah and Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Orff s Carmina Burana, Bach s Mass in B minor, the Weihnachts-Oratorium and numerous cantatas, Handel s Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Zipoli s Te Deum, Beethoven s Mass in C, Mozart s Coronation Mass and Requiem, Brahms s Ein deutsches Requiem, the Poulenc Gloria, Fauré s Requiem, and Lauridsen s Lux Aeterna. He has prepared choruses for such notable conductors as Nicholas McGegan, Raymond Leppard, Jahja Ling, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Mario Venzago, Carl St. Clair, Erich Kunzel, Krzysztof Urbanski and Jack Everly. Stark s work as artistic collaborator and community leader has been both broad and unique, including serving as chorus master for the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in collaboration with Madonna, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj and LMFAO. Stark is also Professor of Music, Director of Graduate Studies and Assistant Chair of the School of Music at Butler University s Jordan College of Fine Arts. He has served on the faculties of Christian Theological Seminary, Indiana- Purdue at Fort Wayne and Earlham College. He received the doctoral degree in choral conducting from Indiana University, where he was a student of Jan Harrington, Robert Porco and Thomas Dunn. A 1988 graduate of Wabash College, he is also a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight, a non-profit network of pilots providing free air transportation for those with medical needs. Page 4
PROGRAM BEIJING/HONG KONG FESTIVAL 2019 SUNDAY, MAY 19 Depart for Beijing MONDAY, MAY 20 Arrive Beijing Meet your KIconcerts tour manager Introduction to Beijing Transfer to hotel Check in Dinner daily Overnight Beijing TUESDAY, MAY 21 Breakfast daily Visit the world s largest plaza, Tiananmen Square. This square is lined with imposing public buildings, fronting the legendary and once exclusive Forbidden City Tour the Forbidden City which comprises 250 acres of courtyards, gardens, splendid 15th century halls and pavilions graced with imperial treasures which now form the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, ordinary citizens could not enter the vast courtyard, walk the marble steps, or touch the banisters Combined festival rehearsal under the direction of Eric Stark Festival welcome dinner: Peking Duck Banquet Overnight Beijing Beijing/Hong Kong in 2019 with Eric Stark Page 5
PROGRAM WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 Combined festival rehearsal under the direction of Eric Stark Enjoy a Hutong tour on a rickshaw, the traditional way to traverse the ancient heart of Beijing for centuries Optional individual concerts (tbd) Overnight Beijing Opportunity to explore one of the fascinating districts of Beijing THURSDAY, MAY 23 Dress rehearsal Tour the Temple of Heaven, built in 1420 and restored in 1890, including a visit to the stunning Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests Gala Festival Concert - individual and combined performances Overnight Beijing Page 6
PROGRAM FRIDAY, MAY 24 This morning we drive to the 2,600 year old Great Wall The Wall extends 3,465 miles across Northern China and this is our chance to climb as much of it as we can SATURDAY, MAY 25 Combined festival rehearsal under the direction of Eric Stark with the Chinese University of Hong Kong Chorus Take the iconic Star ferry to Kowloon and back taking in the best sights of Hong Kong Transfer to the airport Fly to Hong Kong Introduction to Hong Kong Check in Overnight Hong Kong See the dazzling Symphony of Lights, named the World s Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show by Guinness World Records. Coloured lights, laser beams and searchlights perform in an unforgettable spectacle synchronized to music and narration celebrating Hong Kong s energy, spirit and diversity Visit the Temple Street Night Market, a popular street bazaar that is so steeped in local atmosphere that it has served as the backdrop to many movies Overnight Hong Kong Beijing/Hong Kong in 2019 with Eric Stark Page 7
PROGRAM SUNDAY, MAY 26 Dress rehearsal Guided tour of Hong Kong including visit to Repulse Bay and Victoria Peak Gala Festival Concert - individual and combined performances with the Chinese University of Hong Kong Chorus Farewell dinner Overnight Hong Kong MONDAY, MAY 27 Depart for home ** Itinerary subject to change. ** Confirmation of performances is dependent upon early receipt of performance information: biographies, pictures, recordings and repertoire Page 8
PRODUCERS For over 35 years, KIconcerts (Kingsway International) has provided choirs and instrumental ensembles with affordable and unforgettable international and domestic custom tours and festivals. KIconcerts combines unique destinations, awe-inspiring venues, warm audiences with renowned composers, educators, conductors and musicians. Together with our talented local concert tour organizers we facilitate a deep sharing of culture the essence www.youtube.com/kiconcertsvideos of performance travel. Performance travel has always presented challenges requiring a myriad of details to combine in order for life changing magical musical moments to occur. This has never been truer than today. KI looks to partner with you in managing these challenges in new and creative ways. Our recent clients have shared their views on our tours have a look at www.kiconcerts.com/testimonials 5245 Centennial Blvd, Suite 202 Colorado Springs, CO 80919-4405 P: 719 260-0200 F: 719 598-8674 info@kiconcerts.com KIconcerts.com