The choirs of St Agnes Cathedral an the Diocese of Rockville Centre, in New York, will sing at the 11:00 mass in the Cathedral on Sunday 5 July 2015.
St. Agnes Cathedral Choirs of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, USA Touring Ensemble
The 2015 Touring Ensemble is a select group, drawn from the important choirs at St Agnes Cathedral and the Diocese of Rockville Centre, numbering 220 singers in total. For this trip, the most advanced singers of the groups are performing for you. The Choir of Men and Boys was founded in 1960, at the request of the newly-appointed first bishop of the diocese, Most Reverend Walter P. Kellenberg. The Chorale (adult and advanced teens) was founded in 1980, and the Diocesan Boys (and teens!) Choir in 2010. While the membership of the Choir of Men and Boys and Chorale are made up mainly of singers from St Agnes and the Rockville Centre area, the newly-formed Diocesan Choir is made up the most talented boys and teens from parishes and schools throughout the diocese, which encompasses Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, New York.
There have been widespread tours, including Lincoln Center, New York City, the White House, the Kennedy Center, the National Shrine, Washington, D.C., Canada, Germany, Austria, and numerous masterwork performances, including Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and a benefit concert with Ronan Tynan.
Members of these three magnificent choirs combined to travel on a concert tour to Italy in 2012, and perform a sold-out Christmas Concert in St Agnes Cathedral that same year. Last season, endeavours included the Hallmark Christmas Concert at St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, and a performance of Brahms’s A German Requiem and Mozart’s Organ Mass.
The Choirs are directed by Mr. Michael L. Bower, a native of Virginia. Mr Bower studied at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, under Joseph Flummerfelt for conducting and Donald G. McDonald for organ. He also studied at Clare College, Cambridge, under Stephen Cleobury and John Rutter. His graduate work was done at Manhattan School of Music where he studied organ with John Walker and harpsichord with Kenneth Cooper. Michael has led the choirs in numerous concerts at home and widespread tours of North America and Europe, including Vienna, Salzburg and the Vatican. He has also performed on the organ in the United States and Europe, including Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, and Westminster Abbey.
Terence Purtell (Organist/Accompanist) is the Director of Music at Our Lady of Grace Church in West Babylon, where he directs four choirs. At Saint Aidan in Williston Park, Terence is the concert accompanist for the "Ignis Angelicus" choirs. Having prepared numerous choirs for the Josephine Foundation, Terence now teaches for the Foundation's burgeoning arts programme at Saint Mary's High School in Manhasset. His classical training under many private teachers is complemented by experience with jazz, rock, and a long list of theatre productions. Following his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 17, Terence has played major venues throughout Manhattan and Long Island. Regular side projects include Mr. Bower’s New Master Chorale 2013 (pianist/tenor), the Collegiate Chorale (tenor), the Sacred Music Chorale (tenor), and the Diocesan Gospel Choir (organist). This past Christmas marked Terence's second concert on the organ at St Agnes Cathedral, under the baton of Michael L. Bower.