The Santa Cruz Chorale concludes their 2017-2018 season with the April concert, “Handel, Bach, and Purcell”

G.F. Handel, Blessed Are They That Considereth the Poor (or Foundling Hospital Anthem); J.S. Bach, Cantata BWV 137; Henry Purcell, Jubilate Deo and Te Deum

The Santa Cruz Chorale’s Spring concert presents works by three great composers of the Baroque period. Since the music is festive and characterized by splendor, the orchestra has been expanded to include woodwind and brass instruments. Henry Purcell’s Jubilate and Te Deum were composed to celebrate St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Lobe den Herren (“Praise the Lord”), BWV 137, is a choral cantata based on that hymn, whereby each verse praises Him in a different way. George Frideric Handel’s Blessed are they that considereth the poor was composed to raise money for the United Kingdom’s first children’s charity, and it expresses the joy experienced by all when the needy are helped. The concert will conclude with the famous Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah—and if you are among those in our audience you will learn why!
The concert features a truly stellar group of soloists:
Soprano Christa Pfeiffer “has been enchanting Bay area audiences with her pure effortless singing for over a decade.” Christa Pfeiffer made a name for herself with performances as far away as South Africa. We are happy that she will be singing for the first time with the Santa Cruz Chorale.

We are also pleased that renowned countertenor Paul Flight will be singing at our performance. Flight made his debut at the Kennedy center in 2008, and in 2010 he debuted at the Edinburgh International Festival. Some in the Bay Area might know Paul Flight primarily as the Director of the excellent California Bach Society, but you won’t want to miss hearing his first-class countertenor voice.

World famous tenor Jan (pronounced Yan) Kobow is flying in from Germany to sing with the Santa Cruz Chorale. Kobow was born in Berlin, where as a boy he sang in the “Staats-und Domchor, Berlin,” directed by Christian Grube. Grube early recognized Jan’s musicality and the beauty of his soprano voice, and Jan often sang as a soloist. For example, Jan sang the soprano arias in Bach’s St. John’s Passion when the choir toured Holland and performed in Amsterdam’s historic Oude Kerk with period instruments. Jan mastered the technical difficulties of the arias with little effort, but just to be safe, Grube took a professional soprano along in case the young boy unexpectedly suffered from stage fright. The backup soprano was not disappointed when she returned home without ever having sung a note!

In 1998 Jan Kobow won first prize at the prestigious International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig. Since then, he has made an international name for himself primarily as a performer of Baroque music. Kobow has sung with renowned conductors including Frans Brüggen, John Eliot Gardiner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe, Sigiswald Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt, and many more. The Santa Cruz Chorale is honored to welcome Jan Kobow to perform for the first time in California, where he will again sing under the baton of his former choirmaster, Christian Grube.

Our bass-baritone soloist is Jefferson Packer, who has degrees in Music and Romance Languages/Literatures from Harvard University and in piano performance from San Francisco State University. He has sung with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus and the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. Jefferson Packer is currently the bass-baritone in the choir of St. Thomas Anglican Church in San Francisco and will be singing his Santa Cruz debut with this performance.