Town #47 Torrington

Saturday, May 16, 2009
Trinity Episcopal Church * Anthony's Restaurant

The Cal section of The Courant had a listing for Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus at Trinity Episcopal Church in Torrington and, later the same day, one for Jason Castonguay in Bristol. Jan investigated travel time from home and possible places to eat between performances, and we decided we could successfully attend both.

We arrived at Trinity Episcopal and were greeted by a beautiful 1890s Gothic style stone church. Pictures I took don’t do justice to the architecture and it would be better to visit their web site to view this beautiful building.



















Nicholas White is the director of Chorus Angelicus (a children’s and youth choir) and Gaudeamus (an adult chamber choir). Chorus Angelicus was founded in 1991 by Grammy-winner Paul Halley, also from this church. The ensemble is comprised of more than 70 boys and girls from towns throughout southern New England and they perform some 30 concerts annually. Gaudeamus, the adult choir, consists of professional and semi-professional free-lance singers, and was formed in 1992. Director Nicholas White “is a Grammy nominated composer and conductor, as well as a versatile organist, pianist and singer, with experience in many different styles of music.” He was born in England, came to the U.S. in 1989, and has an impressive music-related resume. We heard him perform on the organ in Winsted in March (see posting for March 29). His choirs are top-notch—precise, well-balanced, and versatile.

This program, “In Sure and Certain Hope,” featured a work by that name that White composed. Performed previously in New York and recorded at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in 2006, this was a Connecticut premiere. The combined choirs sang together, sometimes featuring one choir or the other, for the entire program and included “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” for Treble Voices, also composed by Nicholas White, and a number of other challenging and impressive selections. Guest organist was none other than the famous Douglas Major. His career includes being assistant organist at the Washington National Cathedral, as does Nick’s, and includes numerous tours, concerts, and recordings too numerous to mention here. Dr. Major is currently on an advisory board at one of our favorite music halls, Methuen Memorial Music Hall and lives in Salem, Massachusetts. Kate Jensik turned pages for Major, but in the second half of the program played the cello, accompanying the choirs and organ. Her biography also is impressive.

We bought a CD with Nicholas White’s “In Sure and Certain Hope.”

Our time being limited, we left for a bite to eat, which turned out to be a challenge. Jan had carefully chosen several restaurants and had identified her preferences, but the first two were closed. We wound up at Anthony’s Restaurant which had excellent Italian food. We both had veal—I had parmigiano and Jan had franchese.