Organist Jeffrey Wood and Tenor Michael Calmés to Perform at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – Concert organist Jeffrey Wood and tenor Michael Calmés will perform Sunday, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at the College of the Holy Cross, as part of the Holy Cross Chapel Artists’ Series.  The concert, which is handicap accessible, is free and open to the public.

The duo’s performance will feature a variety of notable pieces, including works by Georg Wilhelm Dietrich Saxer, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Jehan Alain.

A student of James David Christie, Wood graduated summa cum laude from Holy Cross as the class of 2006 organ scholar.  He earned a master of music in performance on historical instruments from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.  Wood made his symphonic concert debut in 2004 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand (No. 8), conducted by James Levine.  An accomplished continuo player and collaborative artist, he has performed in concert tours in Rome, Prague, and Vienna with the Boston College Chorale, conducted by John Finney, and has played in solo recitals in Belgium, France, Italy and Switzerland.  Currently Wood serves as the director of music at St. Mary Church in Milford, Conn., as an accompanist for the Connecticut Chamber Choir, and as a continuous player with Fanfare Consort, Connecticut’s early music ensemble.

Michael Calmés is acclaimed for ‘concert performances, recitals, opera, and oratorio.  He made his American debut with the Boston Lyric Opera Company in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and made his European debut in the Bach Magnificat at the Rijeka Festival in Venice.  He has performed internationally in Austria, Belgium, China, England, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.  Calmés was the only classical singer invited to participate in the international German music festival, Nachbar Amerika, and his concerts are repeatedly praised for the beauty, expressiveness, and emotional power of his singing.  He is a founder of the Boston Aria Guild and a member of the noted chamber music ensemble, Janus 21.

The 2010-11 season of the Chapel Artists’ Series will also include the following performances:

* Sunday, March 20, 3 p.m. – Renée Anne Louprette, organist * Sunday, April 3, 3 p.m. – Balint Karosi, organist * Sunday, May 1, 3 p.m. – Jesuit Heritage Concert of Baroque Music

For more information about any of the performances in the Chapel Artists’ Series, please call the music department at (508) 793-2296, or visit the department’s website.