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St. John's Music Series

For more than 23 years, the St. John's Music Series has offered the St. John’s community and greater Cincinnati area a unique mix of musical programs with something for everyone. The proceeds benefit St. John's music program and various non-profit organizations as part of the St. John's outreach program.

Tickets on sale now!     $15 1 adult/1 child; $10 students with ID; $5.00 children 12 and under.   Free childcare provided at MUSE concerts only.    Series tickets $60.00  contact St. John's office at 961-1938 for more information!

2012-2013  MusicSeries Calendar

Saturday Sept. 22 7:30 pm

Riding the [Sound] Waves of the 2012 World Choir Games

On Saturday, September 22 at 7:30 pm St. Unitarian Universalist Church Music Series will present a concert featuring three World Choir participants in a World Choir Games Concert Extravaganza!  The concert will feature the Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir, conducted by Kanniks Kanneswaran, the Sakura Ladies Chorus, conducted by Sayuri Jones and the Kolping Saengerchor, conducted by Carolann Slouffman.  
“Singing together brings nations together” is the mission of the World Choir Games and singing together at St. John’s brings communities together.    Join these choirs for a night of entertaining and eclectic music against the backdrop of the beautiful St. John’s Sanctuary.   

The mission of the Sakura Ladies Chorus is to promote multiculturalism through Japanese music in Greater Cincinnati communities.  The Sakura Ladies Chorus was founded in 1998 and has been performing at local cultural events such as the Art Sampler, Asian Culture Fest at the museum center at the Union Terminal, local colleges and schools, churches, and several functions organized by the Japan America Society of Greater Cincinnati.  The chorus participated in Open Competition in the 2012 World Choir Games, receiving a silver medal.  Our repertoire includes traditional to contemporary Japanese songs and some numbers from countries other than Japan in translation or original languages.  

The Sakura Ladies Chorus is led by the director/conductor, Sayuri Jones, and the co-director, Emi Akiba.  Both are local professional music instructors.  The majority of the members are native Japanese and some are American.  Most of the members are amateur volunteers who have a passion for singing and keeping their ties to their Japanese roots.  

The Kolping Sangerchor is a group of singers dedicated to the preservation of German song. We are a self-sustaining local German folk choir (Sängerchor) that is a subgroup of the much larger Catholic Kolping Society of Cincinnati. The Sängerchor has around 75 active members. The Kolping Society of Cincinnati is part of an even larger national and international organization headquartered in Cologne, Germany founded by Blessed Adolf Kolping in the 1860's.

The Sängerchor is a member of the Nord-Amerikanische Saengerbund (North-American Singers Association or NASB), a national organization of over 40 German choirs that was founded in Cincinnati in 1849. We are also members of the Southern-Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana District of the NASB, the Illinois Bezirk, and the Deutsche-Saengerbund of Germany.

The Kolping Sängerchor was formed in June 1989 by Carolann and Jim Slouffman and a group of twenty dedicated singers from the Cincinnati Catholic Kolping Society. They united in a common bond for their love of German music while preserving the heritage of the singing societies in the Cincinnati area. Some of the early performances by this "elite and chosen" group (singing in two-part harmony) included appearances at the Baker's Ball, the Polkafest, the lighting of the city of Cincinnati's Christmas tree at Fountain Square and a gala for our sister city of Munich.

Presently, the 75-voice choir represents all age groups with many members being native-speaking German-Americans. Performances have ranged from German Day, organized by the German American Citizens League (GACL) of Greater Cincinnati and Oktoberfest celebrations to the Governor's Pavilion at the Ohio State Fair. The choir also performs at retirement centers, nursing homes, other functions by request, as well as our own Schlachtfest (pig roast), Spring and Christmas concerts.

The mission of the Kolping Sängerchor is to promote the cultivation, furtherance and maintenance of German music and songs, German customs and the German language. The mission is to be carried out as a supportive, family-type environment that strives to further develop the individual and the group at the same time.  

The Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir founded and led by visionary composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran (Mason OH) won two silver medals in the prestigious Champions category in the just concluded World Choir Games.  

Conductor Kanniks Kannikeswaran who leads the Greater Cincinnati Indian community choir to victory is hailed as a pioneer of the Indian American choral movement. He first started creating raga based choral music in 1994 and has gone on to expand his repertoire. His first choral production ‘Basant – A musical celebration of Spring’ and his 1996 collaboration ‘The Blue Jewel’ are still remembered in Cincinnati. Of course, Kanniks is remembered most for his magnum opus ‘Shanti – A Journey of Peace’ – the first ever oratorio in Sanskrit in Indian ragas cloaked in choral and orchestral harmony that has been performed in three different cities.

The Greater Cincinnati Indian community choir that Kanniks founded in Cincinnati is a diverse mix of professionals and students speaking over 8 languages spanning a range of professions. Kanniks has also founded similar choral work in Houton, Allentown, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis and more.


Kanniks is also known for his award winning research on the Indo-Colonial music of Muthusvami Dikshitar and for his collaboration with the Gundecha Brothers. He presents his work regularly during the Music Season in Chennai. He also teaches Indian Music Theory and History at the University of Cincinnati in the capacity of an Adjunct Faculty. He is the recipient of the prestigious McKnight Fellowship and the Ohio Heritage Fellowship.

Saturday Nov. 10 7:30 pm

Sunday Nov. 11 3:00 pm

 MUSE - Cincinnati's Women's Choir

With Melanie DeMore

30th Season for MUSE kicks off with these Fall Concerts and Melanie DeMore, singer-songwriter from the West Coast. These concerts on November 9-11 will be a combination of MUSE and Melanie weaving the fibers of African- American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals and her own original music.

 

Fri, Dec. 14 7:30 pm

Cincinnati Guitar Society's Jeremy Collins:

Concert 3 features an award winning classical guitarist who got his start on NPR's "From the Top" in Cincinnati when he was 16.

Bio:

Based in Cincinnati Ohio, Mr. Jeremy Collins holds a Bachelors degree from of the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with renowned guitarist, Jason Vieaux.  His Masters degree in classical guitar performance is from the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles where he studied with William Kanengiser of the Grammy award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. His previous teachers also include Rodney Stucky from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Michael Patilla, guitar instructor at the Masterworks Performing Arts Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana.

A superlative performer, Mr. Collins has won first prizes at many solo guitar competitions including the 2011 ASTA/Aaron Green Guitar Competition in Los Angeles; the 2010 Columbus State Univ. Guitar Symposium Competition (Columbus, GA); the 2009 Dominguez Hills Solo Competition in Los Angeles; the 2009 “Classical Minds” Guitar Competition in Houston, TX;  the 2009 Appalachian State Guitar Fest Solo Competition in Boone, NC;  the 2008 East Carolina University Solo Guitar Competition in Greenville, NC; and the 2007 Rantucci International Guitar Competition in Buffalo, NY.  He was also a recent finalist and prizewinner in the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition in Columbus, GA; the Tennessee Classical Guitar Competition; and the University of Louisville Guitar Competition.

Additionally, Mr. Collins has earned first prizes at the Society of American Musicians pre-college guitar competition; the Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony Young Artist Competition; the Masterworks Festival student concerto competition; the “National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts” national talent search and recognition program, and - at the age of 16 - was invited to perform on NPR’s “From the Top” national radio program.

Performance highlights include recitals at the East Carolina University Guitar Workshop; for the Greater Houston Guitar Guild; the Cincinnati Guitar Society; the Greater Cleveland Classical Guitar Society; the Park Cities Presbyterian Church Performing Arts Series in Dallas; the Mid-day Music in Oxford (OH) recital series; the Laredo Philharmonic Rising Star recital series; as soloist with the Masterworks Festival Orchestra; the Blue-Ash Montgomery Symphony in Cincinnati; and with the Starling Chamber Orchestra in the world premiere of Timothy O'Neill’s “Johnny Appleseed,” which included a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Mr. Collins was recently featured on Cleveland’s local cable television program “Face the Music,” shown on the Cox Communications Network.

In addition to performing, Mr. Collins is also a dedicated teacher, having taught master classes, group guitar classes, and private students since 2004. He serves on the faculty at the Indian Springs Academy of Music in Cincinnati, the Toedtman School of Music, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music preparatory department. Mr. Collins enjoys composing and performing his original compositions and arrangements, and performs on a German double-top guitar by Gernot Wagner.

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Saturday Jan 26 7:30 pm

 

 

 

 

The Jeremy Winston Gospel Ensemble
Champions of the Gospel Category
2012 World Choir Games

Based in the heart of America, The Jeremy Winston Chorale is a diverse, professional ensemble which is as a purveyor of the best in choral music.. In truth, this ensemble was birthed out of necessity for participation in the World Choir Games in Cincinnati, Ohio during the summer of 2012. Under the direction of Jeremy Winston, this ensemble pulled together a collection of singers with the rare gift of musical acumen and great personalities. Under the constraints of deadlines for the international competition, this group leapt into its rigorous preparations only to be awarded the Gold Medal Championship in the Gospel and two silver medals in the Spiritual and Mixed Chorus categories.

This is victory has led this ensemble to be sought after and is preparing to travel the country as a professional ensemble. Music in this ensemble’s repertoire will represent classical, jazz, gospel, and hold a significant emphasis on the African American Spiritual and twenty-first century music. Upcoming performances will be at Emmanual Brinklow Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ashton, Maryland; Salem Baptist Church in Jenkintown, PA; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
 

 

Saturday May 6 7:30 pm

The Young Professionals Choral Collective

 
Another medal-winning ensemble started a year ago in Over-the-Rhine will present a program of light German music in our own German St. John's!

 

Ticket Information

Season Ticket $60.00 (a $15 savings) Single Tickets $15.00

Single Tickets available at the door or by calling 961-1938

$15.00 ticket admits one adult/one child

 

 

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