Art of Élan’s Answered Prayers & Rustic Songs

Over its eventful seven years, the music series Art of Élan has cultivated a strong relationship with its primary host, the San Diego Museum of Art. Drawing inspiration from the 17th-century painting “St. Francis at Prayer in a Grotto” by Francisco de Zurbarán—the museum’s much celebrated new acquisition—the series’ Tuesday (March 3) program was built on the theme of “Prayers and Songs.”

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Centennial Organ Gala Rocks Balboa Park

Civic Organist Carol Williams and her cohorts at the Spreckels Organ Society made Wednesday’s (Dec. 31) Spreckels Organ Centennial Concert a gala party, a fast-paced variety show that included whimsy, humor, flashy new compositions, brass, bagpipes, a 150-voice chorus, and a partridge in a pear tree . . .

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Pro Arte Voices in Pacific Beach: Bold and Saucy

As San Diego’s annual December choral marathon entered its final days, Patrick Walders’ San Diego
Pro Arte Voices presented its seasonal offering in an evening of readings and carols on Saturday (December 20) at St. Andrews-by-the-Sea Church in Pacific Beach . . .

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San Diego Master Chorale & Jahja Ling Celebrate Haydn

During Jahja Ling’s tenure as San Diego Symphony Music Director, we have come to expect a major choral work in December such as Handel’s “Messiah” and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Happily, the maestro ignored that stale tradition and with the San Diego Master Chorale offered Haydn’s magnificent “Mass in Time of War,” also known by its German name “Paukenmesse” . . .

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