DuPage Chorale Concert Celebrates 41-Year Legacy of Dir. Lee Kesselman

DuPage Chorale, under the direction of Lee R. Kesselman joins the DuPage Chorale Orchestra to perform “Remember US: Forgotten Voices of America” and the Mozart Requiem, in a special concert at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1. This concert will be Kesselman’s final Chorale Concert as he prepares to step down after 41 years as Director of Choral Activities at College of DuPage (COD).

Says Kesselman. “I have been honored to have the opportunity to work with the Chorale for nearly three-quarters of its life, so this final concert will be bittersweet. I am very excited about the music and artists featured in the program. Nevertheless, this concert represents the completion of a long and enjoyable chapter in my musical career.” Kesselman will also be stepping down from his faculty position as well as those as Director of Choral Activities at College of DuPage at the end of May this year.

“Remember US: Forgotten Voices of America” features two works for chorus and orchestra.

• Kesselman’s “Remember Us,” (World Premiere), based on words from the unheard voices of our American past and present
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s final work, “Requiem Mass” in D-Minor: K. 626

Kesselman has been the Director of Choral Activities at COD since 1981. Conductor, pianist, teacher and award-winning composer, Kesselman directs the DuPage Chorale, Chamber Singers and Concert Choir. He currently serves as Director of Choral Activities at College of DuPage and Music Program Chair. In demand as a guest conductor and clinician, Kesselman has conducted opera and musical theater throughout his career. Kesselman is Founding Curator of the COD’s Music Fridays @ Noon series and Past-President of the Illinois Choral Directors Association. Chicago a cappella awarded Kesselman its Tribute Award in 2018. He founded and conducted the New Classic Singers for over 30 years. Kesselman has been honored as a composer with prizes in the Melodious Accord (New York) Composition Search, Chautauqua Chamber Singers Composition Contest, the Chautauqua Children’s Chorale Composition Contest and the Illinois Choral Directors’ Association Contest. He is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and recipient of more than 20 ASCAP awards.

Guest vocal artists showcased in the May 1 concert are as follows:

• Lindsay Kesselman (Soprano/Narrator), a Grammy-nominated soprano, passionately advocates for contemporary music. Recent and upcoming highlights include the premiere of “Energy in All Directions” by Kenneth Frazelle with Sandbox Percussion at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the role of Anna in Kurt Weill’s “The Seven Deadly Sins” with the Charlotte Symphony, “Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space” with Voices of Ascension and ongoing performances of two works written for her by John Mackey with orchestras and wind symphonies across the country.
• David Govertsen (Bass – Baritone), a native Chicagoan, has been active as a professional singer for nearly 20 years. He has appeared as a soloist with numerous local and regional opera companies, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theater and the Haymarket Opera Company. He also is a member of vocal chamber quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble. Govertsen made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as the Herald in “Otello” with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Govertsen is currently on faculty at North Park University, Valparaiso University, Lewis University and College of DuPage.
• Denise Gamez (Alto) has appeared as soloist with the Indianapolis, San Francisco Opera, Toledo, South Dakota, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Terre Haute, and Wheaton College symphony orchestras, and twice performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica most recently in Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis.” Additional performance credits include the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera, where she received the Gropper Memorial Award; performing the roles of Dame Quickly in Verdi’s “Falstaff” and Fidalma in Cimarosa’s “The Secret Marriage” and featured soloist in the premiere of Daniel Kellogg’s “Children of God, commissioned by the Soli Deo Gloria Music Foundation.
• Ace Gangoso (Tenor) has performed with Fourth Coast Ensemble, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus and Chicago a cappella. He is the Director of Music Ministry at St. Nicholas Parish in Evanston, pianist for the Chicago Black Catholics Choir and a supplementary staff musician at St. Michael in Old Town.

The DuPage Chorale, a large community chorus, performs choral concerts, performs in conjunction with the DuPage Chorale Orchestra, a professional orchestra. Repertoire includes standard choral works by Bach, Handel, Mozart and Brahms, as well as modern masterpieces by Orff, Poulenc, Stravinsky and others. Members come from all of Chicago’s western suburban locations. The Chorale is a course in the COD Music Department and includes college students and community members with a multigenerational profile. Rehearsals are on Mondays from 7-9:50 pm on the College of DuPage campus.

Tickets for “Remember US: Forgotten Voices of America” are $17 (adult), $15 (senior) and $7 (student with valid ID). For tickets or more information, visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. Box Office is open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to performance.