Houston Chamber Choir presents A Time to Draw Closer

On May 9, the Grammy® Award-winning Houston Chamber Choir, led by Founder and Artistic Director Robert Simpson, presents A Time to Draw Closer, the season finale of the 2020-2021 virtual season, featuring the world premiere of a work by noted Houston composer Mark Buller.

The Mother’s Day concert presents Buller’s "The Passion of St. Cecilia," specially commissioned by the Houston Chamber Choir to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The three-movement work, written by one of Houston's brightest young composers, relates the legend of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music and musicians. The librettist is the noted writer Charles Anthony Silvestri, who has previously collaborated with Buller, along with Eric Whitacre, a highly respected American composer of choral music. The acclaimed chamber music ensemble, Apollo Chamber Players, will join the Choir for this performance.

Additionally, A Time to Draw Closer will include a new recording and video production of The Road Home by Stephen Paulus, a past favorite performance video, and a behind-the-scenes conversation about the creation and premiere of “The Passion of St. Cecilia” with the composer, librettist and the artistic directors of the Houston Chamber Choir and Apollo Chamber Players. 

The Houston Chamber Choir Digital Stage kicked off with A Time to Give Thanks and includes five customized concert videos created to remind audiences that even in difficult times like these, beauty and joy can be found throughout the changing seasons of our lives. The overarching theme of the entire virtual season was To Everything a Season.