Greenwich Choral Society
The Marvelous and Mystical Composer/Performers
Rob Mathes
Composer
Rob Mathes is an Emmy®-winning, Tony® and Grammy®-nominated arranger/composer and music producer/director. He has produced recordings by Sting, Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, Bettye LaVette, Vanessa Williams, the band Panic at The Disco, among others.
He won the Emmy® for his work on the Kennedy Center Honors, a program he musically directed for over a decade. He directed Obama’s Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial and PBS’s Great Performances 40th Anniversary Special. He orchestrated the last three Bruce Springsteen records along with musically directed and arranged his Western Stars film.
Mathes has arranged and conducted music for artists such as Elton John, Lou Reed, Beyoncé, Beck, James Taylor, Jay Z, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, and Tony Bennett along with classical artists like Yo Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, and Renée Fleming.
He wrote the soundtrack for two HBO documentaries, one about Thurgood Marshall starring Lawrence Fishburne and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Herblock, both scores nominated for Emmys®. He has written music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops and the Royal Philharmonic. He musically directed and orchestrated Sting’s Broadway show The Last Ship and soon begins work on a show for Elvis Costello that he will orchestrate and musically direct.
He recently orchestrated and conducted the song score for the hit film The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman and wrote all of the arrangements for last year’s #1 record Pray for The Wicked by Panic at The Disco (including the hit “High Hopes”).
He has released a number of pop records under his own name, most notably Evening Train and Orchestral Songs, recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London.
The Vassar College Choir
The Vassar College Choir rehearses - And I Saw - by Tim Takach
Founded in 1971, the Vassar College Choir is a distinguished auditioned ensemble of approximately 50 singers. Its wide-ranging repertoire encompasses a cappella and accompanied works from the Renaissance to the 21st century, as well as major choral-orchestral masterpieces including Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Requiems by Mozart, Brahms, and Duruflé. Recently, the Choir performed Voices of Light by Richard Einhorn with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. The choir is also committed to contemporary music, having premiered works by composers such as Tarik O’Regan, Leonard Enns, and Caroline Shaw, with an upcoming commission by Colin Britt.
The ensemble has toured extensively in the United States and abroad, with performances in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, England, France, Cuba, Japan, and Uganda. It has been featured at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall under the baton of John Rutter, and Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater.
The Choir presents concerts each semester and collaborates with other choral and orchestral ensembles.
Christine Howlett, conductor.