Dec 02, 2019 The German vocal ensemble Calmus will present “Christmas A-Cappella,” a performance of traditional Christmas carols in several languages, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

This is the fourth concert in the Friends of Good Music 2019-2020 performance season.

One of the most successful vocal groups in Germany, Calmus is hailed by critics in the international press for its “perfect blend of sound, precision, lightness and wit,” and for “forging a refined sound, which few groups achieve.” Others cite their “wide range of sound, the joy in performing that the musicians convey on the concert platform, and their varied and imaginative programs.”

The ensemble consists of Anja Poeche, soprano; Stefan Kahle, counter-tenor; Tobias Poeche, tenor; Ludwig Boehme, baritone; and Manuel Helmeke, bass.

These five Leipzig musicians have won a string of international prizes and competitions, including the ECHO Klassik and Supersonic Award. Their reach is constantly expanding, as they’ve traveled throughout Europe as well as North and South America. In 2010, the quintet made its debut at Carnegie Hall, New York, followed by their first appearance in the Friends of Good Music series at St. Bonaventure.

“We are very excited about their return to the Quick Center for a performance of traditional Christmas music,” said Ludwig Brunner, the center’s executive director. “It’s a great way to usher in the holiday season.”

With more than 10 recordings to its credit, Calmus received Germany’s 2009 Echo Klassik Award for “Liedgut,” a disc of treasured German folk songs. The group’s latest CD, “Hausmusik,” is a collection of songs by Robert and Clara Schuman and J.S. Bach. 

“Christmas Carols,” the group’s first CD of music for the holidays, has been received enthusiastically and was praised by Classics Today magazine as “... perfectly balanced ensemble singing, every note, every chord given exacting importance, delivered in the most vocally attractive, musically expressive style.”

To complement the performance, the Quick Center is showing an exhibition of the immortal song “Silent Night” in the Front Gallery, as well as the exhibition “Tidings of Joy,” Nativity scenes from several continents, in the Winifred Shortell Kenney Gallery on the second floor. 

Single tickets for this performance are $20 at full price, $16 for senior citizens and St. Bonaventure employees, and $5 for students. For tickets and information, call The Quick Center at (716) 375-2494.

For each Friends of Good Music performance, The Quick Center will open its galleries one hour before the performance and keep them open throughout the intermission.

Regular gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Museum admission is free and open to the public year round. For more information, visit www.sbu.edu/quickcenter.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2019, St. Bonaventure was named the #1 regional university value in New York and #2 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.