Alan Heatherington, Music Director and Conductor

Shortly after the final concerts of the season, the chorus embarked on a tour to France, Switzerland, and Austria where the first performances under our new name were presented.

The season got off to a great start, with over 600 audience members enjoying a glorious program of Brahms and Bruckner, including the incomparable Emily Lodine in the Alto Rhapsody, and our largest chorus ever, more than 130 singers, honed to its expressive best by Music Director Alan Heatherington. Those who heard Bruckner's Mass No. 1 for the first time asked why this incredibly beautiful music is not performed more frequently.

December was successful on every front: at Techny, where sold-out houses were treated to our first-ever Christmas concerts with full orchestra; and at St. Francis Church in Lake Zurich, where the TNOS Ensemble (now known as the CMS Chorale) presented a completely different but equally wonderful program, both a cappella and with strings.

Our three spring concerts were attended by a total of more than 840 audience members, who were enthralled and delighted by an a cappella tour de force. The ethereal beauty of the Frank Martin Mass was complemented by stirring arrangements of spirituals and hymns, both American and French.

The same program was presented at numerous historic churches in Europe in June when The New Oratorio Singers became Chicago Master Singers! Shortly after the final concerts of the 1999-2000 season concluded, over 70 members of the chorus embarked on a tour to France, Switzerland, and Austria where the first performances under our new name were presented. The tour featured concerts in two Paris cathedrals (St. Sulpice and Notre Dame), in Chartres, Reims, and Strasbourg in France, and in Zurich and Lucerne in Switzerland. The last concert of the tour was attended by Frank Martin's charming widow, who drove all the way from her home in the Netherlands to attend, and was gratifyingly pleased with our performance. The tour concluded with CMS's participation in the inaugural performance of the Innsbruck Choral Festival under the direction of Alan Heatherington and Alice Parker.

FALL CONCERT

Friday, November 5
Sunday, November 7
Divine Word Chapel, Techny

Brahms: Alto Rhapsody

Emily Lodine, Alto

Bruckner: Psalm 112
Bruckner: Mass No. 1 in d minor

with the Ars Viva! Orchestra

CHRISTMAS CONCERT (Ensemble)

Sunday, December 12
St. Francis Church, Lake Zurich

The New Oratorio Singers Ensemble performing Carols Traditional and New
Works by John Rutter, David Willcocks, and many others

with the Ars Viva! String Ensemble

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

Friday, December 17
Sunday, December 19
Divine Word Chapel, Techny

Shaw/Bennett: The Many Moods of Christmas
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Works by John Rutter

with the Ars Viva! Orchestra

SPRING CONCERT

Sunday, April 9
St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein

Friday, April 14
Sunday, April 16
Divine Word Chapel, Techny

Frank Martin: Mass for Double Choir
French and American Works including a cappella arrangements by Alice Parker