The Christmas music of award-winning composer/arranger Daniel Powers. Featuring eleven traditional and four original songs, performed by mezzo-soprano Sarah Stone and pianist Martha Krasnican.

15 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Traditional, CLASSICAL: Contemporary



Details:
In 1993, the newly formed Terre Haute Children's Choir was invited to perform at the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra's annual Christmas concert. Finding that quality arrangements for children's choir and orchestra were in short supply, they asked Daniel Powers, a Terre Haute resident and award-winning composer, to arrange a number of Christmas songs for them. Over the following several years, Powers continued to add new arrangements for children's choir, as well as mixed choir and solo voice, with orchestra. His arrangements have received hundreds of performances across the world, and have been recorded by diverse groups including the Kiev Philharmonic, Cincinnati Boy Choir, Michigan State University Children's Choir, and solo artists.

This album collects eleven of Powers' arrangements of traditional Christmas songs for solo voice and piano, together with four new songs, two of which were written especially for this recording.

American/British mezzo-soprano Sarah Stone followed her calling in the world of classical singing after a successful career as a professional soccer player and sports commentator for Brazilian television. She began musical studies in São Paulo, Brazil, where she studied piano with international concert pianist Yara Amaral. After beginning her Bachelors of Music as a pianist she was converted to singing after being involved in a performance of Mendelssohnâs Elijah. A recent graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a Masters of Music in Voice Performance, she studied with Patricia Wise and Patricia Stiles. Ms. Stone was a fellow with the Boston Symphony Orchestraâs Tanglewood Music Center in 2005.

Martha Krasnican is the director of the accompanying program at Indiana State University and principal keyboardist with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra. She graduated with distinction from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Brooks Smith, Barry Snyder, and Frank Glazer. She has worked with major performers across North America and Europe, including engagements with the Western Horn Symposium and several World Saxophone Congresses. She has performed as soloist in the Piano Concerto by Vincent Persichetti under the direction of the composer. She has also performed as a soloist with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, premiering two piano concertos written for her by her husband, Daniel Powers.