Browsed by
Month: November 2016

George Frederic Handel, British Composer
King and Country: How Handel’s Coronation Anthems Outlived the British Monarchy

King and Country: How Handel’s Coronation Anthems Outlived the British Monarchy

Though he never achieved the monumental popularity of Beethoven or Mozart, George Frideric Handel led a charmed existence; his compositions, which provided him with significant financial success, have been consistently performed from his own lifetime through the modern day. Handel rose to prominence as a composer of operas, in which he successfully blended Italian Baroque style with German choral tradition. As a young composer on the rise, Handel was invited by a patron to leave his homeland of Germany and…

Read More Read More

Peter Tiboris will conduct Mozart and more this April at the Basilica di Santa Croce
Insights from Conductor Peter Tiboris

Insights from Conductor Peter Tiboris

Peter Tiboris, conductor, music director, and founder of MidAmerica Productions, has enjoyed a successful worldwide career for the past 40 years. In a lifetime of music-making he has seen and learned much and decided to pass on this knowledge to the world at large. Read on for insights for musicians from Maestro Peter Tiboris: Reflections on a Lifetime of Music-Making I began looking back on my 60-plus years of music study and performance, which began in 1952 when I first took…

Read More Read More

The Organ at St. Marienkirsche in Berlin
A History of Western Choral Music

A History of Western Choral Music

Before French horns, violins, pianos, and even drums there was the voice – a singular musical instrument common to the entire family of man, yet so versatile that no two cultures developed the same vocal traditions. If you are in a choir today, you’ve probably noticed that much of Western choral music is religious in nature, for example Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Fauré’s Requiem, and countless other works. This is no mere coincidence; today’s choral music owes a significant debt to…

Read More Read More

Dr. Terre Johnson celebrates the premiere of his work, Missa Femina, in Florence
Terre Johnson – Conductor, Composer, Educator

Terre Johnson – Conductor, Composer, Educator

Former MidAmerica Productions Conductor-in-Residence, Dr. Terre Johnson, has led performances all over the world. Although he has held several secular music director positions since earning his doctorate, he has always been involved in church music; he currently works as Minister of Music at the Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where he has lived since December of 2004. Since then, Johnson has added composition to his already prolific repertoire, writing works for both vocal and instrumental groups. In a…

Read More Read More

Performers singing at Carnegie Hall
How Do We Get to Carnegie Hall?

How Do We Get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice may be what gets you to Carnegie Hall, but what can you expect once you’re there? All over the world, musicians young and old aspire to perform in the hall that has become the epicenter of the modern classical music world. Even if Carnegie Hall seems larger than life, performing there is well within your grasp. Over the past 34 years, MidAmerica Productions has brought thousands of performers to Isaac Stern Auditorium/Perlman Stage at Carnegie Hall and we want…

Read More Read More

John Rutter, Conductor Laureate and Composer
John Rutter to Conduct his Requiem in Florence Debut

John Rutter to Conduct his Requiem in Florence Debut

MidAmerica Productions is pleased to announce that Conductor Laureate John Rutter will be conducting his Requiem in Florence, Italy, at the Basilica di Santo Spirito in June, 2018. This will be the celebrated choral composer’s first time conducting in Florence, a rare treat for performers and audience alike. John Rutter: Preaching to the Choir As a young man, Rutter was intimately involved in choral music, both as a chorister and as a conductor. In 1975 he became the director of…

Read More Read More

Exterior of the Basilica di Santa Croce
Peter Tiboris to Conduct Holy Week Performance in the Basilica di Santa Croce

Peter Tiboris to Conduct Holy Week Performance in the Basilica di Santa Croce

On April 11, 2017, Peter Tiboris will lead Napa Valley, California’s Vintage High School Chamber Singers in a performance of choral music in Florence’s famous Basilica di Santa Croce (in English, the Basilica of the Holy Cross). The event falls during Holy Week, giving the occasion added significance as the Basilica does not often allow concerts in this sacred time. Located in the heart of Florence, Italy the Basilica di Santa Croce has become the city’s number one tourist destination….

Read More Read More