Following its successful debut in Detroit last year, the Sistine Chapel Choir from Rome, commonly recognized as “the Pope’s Choir,” will be returning on Wednesday, July 11 to the Detroit Opera House. The visit to Detroit is presented by Corporate Travel Service Inc. in Dearborn Heights.
The concert is part of a national tour in July, including appearances in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, and St. Louis. The U.S. visit is presented in partnership with Concerts West/AEG Presents, Brokaw Co., and TEI.
The angelic voices of the Sistine Chapel Choir have garnered critical acclaim and recognition as they travel and perform around the globe. Through its liturgical music, the Choir communicates a message of peace and closeness among people, even if they are of other faiths or other religious confessions.
“The Sistine Chapel Choir is delighted and honored to embark on our historic first U.S. national tour,” says Maestro Msgr. Massimo Palombella, who leads the Sistine Chapel Choir. “We are excited to experience the many great cities we will visit and look forward to sharing our cutting-edge research and study of Renaissance music, directly from the archives of the Sistine Chapel, preserved in the Vatican Library, to audiences across America.”
Maestro Palombella is the only person to have full access to the Vatican’s archives which date back to the 6th century. The historic collection of music is woven throughout their papal performances and concerts around the world. He was responsible for bringing back a revival of Renaissance singing to the Choir, for which the Sistine Chapel Choir was awarded the prestigious ECHO KLASSIK Award for classical music in 2016.
Serving as the Pope’s personal choir, today, the world-renowned chorus is comprised of a highly accomplished group of 20 professional singers chosen from all around the world. The treble section, known as the Pueri Cantores, is made up of 35 boys aged between 9 and 13, who are selected through rigorous auditions.
The Schola Puerorum is an exclusive school just for the Pueri Cantores, where the usual school curriculum is accompanied with an intense musical education so that the boys can pursue their passion for music and develop their talent professionally.
With a 1,500-year history, the Sistine Chapel Choir is the oldest and most respected active choir in the world. Officially known as the Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina, part of the Choir’s significance is due to its endurance through several centuries, including the Renaissance, which was a fundamental period for the Choir as it found its “theatre” in the Sistine Chapel.
Along with the Chapel’s testament to historical beauty with all its frescoes, the Sistine Chapel provides distinctive acoustics that have influenced the Choir’s renowned musical repertoire, one that strikes a perfect balance between tradition and originality. In addition to the Sistine Chapel Choir’s cultural legacy, it plays an active part during the papal celebrations in St Peter’s Basilica and in the Sistine Chapel itself.
Beyond Detroit, the Pope’s Choir is scheduled to perform on July 3 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, July 7 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, July 9 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, July 13 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, July 17 at the Wang Theatre in Boston, July 21 at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago, and July 23 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Ticket information and public on sale date will be announced soon.
For additional tour information, visit SistineChapelChoirTour.com. Choir images and announcement video.
