guest artists: THE NAPERVILLE CHORUS

The Naperville Chorus is pleased to be joining the Chicago Bar Association Symphony
Orchestra in this presentation of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The Naperville Chorus has a long history of collaborative orchestral and choral performances including such classics as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Borodin’s Polovetsian Dances. Most recently the Naperville Chorus, along with the Dupage Symphony Orchestra, performed Alexander Nevsky by Sergei Prokofiev.

Since its founding in 1976, the Naperville Chorus has seen growth both musically and in size and now boasts a membership of more than 125. It presents two concerts a year in the wonderful acoustic space of Wentz Concert Hall on the campus of North Central College. In the last 35 years, the chorus has presented major choral works, with orchestral accompaniment, to the Naperville and surrounding community. It has also sung new works by local composers, including Ann McKinley's Psalm 46, which was written to honor Commander Dan Shanower, a former Naperville resident, who was killed in the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Preceding the present chorus, was a choral ensemble created in the 1960s by Dr. Paul Warren Allen of the North Central College Music Department. That original chorus introduced the format we continue to use today, which melds the vocal talents of students, college personnel, and community members into a strong organization. In 1976, a chorus was created to celebrate the bicentennial in Naperville and the present chorus is an outgrowth of that group. The chorus has had two directors in its 35-year history. It was founded and directed by Robert O. Jaynes for its first 15 years until his retirement. Professor Jeordano Martínez of North Central College took over the baton and the role of music director, with Jon Warfel as assistant director. The Naperville Chorus Chamber Singers, directed by Ross Berkley, has presented programs in more intimate settings and for local community organizations. If you would like to know more about the Naperville Chorus and its programs, please visit our website at www.NapervilleChorus.org.