The Scen3

By Marc Shulgold For Tom Morgan, the concept for concerts by his chamber choir seems pretty straight forward. In fact the title of those concerts and name of his ensemble say it all. “Shared Visions is truly ‘ars nova’ – new art,” he wrote me, “forged from shared inspirations of visual art, poetry and sound.” […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold Glancing at the accomplishments of composer Joan Szymko, it’s no surprise that she emerged from an encouraging home environment. Born in Chicago in 1957 to a devout Catholic family, where (her bio states) “faith, education and the arts were core values,” she began piano at 8. Pursuing a life in […]

A preview By Marc Shulgold Four centuries before we tried to rewire our stereos to replicate quadraphonic effects, a couple of Renaissance composers had their singers create it live. An Italian named Alessandro Striggio (1540-92) and an Englishman, Thomas Tallis (1505-85) composed choral works for 40 spread-out singers. And get this – one to a […]

A preview by Marc Shulgold In these heavily political times, there seems to be no escaping commentaries on all sides of controversial social issues. Even in the concert hall. Composer Joel Thompson (b. 1988) is no exception, with his powerful choral work from 2015, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, honoring the lives of seven […]

By Marc Shulgold Tom Morgan understands the dangers of controversy. The music director of the Ars  Nova Singers has accepted the challenge of programming a new work which doesn’t shy away from addressing some of the contemporary issues that have divided public opinions, that have led to violence in the streets as well as personal […]

              Review by Marc Shulgold Thomas Morgan put it succinctly in his program notes for a recent concert by Ars Nova Singers. “Everything feels fragile right now,” the chamber choir’s artistic director wrote. And so it does. Appropriately, the group’s evening of uplifting music was titled “Made Fragile,” offered before a sizable and appreciative […]

By Marc Shulgold “We live in unusual times,” Tom Morgan observed, quietly stating the obvious. As the founder and longtime music director of the Ars Nova Singers, the 59-year-old conductor has spent much of the past year keeping his group together while nimbly navigating through the ups and (mostly) downs of the Covid-19 pandemic. Glad […]

By Marc Shulgold Yes, we know: The past year has been tough for performing arts groups forced to cancel concerts, find new revenue sources and struggle to stay afloat. But most have survived (so far). Thank goodness, the wonderful Ars Nova Singers have weathered the pandemic storm – a fact demonstrated in a sort-of retrospective […]

A preview by Betsy Schwarm, January 13, 2021 It is at times like those of the past ten months that the performing arts can mean the most.  Not only is it a chance to gather together in a shared artistic experience, it is also a reminder of the marvelous things that mankind can create, especially […]

A preview By Marc Shulgold Tom Morgan has one goal in mind for the Ars Nova Singers’ upcoming performance on Youtube. “I want our audience to get an Ars Nova experience,” the chamber choir’s director stressed. An admirable goal. And it may happen – but that experience will be like no other. At 7 p.m. […]