BONDS: Credo

Name: BONDS: Credo
Start: 2024-05-11T20:00:00-07:00
Location: Mission Santa Clara de Asis

Schedule

Sat May 11 2024 at 08:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

Mission Santa Clara de Asis | Santa Clara, CA

As the culminating grand finale of Santa Clara Chorale’s 61st season of Masterworks Rediscovered, the Chorale proudly brings to the spotlight the awe-inspiring work “Credo” written by esteemed 20th century composer Margaret Bonds. Illuminating the profound texts from W.E.B. DuBois’ manifesto on race, “Credo” proclaims not only a belief in God but a belief in the liberty of all people. This one-night-only performance will take place on Saturday, May 11 at 8:00 p.m. in the historic Mission Santa Clara, and will feature a new arrangement of the work by Filipino composer Allan Laiño for brass quintet, organ, and timpani marking its West Coast debut and featuring the Mission’s beautiful pipe organ. Soprano Marlissa Hudson, a Santa Clara Chorale favorite, will return alongside baritone Brandon Bell making his Chorale debut. Conducted by Artistic Director Scot Hanna-Weir, the Chorale’s company of voices is joined by the Santa Clara
University Chamber Singers for this grand finale and in continuation of their long-standing relationship.
Margaret Bonds, a pioneering African American composer, has left an indelible mark on the landscape of American music with her innovative compositions. “Credo” showcases Bonds’ remarkable ability to blend traditional classical forms with elements of spirituals and jazz. Through her music which sets the 1904 texts of scholar and civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois, Bonds offers a profound exploration of faith, hope, and resilience.
In addition to “Credo,” the evening will feature other works celebrating the themes of belief and freedom and texts by civil rights visionaries like Langston Hughes, while spotlighting solo and choral music by acclaimed Black composers, including Terrence Blanchard, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Undine Smith Moore. The program will continue to highlight the incredible voices of the evening’s soloists, with soprano Marlissa Hudson performing Bonds’ song cycle Songs of the Seasons and an arrangement of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and baritone Brandon Bell sings a hauntingly beautiful arrangement of “Steal Away” by Shawn Okpebholo, and from Blanchard’s acclaimed 2019 opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones.