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Luminous Night Festival

CHORAL ENCOUNTERS presents
LUMINOUS NIGHT FESTIVAL - The Music of Ola Gjeilo
Saturday, October 15 2016 at 7:30 PM  

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Toronto audiences will have the special opportunity to see and hear Gjeilo in this one-night-only presentation.

Performing choirs include Exultate Chamber Singers, Orpheus Choir, Resonance, the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers and Women's Chamber Choir, and the Choir of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. In this festive concert of Ola Gjeilo's large choral output, they will sing representative works such as Ubi Caritas, Northern Lights, Eternal Sky, Serenity and also present the symphonic Sunrise Mass with the Talisker Players. Composer Ola Gjeilo will improvise accompaniments to some of the music.

Luminous Night Festival

One-On-One - 6:30 pm
Ola Gjeilo in conversation with Norbert Palej, Head of Composition, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto

Gala Concert: Luminous Night - 7:30 pm
A Gjeilo-Fest with the combined choirs of the Exultate Chamber Singers (Hilary Apfelstadt, conductor), Orpheus Choir of Toronto (Robert Cooper, conductor), Resonance (Robert Anderson, conductor), Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Choir (William Maddox, conductor) and the University of Toronto MacMillan Singers and Women's Chamber Choir (Hilary Apfelstadt, conductor).

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Advanced Tickets: General $35; Student $20
At the Door Tickets: General $40; Student $25 

A project of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, as part of their artistic outreach, in collaboration with the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, and the participation of Exultate Chamber Singers and the Resonance Choir, Luminous Night Festival will be a unique encounter with the evocative music of Ola Gjeilo. 

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Ola Gjeilo (pronounced Yay-lo) is one of the most frequently performed composers in the choral world. An accomplished pianist, improvisations over his own published choral pieces have become a trademark of his collaborations across the world. Although Norwegian by birth, it is perhaps Ola's adopted country of America that has influenced the composer's distinctive soundworld the most, evolving a style that is both contemporary and familiar; thick harmonies and rich textures recall film score - music that forms a major part of the composer's inspiration.

Ola grew up in a musically eclectic home listening to classical, jazz, pop and folk, a broad background he later incorporated into his classical composition studies at The Juilliard School, and the Royal College of Music, London, and currently as a New York City-based full-time composer. He is especially inspired by the improvisational art of film composer Thomas Newman, jazz legends Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny, glass artist Dale Chihuly and architect Frank Gehry. Ola's music is often described as cinematic and evocative, with a lush, harmonious sound.

Ola's albums include Ola Gjeilo on the Decca Classics label, a portrait of his choral and piano works featuring Tenebrae and Voces8. His debut recording as a composer and pianist, the lyrical crossover album Stone Rose, was followed by its sequel, Piano Improvisations. Phoenix Chorale's bestselling Northern Lights collection of Ola's choral music was named iTunes Best Classical Vocal Album of 2012. All four recordings are available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Spotify.

Gjeilo's choral music has also been recorded by several notable ensembles such as the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, The Choir of Royal Holloway, the Flemish Radio Choir, and Voces8. In 2015, the Choir of King's College Cambridge performed Ola's Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium) at the annual BBC-televised Christmas Eve service.

Ola has a special collaboration with the vocal ensemble Voces8, and he is currently their composer-in-residence. Together they performed at the regional ACDA conventions across the United States, premiering Ola's The River for choir, piano and string quartet, the 2016 Brock Commission awarded by ACDA. His Ubi Caritas and Second Eve are featured on Voces8's Decca Classics albums Eventide and Lux.

Ola's music is published by Walton Music, Boosey & Hawkes and Edition Peters. For more information, find Ola on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, his YouTube channel, and at olagjeilo.com. 

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