The Monteverdi Master Chorale, under the direction of James A. Carpenter, will present “Magnificat” to open its 30th anniversary season this month.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, and 3 p.m. Dec. 18, at Michelsen Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) campus.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors and $5 for students. Monteverdi Master Chorale will provide one free student ticket with each paid general admission or senior ticket.

Tickets are available from [email protected], from any Monteverdi Chorale member, or at the door. 

This program features J. S. Bach’s glorious “Magnificat” with chamber orchestra and guest soloists Susan Bender, soprano; Beth Ray, alto; Lucinda Thayer, alto; Steven Paul Spears, tenor; and Matthew Markham, bass.

The concert is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin, and in partnership with Wisconsin Public Radio and the UWSP.

The Monteverdi Master Chorale is led by James A. Carpenter, who joined the Master Chorale as artistic director in 2002. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in choral conducting and education and holds a bachelor’s degree in choral music education and voice from Ithaca College, N.Y., and a master’s degree in choral conducting from UW-Madison.

Organized in the fall of 1986, the Monteverdi Master Chorale first rehearsed in January 1987 and performed the first concert that spring. The Chorale was named for Claudio Monteverdi, a famous Italian composer whose chorale compositions bridged the Renaissance and the Baroque period (1567-1643).

This year’s Monteverdi Master Chorale is a regional, 60-member, multigenerational, auditioned community group encompassing many musical backgrounds. Singers hail from Stevens Point, Plover, Mosinee, Wisconsin Rapids, Wausau, Junction City, Rosholt, Amherst, Custer, Waupaca, Marshfield and Wautoma.

Most members have extensive chorale performance experience and many have vocal training.  Concerts are presented regularly in December and spring of each year, and other times as scheduled.

These seasonal performances have become a well-established tradition in central Wisconsin. In addition, Monteverdi presents a popular pop dinner concert, Sweetheart Cabaret, each year.

The mission of the Monteverdi Master Chorale is to present excellent choral music reflecting various periods and styles performed by auditioned regional musicians for diverse, mostly regional audiences.

In addition to being artistic director, Carpenter has served as conductor of UWSP’s Concert Choir and Choral Union for the spring semester of 2012, conducted the UWSP Women’s Choir for the 2008-09 season, and appeared as guest conductor with the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra in December 2009.

He has also taught courses in Choral Literature, Choral Conducting, Music Education Methods, and History of American Popular Music at UWSP. He currently holds an appointment as associate lecturer in the UWSP Department of Theatre and Dance, teaching in the Musical Theatre program.  He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the International Federation for Choral Music and the College Music Society, and has served on the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association.

The Monteverdi Chorale is also available for private and organizational functions. Call 715-342-5636 or email [email protected], for more information.