Women of
​Valor

Sunday, February 20, 2021 | 4:00 PM
Church of the Good Shepherd
1116 Lancaster Ave
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

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Program

Komschlies (b. 1991) - Nunc Dimittis Cantata 
​Leonarda (1620-1704) - Magnificat

Artists

Matt Glandorf, Conductor
Choral Arts Philadelphia
The Bach Collegium Baroque Orchestra

Venue

Saint Patrick's Catholic Church
242 S 20th St,
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Church of the Good Shepherd
1116 Lancaster Ave
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

In 2018, Choral Arts commissioned and premiered a Cantata based on the story of Jesus' presentation in the Temple and being held in the arms of old man Simeon who was promised he would not see death until he beheld the savior of Israel. Chelsea Komschlies was a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music who took on the task of setting this wonderful story, setting it for chorus, soloists, and baroque orchestra, weaving in and out of the 18th century sound world into a more contemporary language. We will pair this modern work with a setting of the Song of Mary, The Magnificat by the 17th century nun composer Isabella Leonarda.

Italian composer. Born into a noble family on September 6, 1620, in Novara, Italy; died in Novara in 1704; entered the Convent of Saint Ursula of Novara in 1636; studied with Gaspare Casati.

Composed two motets for two voices (1645); became Mother Superior of Saint Ursula Convent (1693); became Madre Vicaria of the convent (1693); published a book of motets (1700); over 200 of her works in 20 volumes survive.

Like many women composers of an earlier age, Isabella Leonarda was a nun, and most of her compositions were sacred vocal music. Born into nobility in 1620 in Italy, she was 16 when she began her religious vocation in the Ursuline convent in her native city of Novara. Her parents most likely chose the religious life for her. Leonarda's studies with Gaspare Casati had begun a year earlier and continued until 1641. Her first compositions, two motets for two voices, appeared in Casati's Third Book of Sacred Concerts. Though never known as a performer, Leonarda composed litanies, psalm settings, vespers, responses, and four masses. No doubt convent life stimulated her musical creativity, as from medieval times onwards convents were havens where talented women could express their talents freely. In the early 1690s, Leonarda composed a sonata for solo violin and organ continuo, which means she was among the first Italian women to compose in these new instrumental Baroque genres. A prolific composer, Leonarda created works that were known and admired throughout Europe.

Chelsea Komschlies’ music has been said to possess an “ingratiating allure” (San Diego Story). Ms. Komschlies (b. 1991, Appleton, WI) is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in composition with Jean Lesage at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, where she holds a Schulich Scholarship and a Graduate Excellence Fellowship. Previously she studied with David Ludwig and Richard Danielpour at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she was awarded the Alfredo Casella Award for composition, and with Dan Kellogg and Carter Pann at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she was awarded the Thurston Manning Composition Award and Cecil Effinger Fellowship in Composition.  Her work springs from spontaneous subconscious mental imagery, and she combines musical elements from across time and tradition, from ancient to modern and from the traditional to the strange, to trigger the same in her listeners. One of her goals is that listeners make deep, instinctual associations with her music, be they emotional, visual, or otherwise abstract.

​Chelsea’s music has been performed in eleven countries on four continents around the world. She has received commissions from the Philadelphia Bach Festival, the Rock School for Dance Education, One Book, One Philadelphia, and a distinguished composition fellow commission from the Cortona Sessions for New Music. She has had performances at events such as the Ravinia Festival and the finale concert of Make Music Chicago and has received fellowships at programs such as the Aspen Music Festival, where she was the first woman ever to be awarded the 2019 Hermitage Prize, Copland House’s CULTIVATE, the Fontainebleau School where Nadia Boulanger once taught, and a number of other festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Her recent projects include a synesthetic collaboration with Alkemia Perfumes for the Oasi Trio and an oratorio for chorus, soloists, and baroque instruments premiered by Choral Arts Philadelphia in 2019. Collaborators include Alarm Will Sound, the Fifth House Ensemble, Ensemble Paramirabo, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and others. In her spare time, Chelsea enjoys drawing, digital painting, creating hand-sculpted jewelry, and haunting her favorite local coffee shops.

Health & Safety

As we welcome audiences back to in person performances, we are following the State and Philadelphia Department of Public Health guidelines for indoor events, and will be adhering to the following procedures.  

Please check back prior to your event date, as updates will be made to this site regularly. We are monitoring changing conditions carefully, and will adjust these policies as needed.  

• Vaccination Required: All guests must be fully vaccinated to enter a performance and must present digital or physical proof (e.g. vaccination card and photo ID) at the door.
• Children under 5, and those unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons, may show proof of a negative COVID-test from the previous 72 hours in lieu of proof of vaccination.  
• Masks Required: Please wear acceptable face coverings when indoors. All face coverings must cover the nose and mouth and comply with the CDC guidelines for acceptable face coverings. Guests who do not bring masks or wear them properly will be asked to leave. 
• Choral Arts Philadelphia is currently operating at a reduced capacity for events, and there will be distanced seating between parties.
• Everyone is encouraged to practice social distancing while indoors.
• For the safety of audiences and performers, all singers and instrumentalists will wear masks whenever possible. Any unmasked soloists will be distanced when singing and tested prior to the concert. 

 
If you have been ill or showing symptoms of illness leading up to your performance date, or, if you have a temperature on the date of the show, please stay home. Email [email protected] to discuss ticket options.  

Potential exposure to COVID-19, or any illness, is an inherent risk in public locations and gatherings, and by attending Choral Arts Philadelphia events, you voluntarily accept the risk of such exposure.  

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