Penn’s Viva Voce choir to perform on Sunny 101.5 on Monday, Dec. 7

Viva Voce, Penn High School’s auditioned advance chorale ensemble that is dedicated to performing the music of living composers, will showcase its talents at 8:40 a.m. on Sunny 101.5 FM on Monday, Dec. 7.

Andrew Nemeth, a music instructor in Penn High School’s Fine Arts Academy, came up with the idea for Viva Voce at Penn.

“There was no choir that existed for students who wanted a choir that studied and performed difficult concert music in a small choir setting,” Nemeth said.

Penn’s Viva Voce performed a concert this Fall that included works such as “Salmo 150” (Ernani Aguiar), “If Music Be the Food of Love” (Henry Purcell) and “Alleluia” (Ralph Manuel).

Currently, 27 students are involved with Viva Voce at Penn.

Nemeth said that he loves the way Viva Voce has made an impact on learning at Penn.

“I love the dedication and passion of my students,” Nemeth said. “Viva Voce is comprised of singers that want to go beyond what is sung in our normal choir classes; they have a desire to learn more and at a deeper level. I appreciate this group of students because they have learned an incredible amount of music, largely music at the collegiate level, and they are enjoying the process of making music together. 

“Viva Voce enhances student learning because it gives the students (and audience/community) exposure to high-quality vocal music not typically found in the high school setting,” Nemeth continued. “Students get a real-world look at what a choir concert typically looks like at the collegiate and professional levels. It gives the students a goal for which to achieve in rehearsal and performance.”

Viva Voce is a special feature that makes Penn’s Fine Arts Academy stand out.

“Viva Voce is truly unique,” Nemeth said. “Viva Voce specializes in the music of living composers, primarily to remind ourselves and our audience that choral music is alive and thriving. The name "Viva Voce" is Latin, meaning "Living Voices." Even when we program music from composers who are no longer living, we bring back to life, in a sense, the composer and the message set to music. It's truly a beautiful experience.

“Another way that Viva voce stands out is by commissioning music from composers, a rather unusual (though exciting) process for a high school choir,” Nemeth said. “The commissioning of new music is important because it ties the entire meaning of Viva Voce together – music is a living, breathing art form, and how better to prove this than by being trusted enough to perform the world-premiere of music written by composers specifically for our group, Viva Voce? By commission new music written for our group, we strengthen the larger choral community adding yet another quality piece to the already-rich library of choral music available world-wide.”

Penn’s next choir concert is the Sounds of the Season, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 10 (7:30 p.m.), Friday, Dec. 11 (7:30 p.m.), and Sunday, Dec. 13 (3 p.m.). Tickets are $6 a person for the concert, and are available during all lunch hours at Penn this week, online at www.ticketracker.com, or one hour before each show at the ticket office.

The next Viva Voce concert is on Tuesday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m., and it will be a collaboration between Viva Voce and the Penn Jazz Band. Will Todd's “Mass in Blue”, a unique setting of the Latin Mass text set in a jazz style, is scheduled to be performed. Tickets for this event will be $6 in advance, or $8 at the door. All concerts will be held in Penn High School’s Center for the Performing Arts.