The Oriana Singers

Description

The Oriana Singers is one of Chicago's leading small vocal ensembles. With a roster including some of the area's most experienced professional singers, they perform music ranging from pieces written today, all the way back to exquisite Renaissance madrigals and motets. Their programs mix the heartfelt with the cerebral, the worldly with the spiritual, the serious with the fun. The performers engage the audience with introductions to the music and background information.

Recent programs have included The Book of Love (music on the theme, drawn from all times and places), No Land Beyond (contemporary music exploring the boundary between the built environment and nature, performed with an expanded roster), and Northern Light (music by Baltic composers). The Oriana Singers have also presented holiday concerts, both by themselves and as featured performers in larger presentations such as the annual Sing We Joyous holiday spectacular.

Work Sample

https://www.oriana.org/repertoire
Benedictio (Urmas Sisask)
Corpus Christi Carol (Trond Kverno)
Vessels (Philip Glass)
Underneath the Stars (Kate Rusby)

Total Time: 19:26

Recorded in live performance on WFMT Radio, January 27, 2020

The examples all come from a live performance on WFMT Radio, broadcast in January 2020. Perhaps most evident is the ensemble's commitment to the highest quality of musical performance. Also evident is the breadth of the ensemble's repertoire: "classical" a cappella works, plus music that is not just a cappella, and music that is not "classical" at all (a song by a contemporary folk singer).

History

The Oriana Singers present a wide range of music for small vocal ensemble, particularly for one-on-a-part a cappella performance. Under the direction of founder William Chin, they have performed in twelve American states and in Costa Rica, Spain, and Germany. The Oriana Singers were prizewinners at the Internationaler Wettbewerb für Vokalensembles in Germany and represented the United States at the V Internacional Festival de Musica, Costa Rica.

The ensemble has made three appearances at the Ravinia Festival and has performed with numerous dance companies, including several projects with the Joffrey Ballet. The Oriana Singers are well known for innovative collaborations, including projects with Schola Antiqua of Chicago and Gargoyle Brass Ensemble. They have provided singers for a Billy Strayhorn tribute at the Auditorium Theatre, and for the Video Games Live touring concert. In recent years The Oriana Singers established the Oriana Vocal Collection, a collaborative project which furthers their mission by nurturing emerging vocal ensembles.

The Oriana Singers are part of a network of highly skilled one-on-a-part singers maintaining high musical standards in the Chicago area, and are proud of their forty-one years of music making.

Artistic Vision

The mission of The Oriana Singers is to present a wide range of music for small vocal ensemble, particularly for one-on-a-part a cappella performance. There is a unique beauty in the sound of voices in harmony. Singing is a musical form where every instrument has its own individual timbre, and where it is possible to hear words. This sets it apart from other kinds of music and opens up a world of unique expressive possibilities. In the realm of vocal/choral music, small vocal ensembles can create an intimacy of listening, and a clarity of sound and texture, that is particularly expressive. The Oriana Singers looks for music that stretches their boundaries as artists, and they seek to share these discoveries with audiences. Performances must always be musically excellent, but the ensemble also strives to make their music engaging. The Oriana Singers value both traditional presentations of their music, as well as performances that have experimental or unusual approaches.