2009-2010 Season
Concerts at 4:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Tampa
Click here for directions to Sacred Heart.
Click
on this link for information about concerts at other venues.
Our next concert at Sacred Heart is Sunday, Mar 14
Click here for details.
November 8, 2009 - Choral Music of Tudor England
We begin our 2009-2010 season with a concert of a cappella choral music from Tudor England. The centerpiece of this concert is one of William Byrd's greatest masterpieces, the Mass for Four Voices. The piece is one of only three choral Mass settings by Byrd, arguably England's greatest composer. Florida Pro Musica has performed all three of Byrd's Masses, and first performed the Mass à 4 in the Inaugural Concert in 1999. Also on the program are other a cappella sacred and secular choral works from 16th century England, plus several pieces played on the virginal, a member of the harpsichord family, popular with Tudor composers such as William Byrd. (Pictured is an excerpt from one of Byrd's works in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book.)
December 20, 2009 - Gregorian Chant
Concert Sponsors: George & Andrea Gramling
Our seventh annual Gregorian Chant concert...this will be our Gregorian Chant VII: Mass for
the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Presented in concert form and sung in Latin by a schola of
seven men, the program recreates a chanted mass as it might have sounded 1,000 years
ago.
Appropriate lessons of the day are read in English by a member of the schola. These concerts have become a tradition in the Tampa Bay area, drawing a crowd of 800 to the concert in December of 2008 (see photo at right). This is a wonderful chance to escape the frantic pace of the holiday season and enjoy the meditative sounds of Gregorian Chant in one of Tampa's most beautiful churches, Sacred Heart. Click on this link to read Michelle Bearden's preview story in the Tampa Tribune (includes links to photos and a video on WFLA-TV). (Photo at right is by Sally Gurba).
January 24, 2010 - Baroque Chamber Music
The FPM Chamber Ensemble, violinist Judson Griffin, cellist Javier Caballero (pictured at left from our
February 2009 concert), and harpsichordist Larry Kent are
back together for another exciting afternoon of 17th and 18th century chamber music.
This trio has worked together for eight years,
and this season they are planning another exciting mix of French, German and Italian trios, duets and solos. You will surely be charmed
and enchanted by the players' virtuosity and the beautiful sounds of the Baroque. Period instruments, historically informed interpretations,
and expert players...a winning combination that is not to be missed!
(Photo by Sally Gurba)
March 14, 2010 - Maggie Coleman and Larry Kent
Concert Sponsor: Fred W. Scott, Jr.
Soprano Maggie Coleman is familiar to Bay Area music lovers, as a featured soloist in countless concerts, recitals and stage productions. She has appeared as guest soloist with the Sarasota Choral Society, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Master Chorale of
Tampa Bay, Oratorio Society of Tampa, the Mendelssohn Choir at St. John's Church, and the Mostly Pops Orchestra. She has also performed
with Tampa Bay Opera and Spanish Lyric Theater. In her recital debut with Florida Pro Musica, she
will perform songs and arias from the 17th and
18th centuries, accompanied on the harpsichord by FPM's Music Director, Larry Kent, who will also offer several
solo works by Bach, Scarlatti, and Handel. These musicians first worked together in 1997, when Coleman was the soprano soloist
and Kent was guest conductor for a performance of
John Rutter's choral masterpiece, Requiem, in a performance with the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church with members of the
Florida Orchestra. This is sure to be a splendid performance, made all the more spectacular by the stunning visual and aural
magnificence of Sacred Heart.
May 23, 2010 - Choral Music: Russo Missa...Encore!
In April 2008, Florida Pro Musica presented the world premiere of Missa pro nova aurora (Mass for a new dawn), a major work composed by former Tampa Bay resident, John Paul Russo, a Capuchin Friar now living in New Jersey. The work was dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI, and was warmly received by the audience at Sacred Heart. We are delighted to be performing this magnificent and stunningly beautiful work again to close our 2009-2010 season.
If you missed the premiere in April 2008, you owe it to yourself to be at Sacred Heart in May of 2010; if you heard the premiere, you already know that you want to come and hear this important piece again! Read all about the premiere by clicking here. Our season finale will also include a variety of choral arrangements of American folk songs, which are certain to send you into the summer with a lighter heart. (Photos by Sally Gurba)