BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:By Melissa Jerves\n \;\nMusic has the power to bring fami lies and communities together\, and nobody knows that better than counte r-tenor Joseph Schlesinger and his mother\, Downers Grove resident Flore nce Schlesinger.\nJoseph Schlesinger didn&rsquo\;t begin his musical car eer as a singer. He started playing the trumpet at age 10. &ldquo\;My mo ther threatened me that if I quit trumpet I would owe her the $50 she sp ent to buy my instrument\,&rdquo\; he says. &ldquo\;Luckily\, I enjoyed it more than the recorder.&rdquo\;\nBut Schlesinger won&rsquo\;t be play ing the trumpet in George Friedrich Handel&rsquo\;s Dettingen Te Deum wi th the Downers Grove Choral Society (DGCS) in its November 11 presentati on\, A Choral Thanksgiving: Te Deum\, at the First United Methodist Chur ch in Downers Grove. He&rsquo\;ll be singing the solo counter-tenor part \, instead. Keeping it in the family\, his mother Florence is a soprano in the chorus.\nFlorence grew up with music in her home and continued th e tradition with her children. &ldquo\;The appreciation of fine classica l music must be cultured\,&rdquo\; says Florence. All the Schlesinger ch ildren play instruments\, and Joe is not the only professional musician in the family. Daughter Eileen is a coloratura soprano who also has perf ormed solo parts with DGCS. Joe and Eileen have performed together in Ho uston and Amsterdam\, and Joe and his mother sang together at a recent f amily wedding at the Houston Cathedral. &ldquo\;Family gatherings always seem to gravitate to the piano with instruments added\,&rdquo\; says Fl orence. \; We even let [my husband] Dave join in - he has a great ba ss voice.&rdquo\;\nFlorence has sung with the Downers Grove Choral Socie ty since 1980 and directed choirs at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Darien for 15 years. She still serves as a cantor there. Though she and her husband spend their winters in Arizona\, Florence sings with DGCS wh enever she is in Downers Grove. &ldquo\;[I] have always been amazed at t he professional quality of the DGCS\,&rdquo\; she says. &ldquo\;I feel t hat we attract fine singers\, which has kept the society functioning. Ou r directors have been top musicians.&rdquo\;\nJoe was born in Spain and spent his early childhood in Europe\, where his father\, Dave Schlesinge r\, was a teacher and administrator in American schools overseas. After the family returned to Illinois in 1978\, Joe attended Benet Academy in Lisle. &ldquo\;Downers Grove represents a wonderful childhood of bike ri ding and playing outside. It was a great place to grow up.&rdquo\;\nJoe didn&rsquo\;t start singing until after his undergraduate studies in Fin ance and Asian Studies at Augustana College in Rock Island\, where he pl ayed principal trumpet in the symphony orchestra. &ldquo\;At Augustana t he orchestra and choir schedules conflicted. I couldn&rsquo\;t afford to lose my trumpet scholarship if I sang in the choir.&rdquo\; After finis hing his degree at Augustana\, he moved to Seattle. &ldquo\;I spent more time mountain biking and wind surfing than anything else more serious\, &rdquo\; admits Joe. But for two years he sang with a well-respected ama teur choir\, Seattle Pro Musica. &ldquo\;By then the musical bug had fin ally bitten!&rdquo\;\n&ldquo\;I returned to study music because I loved it. Singing is like any craft.  \;You hone your skills through exper ience. I decided I could pursue music as a career after a few years of s inging and testing my ability through auditions\, recitals and concerts. &rdquo\; Joe earned his Masters of Music in Voice at DePaul University i n Chicago in 1999 and sang in the apprentice programs of Glimmerglass Op era in New York\, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan.\nJoe&rsquo\;s performance with DGCS will not be the first time he sings under the dir ection of Artistic Director Dr. Amy Weller. While at DePaul\, Joe was We ller&rsquo\;s student. &ldquo\;Dr. Weller was a very inspiring teacher.& nbsp\;In our conducting class her enthusiasm was contagious. \;If I' d taken more than one class with her\, I might have ended up on the cond uctor's podium.&rdquo\;\nWeller has nothing but praise for Joe. &ldquo\; The beauty of his vocal instrument\, his incredible musicality\, and his exemplary work ethic all stood out. There was no question in my mind th at he was going to be able to have a musical career if he wanted one\,&r dquo\; says Weller. &ldquo\;Also\, I distinctly remember that his parent s were supportive of his singing.&rdquo\;\nWhen she came to DGCS as Arti stic Director in 2011\, Weller finally met Joe&rsquo\;s mother\, Florenc e. &ldquo\;Now I understand better the nature of that support. It's wond erful to witness first-hand the devotion to the arts and to music\, in p articular\, that such a family brings to the local community and to the world at large\,&rdquo\; Weller says.\nJoe&rsquo\;s career blossomed whe n he received Netherlands-America/Fulbright Fellowship to study Baroque Music at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. &ldquo\;Joseph's performin g experiences overseas have been remarkable\,&rdquo\; says Weller. He ha s sung on stages in Amsterdam\, The Hague and Brussels. Joe has performe d traditional repertoire for the counter-tenor\, including Baroque works by Bach\, Handel\, Purcell and others\, as well as four world premieres of modern operas in the Netherlands.\n&ldquo\;I thoroughly enjoy singin g the cantatas and Passions by J.S. Bach\,&rdquo\; Joe says. However\, & ldquo\;the contemporary music scene for the counter-tenor voice is quite exciting. I suppose modern composers&rsquo\; interest in using the coun ter-tenor voice is to add another color on their musical palette of comp osition.&rdquo\;\nWhat exactly is a counter-tenor? &ldquo\;A counter-ten or is an adult male who sings the alto part\,&rdquo\; explains Joe.  \;&ldquo\;The word derives from the word contra-tenore\, which literally means the part that goes against the tenor line. \;Its derivation o ccurred in the development of Gregorian chant many centuries before the advent of the oratorio or opera.&rdquo\;\n&ldquo\;In Gregorian chant the men would all sing in unison and that vocal line became known as the te nor line. \;Once harmonization began to occur in Gregorian chant\, t he line above the tenor was called the contra-tenore and was sung by men whose voices were higher than those singing the tenor line. \;This higher vocal line gradually evolved for men who sang in their falsetto.& rdquo\; As the oratorio and opera genres developed\, the counter-tenor p art was included.\nJoe&rsquo\;s opportunities to perform overseas may ha ve shaped him in a way that musicians who stay close to home do not expe rience. &ldquo\;European audiences\, German and Dutch\, understand Bach& rsquo\;s text and expect a performer to completely portray that text as any fluent speaker would\,&rdquo\; he explains.\nSo far\, Joe&rsquo\;s f avorite venues have been the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago&rsquo\;s Mille nnium Park\, and a chapel in the Netherlands that dates back to 900 A.D. But Joe finds value in every performance\, no matter the venue. &ldquo\ ;It's always a pleasure to share music with DGCS or any other ensemble d evoted to the vocal arts\,&rdquo\; says Joe. \;&ldquo\;Each new piec e is an exploration of the meaning of the text and its historical import ance.&rdquo\; He adds\, &ldquo\;Any opportunity to perform live is an op portunity to improve your artistry.&rdquo\;\nThough Joe now lives in Cle veland\, Ohio\, Chicago-area audiences will have the chance to enjoy the fruits of this experience. Dr. Weller says\, &ldquo\;[Joseph] brings pr ofound musical and textual understanding to his solo part in the Detting en \;Te Deum. \;He has performed the work before\, and he is ver y experienced in general with music of the Baroque era. \;The gorgeo us quality of his voice and the way that he uses his vocal instrument to sing sensitively and expressively will greatly enhance the performance that DGCS is able to offer. \;We are so lucky to have him! He truly brings with him what can rightfully be called "world class" to Downers G rove.&rdquo\;\nThe Downers Grove Choral Society presents A Choral Thanks giving: Te Deum\, featuring Joseph Schlesinger\, counter-tenor\; Klaus G eorge\, tenor\; and Keven Keys\, baritone. Sunday\, November 11\, 2012\, at the First United Methodist Church\, 1032 Maple Avenue\, Downers Grov e. URL:http://glenellyn.patch.com/events/soloists-to-perform-with-downers-gr ove-choral-society-ac5f2b84 SUMMARY:Soloists to Perform with Downers Grove Choral Society LOCATION:1032 Maple Ave\, Downers Grove\, IL 60515: 1032 Maple Ave\, Down ers Grove\, IL END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR