Rutgers-Newark Chorus to Begin Winter Concerts with Tribute to Founder

(NEWARK) The holidays are always a special time for family and friends. This holiday season, the 50-voice Rutgers University Chorus on the Newark campus will remember one of its longtime friends during the chorus' annual Holiday Choral Concerts.

The R-N chorus has scheduled four Holiday Choral Concerts in December and will open this winter concert season with two performances honoring founding director, Dr. Alfred Mann, who passed away on Sept. 21, 2006. Dr. Mann will be remembered for his work in creating and organizing the R-N music department and then serving as the chorus conductor for 20 years.

The first concert dedicated in his honor will be held on Sunday, Dec. 3, 4 p.m. in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 36 Gould St., Verona, NJ. The performance will be repeated on Sunday Dec. 10, 3 p.m. at St. Mary's R.C. Church, 528 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., Newark, NJ. Admission to each concert will be $25 preferred seating, $10 general admission, and $5 for senior citizens and students. Both performances will be professionally recorded to be included on a CD, so families are asked to please leave babies and small children at home. (For directions to these venues, please call 973/353-5119, ext. 28.)

The chorus will continue its Holiday Choral Concerts with an appearance on Monday, Dec. 11, 11:45 a.m. in the PSE&G Lobby, 80 Park Plaza, downtown Newark. They will also perform on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2:30 p.m. in the Bradley Hall Lounge, 110 Warren St., on the Rutgers-Newark campus. Both performances will be free and open to the public.

The holiday concerts will feature works of Benjamin Britten, George Dyson, Gerald Cohen, Grayston Ives, and Bryan Kelly as well as special arrangements of spirituals and folksongs, carols for Advent and Christmas, and Hanukah selections. The chorus will also perform the evocative "Love that Lights the Eastern Sky," composed especially for the Chorus Holiday Concerts by New Jersey composer Wayne Dietterick. The R-N chorus will be under the direction of Dr. John E. Floreen, conductor since 1979, and Assistant Conductor, Dr. Susan McAdoo; the accompanist is Adrienne Pavur.

The Rutgers Chorus will embark on a nine-day international concert tour to Wales beginning on May 18, 2007. This will be their sixth international concert tour with previous performances in Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, England, and Scotland. The Slough Observer (England) has written that the Rutgers Chorus is "a truly magnificent group of vocalists." The East Lothian Courier (Scotland) praised the Rutgers Chorus for performing "with precise diction and pitch, together with musical sensitivity and warmth of expression." The chorus has made four CD recordings, which will be available for sale at all of the holiday concerts.

Bradley Hall is wheelchair-accessible, as is the Rutgers-Newark campus. Rutgers-Newark can be reached by New Jersey Transit buses and trains, the PATH train and Amtrak from New York City, and by Newark City Subway. Metered parking is available on University Avenue and at Rutgers-Newark's public parking garage, at 200 University Ave. Printable campus maps and driving directions are available online at: maps