Sean Santry

The Tanglewood Festival Chorus Turns 40

2010-06-04T00:00:00-04:00

Forty years ago, a 28-year-old choral conductor named John Oliver went to the managers of the Boston Symphony with a proposal. He wanted to create a permanent chorus for the orchestra.

From Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR.

“Lots of Vocal Firepower for Mendelssohn”

2010-04-06T00:00:00-04:00

The orchestra sounded fine, though it was overmatched at times by the [Tanglewood Festival Chorus].

From James Oestreich’s New York Times review of Mendelssohn’s Elias at Carnegie Hall this past weekend.

Berlioz’s Te Deum

2009-05-04T00:00:00-04:00

In the softer, surprisingly intimate hymnal sections, [Sir Colin Davis] drew from the [Tanglewood Festival Chorus] a warm and handsomely blended tone. At the other extreme, the climaxes sounded satisfyingly full, drenching the hall with sound but never overpowering the space. Organist John Finney gave a particularly elegant introduction to the “Tibi omnes” movement, and tenor soloist Matthew Polenzani was lyrically fluid.

From Jeremy Eichler’s Boston Globe review of Berlioz’s Te Deum this past weekend.

Simon Boccanegra Review from the Boston Phoenix

2009-02-09T00:00:00-05:00

The real heroes of this performance were Levine, the orchestra, and John Oliver’s Tanglewood Festival Chorus (some 125 voices). The men in the chorus stood in the middle, so that this opera’s fundamentally dark undercurrent was smack in the center, surrounded by the women’s radiant voices. Singing as usual without scores, and with even more than usual precision and character, the TFC also exploded into convincing angry-mob cacophony.

From Lloyd Schwartz’s Boston Phoenix review of Verdi’s opera Simon Boccanegra.

“The standout performers of the evening”

2008-12-10T00:00:00-05:00

Throughout the evening, the hundred-member [Tanglewood Festival Chorus] sang with a range of color, an agility and an attention to text and detail that any soloist would envy. The roaring ovation that greeted them at the conclusion of the performance confirmed their triumph.

From Kalen Ratzlaff’s Opera News review of Ein Deutsches Requiem.

The Interplay Between Death and Life

2008-09-29T00:00:00-04:00

The real star of the evening was the [Tanglewood Festival] chorus. Many groups sing this piece; few do so with the depth, precision, and focused sound the TFC marshaled. They made it seem effortless at the opening and showed remarkably little strain by the end. Through their voices emerged the interplay between death and life that lies at the core of this great work.

From David Weininger’s review of Friday’s Ein Deutsches Requiem. For me, Saturday’s performance was even more moving. The sound of complete silence at the end of the piece was better than any amount of applause.

Early Evening Light in Symphony Hall

2008-09-25T00:00:00-04:00

Photo by Sean Santry

These windows above the second balcony in Boston’s Symphony Hall had been boarded up for at least 30 years.

Well now they’re open and add a lovely natural light to an already beautiful space.

“A virtuosic Prelude program”

2008-07-15T00:00:00-04:00

The Tanglewood Festival Chorus, rehearsing with its founder and director, John Oliver, and performing with the orchestra year-round, is so good by now that it can show off early in the summer. It opened the weekend with a virtuosic Prelude program Friday — all 20th-century, all appealing …

From the Daily Gazette’s review of this summer’s second weekend at Tanglewood.

Glimpses of fire, passion at Symphony Hall

2008-04-23T00:00:00-04:00

The hero of last night’s outing was the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which sang, from the outset, with unflagging energy, commitment, and focus. The expansive contours and sheer tonal force required for the score’s massive climaxes were all present, but so were the delicacy and transparency necessary to bring across passages such as the beautifully tender prayer sung by the Trojan women at the outset of the second tableau of Act II.

From Jeremy Eichler’s review of last night’s performance of Les Troyens at Symphony Hall.

On French Pronunciation for Les Troyens

2008-04-20T00:00:00-04:00

In general we need more vowels … and more consonants.

French coach Michel, giving notes on French pronunciation for Les Troyens.