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About Counterpoint
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Dedicated to promoting choral chamber music and giving the public the opportunity to hear rarely performed works, unique arrangements and the work of contemporary composers, Robert De Cormier's Counterpoint debuted in a series of concerts in August 2000. Jim Lowe, in the Vermont Times-Argus, wrote, "A cohesive ensemble, able to perform a varied repertoire with style and understanding... a joy to hear. If this is just a beginning, De Cormier and Counterpoint are truly a welcome addition to the Vermont music scene."
· 2000: Fall foliage tours of Northern Vermont. A Counterpoint Christmas appeared in three major Vermont cities.
· 2001-2002: Concerts throughout the region, including a combined workshop/concert at Philips Exeter Academy, the premiere performance of a work by a Vermont composer at the New England Music Educators' conference, and a commemorative Holocaust program in Burlington, VT., featuring compositions from the Terezin concentration camp. In July, the acclaimed folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary gave a benefit performance for and with Counterpoint as an 80th-birthday gift to their longtime music director, Robert De Cormier. October saw the debut of a program of Latin American choral music from the 16th through the 20th century.
In December Counterpoint
collaborated with the Weston Playhouse in a program entitled Readings and Carols
which traveled the state, initiating a new Vermont holiday tradition.
· 2002-2003: Counterpoint's Latin American program, Luminarias de Coro, opened its season with concerts in four New England states and travels again in the fall. Songs to Remember, a program of Jewish songs from the world that was (pre-Holocaust Europe), the concentration camps, and the Resistance debuted to great acclaim in Montreal in April, with repeat performances in Vermont. (Recorded in the summer, this uniquely evocative CD will be available in 2004.) Counterpoint's popular Songs of Summer combines folk songs and spirituals; with concerts around the state, it is a mainstay of late summer programming. The 2003 Christmas concerts touch audiences in four Vermont cities, and the year ends with NPRs Performance Today broadcast of Counterpoint's 2002 Burlington Christmas concert, and two appearances in Burlingtons First Night celebration.
· 2004: Both Songs to Remember and Luminarias de Coro will take Counterpoint on regional tours. In the spring, Counterpoint premiers a commissioned piece by esteemed flutist and composer Louis Moyse, Solfege a la Francaise. More recordings, concert programs and appearances are in the
offing...stay tuned!
· Discography: A Counterpoint Christmas CD, including Navidad Nuestra by Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez, Carols and Lullabies of the Southwest adapted by Conrad Susa, and holiday songs from Nigeria, Sweden, Puerto Rico and England. Coming in 2004: Songs to Remember.
· Videography: Already released by the Choral Excellence Series: A Counterpoint Christmas and A Choral Excursion.
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for information and a brochure call:
802-259-2327
by email: Counterpoint
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Page updated
July 3, 2003
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