The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, England,

St. Margaret’s Friends of Music will present the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge University, in concert Sunday, December 11, 7pm at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert.

The program, entitled “O magnum mysterium,” surveys more than five centuries of beloved choral repertoire appropriate for the Advent and Christmas seasons including settings of the text O magnum mysterium (O great mystery) by Spanish composer Cristóbal Morales (16^th century) and more contemporary settings by Francis Poulenc and Morten Lauridsen. Also featured on the program will be carols from seventeenth-century France and Germany plus seasonal works by Herbert Howells, John Tavener, John Rutter, Will Todd and Lucy Walker.

Since the founding of a mixed voice choir in 1972, the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge has gained an international reputation as one of the world’s leading university choirs. In addition to its primary function of leading services three times a week in the College chapel, the Choir keeps an active schedule recording, broadcasting, and performing. Recent engagements include concerts with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment, Britten Sinfonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfonia Nacional de Mexico, as well as recitals in Barcelona’s Palau de Musica, El Escorial Madrid, Palacio de Bellas Artes Mexico City, St John’s Smith Square London, and across the USA and Canada.

The Choir has produced an impressive discography of more than forty recordings. Their recordings under Graham Ross on the Harmonia Mundi label have been released to great critical acclaim, earning praise for ‘exceptional singing’ and ‘immaculate performances.’ The Choir’s latest album, Rolling River, featuring American choral works by Barber, Bernstein, Nico Muhly and others, was released on the Harmonia Mundi label in 2023.

St. Margaret’s is located at 47535 Hwy 74, Palm Desert. Tickets are $45 for general admission and $10 for students. You can purchase online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-choir-of-clare-college-cambridge-graham-ross-director-tickets-661415630957?aff=ebdsoporgprofile or at the door.