What does joy sound like? Schola Cantorum de Venezuela is one of the most important choral societies belonging to the growing choral movement in Venezuela. SCV has a repertoire of more than 50 major symphonic-choral works and are beloved by many highly acclaimed conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, Helmuth Rilling, and Robert Spano. They have performed several premieres by Osvaldo Golijov including
Oceana and
La pasión según San Marcos which has toured four continents since 2000. John Adams wrote the opera
A Flowering Tree for SCV in 2006 which was premiered at the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna and later performed at the Barbican Centre in London and Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival. SCV has appeared on over 35 recordings and received 2 GRAMMY nominations for
La pasión según San Marcos ... read full bioThe Schola Cantorum de Venezuela (formerly known as Schola Cantorum de Caracas) is one of the most important choral societies belonging to the growing choral movement in Venezuela. It was founded in 1967 and directed by Alberto Grau, Venezuelan composer and conductor born in Barcelona, Spain. The choir’s broad repertoire includes works from the Spanish, Italian, French and English Renaissance; German and Italian Baroque; contemporary Venezuelan and international composers, a vast collection of Venezuelan and Latin American traditional music; and a number of symphony choral pieces.
International tours have taken the Schola to venues in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, Canada, and South America. The ensemble was chosen for the premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos (Saint Mark Passion) which debuted at the European Music Festival 2000 under the sponsorship of the Bachakademie Stuttgart. The Hänssler Classic recording of this concert was nominated for a 2002 Grammy and Latin Grammy award in the category of Best Choral Performance. A new recording of this work was released in 2010 by Deutsche Grammophone in a CD/DVD edition to great critical acclaim. In 2006, under the direction of Peter Sellars, the Schola premiered John Adam’s opera A Flowering Tree at the Crown Hope Festival in Vienna, which they subsequently brought to Lincoln Center in New York. A recording of this piece was released in 2008 by Nonesuch Records. Most recently in September 2011, the Schola gave the world premier of Gonzalo Grau’s award-winning oratorio Aqua, commissioned by the Bachakademie. The Schola has more than fifty major symphonic choral works in their repertoire and has performed under the batons of such distinguished conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Helmuth Rilling, Roberto Spano, John Adams, and Edmon Colomer, among others.
With a variety of a capella and symphonic choral programs, the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela has appeared internationally at music festivals and concert halls, including the José Félix Ribas and Ríos Reyna Hall of the Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Concertgebow and Royal Carré Theatre in Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall and Barbican Centre in London, Beethovenhalle in Stuttgart, Nexahualcóyotl Hall of the UNAM in Mexico, Sydney Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, Canary Islands, and Oregon Bach festivals.
A specialized ensemble, with unique arrangements and repertoire, the Schola has recorded 26 albums to date. Ana María Raga and María Guinand are the titular directors. Since 2005, the Schola Cantorum of Venezuela has worked under the aegis of the Schola Cantorum Foundation, a non-profit organization that oversees several other choirs such as the Cantoría Alberto Grau, Pequeños Cantores de la Schola, and Schola Juvenil. Together they provide a complete system to promote and develop choral music in Venezuela.
Last updated September 2011. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.
