DuPage Chorale, under the direction of Lee R. Kesselman joins the DuPage Chorale Orchestra to perform “Remember US: Forgotten Voices of America,” and the Mozart Requiem, in a special concert at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1. This concert will be Kesselman’s final Chorale Concert as he prepares to step down after 41 years as Director of Choral Activities at College of DuPage (COD).
Says Kesselman. “I have been honored to have the opportunity to work with the Chorale for nearly three-quarters of its life, so this final concert will be bittersweet. I am very excited about the music and artists featured in the program. Nevertheless, this concert represents the completion of a long and enjoyable chapter in my musical career.” Kesselman will also be stepping down from his faculty position as well as those as Director of Choral Activities at College of DuPage at the end of May this year.
Lee Kesselman conducting the DuPage Chorale. Photo courtesy of the McAninch Arts Center
“Remember US: Forgotten Voices of America” features two works for chorus and orchestra.
- Kesselman’s “Remember Us,” (World Premiere), based on words from the unheard voices of our American past and present
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s final work, “Requiem Mass” in D-Minor: K. 626.
Kesselman has been the Director of Choral Activities at COD since 1981. Conductor, pianist, teacher and award-winning composer, Kesselman directs the DuPage Chorale, Chamber Singers and Concert Choir. He currently serves as Director of Choral Activities at College of DuPage and Music Program Chair. In demand as a guest conductor and clinician, Kesselman has conducted opera and musical theater throughout his career. Kesselman’s many compositions have been published by Boosey & Hawkes, Roger Dean Music, Colla Voce and Kesselman Press. A native of Milwaukee, Kesselman holds undergraduate degrees in piano and composition from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and a master’s degree in conducting from the University of Southern California. In addition to teaching and composing, Kesselman is active as a conductor, pianist, clinician and lecturer. Kesselman is Founding Curator of the COD’s Music Fridays @ Noon series and Past-President of the Illinois Choral Directors Association. Chicago a cappella awarded Kesselman its Tribute Award in 2018. He founded and conducted the New Classic Singers for over 30 years. Kesselman has been honored as a composer with prizes in the Melodious Accord (New York) Composition Search, Chautauqua Chamber Singers Composition Contest, the Chautauqua Children’s Chorale Composition Contest and the Illinois Choral Directors’ Association Contest. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and recipient of more than 20 ASCAP awards.
Guest vocal artists showcased in the May 1 concert are as follows:
Lindsay Kesselman (Soprano/Narrator) is a Grammy-nominated soprano who passionately advocates for contemporary music. Recent and upcoming highlights include the premiere of “Energy in All Directions” by Kenneth Frazelle with Sandbox Percussion at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the role of Anna in Kurt Weill’s “The Seven Deadly Sins” with the Charlotte Symphony, “Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space” with Voices of Ascension and ongoing performances of two works written for her by John Mackey with orchestras and wind symphonies across the country. Additional highlights include the John Corigliano 80th birthday celebration at National Sawdust, “Quixote” (Amy Beth Kirsten and Mark DeChiazza) with Peak Performances at Montclair State University, a leading role in Louis Andriessen’s opera “Theatre of the World” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Dutch National Opera and an international tour of “Einstein on the Beach” with the Philip Glass Ensemble. Kesselman is featured on several recordings and holds degrees in voice performance from Rice University and Michigan State University.
Denise Gamez (Alto) has appeared as soloist with the Indianapolis, San Francisco Opera, Toledo, South Dakota, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Terre Haute, and Wheaton College symphony orchestras, and twice performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica under the baton of John Nelson, most recently in Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis.” Additional performance credits include the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera, where she received the Gropper Memorial Award; performing the roles of Dame Quickly in Verdi’s “Falstaff” and Fidalma in Cimarosa’s “The Secret Marriage” and featured soloist in the premiere of Daniel Kellogg’s “Children of God, commissioned by the Soli Deo Gloria Music Foundation. A frequent recitalist with pianist Daniel Paul Horn, she is a graduate of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and the Indiana University School of Music and is currently a member of the voice faculty at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.
Ace Gangoso (Tenor) enjoys an eclectic musical career as a singer, music director, pianist and teacher. He has performed with Fourth Coast Ensemble, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus and Chicago a cappella. He is the Director of Music Ministry at St. Nicholas Parish in Evanston, pianist for the Chicago Black Catholics Choir and a supplementary staff musician at St. Michael in Old Town. Gangoso holds bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Voice Performance from the University of Central Arkansas and a master’s degree in Voice Performance from Northwestern University.
David Govertsen (Bass – Baritone), a native Chicagoan, has been active as a professional singer for nearly 20 years. He has appeared as a soloist with numerous local and regional opera companies, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theater and the Haymarket Opera Company. He also is a member of vocal chamber quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble. As a concert soloist Govertsen has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Grant Park Orchestra, among many others. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in “Otello”with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Govertsen is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center and the Santa Fe Opera and Central City Opera apprentice programs. He holds degrees from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University and the College of DuPage. Govertsen is currently on faculty at North Park University, Valparaiso University, Lewis University and College of DuPage.
The DuPage Chorale, a large community chorus, performs choral concerts, performs in conjunction with the DuPage Chorale Orchestra, a professional orchestra. Repertoire includes standard choral works by Bach, Handel, Mozart and Brahms, as well as modern masterpieces by Orff, Poulenc, Stravinsky and others. Members come from all of Chicago’s western suburban locations. The Chorale is a course in the COD Music Department and includes college students and community members with a multigenerational profile. Rehearsals are on Mondays from 7-9:50 pm on the College of DuPage campus.
Tickets
DuPage Chorale joins DuPage Chorale Orchestra for “Remember US: Forgotten Voices of America,” Sunday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Belushi Performance Hall at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage. Tickets are $17 (adult), $15 (senior) and $7 (student with valid ID). For tickets or more information, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to performance.
About the MAC
The McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. Visit www.AtTheMAC.org or www.facebook.com/AtTheMAC for more information.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by the G. Carl Ball Family Foundation; DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville; Arts Midwest; The National Endowment for the Arts; the Illinois Arts Council Agency; WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.
The 2021-2022 MAC Season celebrates the memory of Joan Frank, for a lifetime of service, thanks to the support of family and friends.