Brubeck! A Celebration, on stage at Rice University's Stude Concert Hall this weekend, is much more than the concert season finale for the Grammy Award-winning Houston Chamber Choir. It's the inaugural performance of The Voice of Brubeck, featuring Chris and Dan Brubeck and other special guests as they pay tribute to the legendary jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck.

Brubeck last performed with the choir in 2006. On June 1, his sons Chris and Dan will be on stage with the choir, under the direction of Houston Chamber Choir director Robert Simpson.

"I was honored to be asked to participate in this concert that highlights my father’s wonderful choral writing," Chris Brubeck tells CultureMap. "He had performed with Robert Simpson and the Houston Chamber Choir some years ago, so they knew that my father was a powerful voice for choral composition. An excellent chorus is the important central factor in presenting my father’s very sincere choral works, and I feel fortunate that we have one of the country’s best choirs excited about performing these challenging and inspiring arrangements. I am grateful that the Houston Chamber Choir with Robert Simpson is so invested in this performance."

The concert showcases not only the vocal and musical power of the Houston Chamber Choir, but also the depth of Brubeck's body of work. Audiences who know Brubeck only for his jazz pieces like the legendary Take Five may be in for a surprise.

"He was a world-renowned jazz legend but even when he was alive, it was a bit frustrating that there wasn’t a wider knowledge of his achievements in the classical, choral, and orchestral worlds. Don’t get me wrong — as a family we played with the London Symphony every five years to celebrate Dave’s music. Many people do not remember that Dave and Leonard Bernstein were the pioneers of bringing jazz groups onto the stage with serious symphony orchestras," Chris says.

"When Dave survived WWII, he swore he would write a great piece that reflected the words and philosophy of Jesus. My father had extremely strong willpower and through the process of writing his first major oratorio, The Light in the Wilderness, he acquired the compositional skills to become a serious voice in the classical world. One of the pieces on this concert is Forty Days, from that oratorio."

The concert also includes an excerpt from Brubeck's Truth is Fallen, inspired by the events of the Civil Rights Movement and his concerns for society.

“It’s called ‘Is truth dead? Amen.’" Chris says. “This is straight from the bible and my dad was prescient to ask this question in the early '70s, fearing where our society was heading.”

A true collaborative project, Brubeck! A Celebration was spearheaded by Rice University professor of music composition Arthur Gottschalk, and brings together not only the choir and Brubeck’s sons, but also Houston musicians Paul English and Horace Alexander Young.

“The Houston Chamber Choir is ending our season with a bang with this celebration of Dave Brubeck,” Simpson says. “It has been a thrill to work with Art, Horace, and Paul on this unique collaborative project. We deeply appreciate the community support surrounding this multi-pronged initiative to educate and enlighten more people about Dave Brubeck’s legacy.”

The Voice of Brubeck is a multi-year collaboration that will result in fresh performances of Dave Brubeck’s serious symphonic, chamber, and sacred vocal works, the studio recording of many of Brubeck’s compositions that were never before recorded, and a series of performances and educational opportunities in the Greater Houston area. This follows the recent centennial celebration of Brubeck’s life, with a goal of showcasing the artist’s classical explorations and introducing newer generations to his timeless works.

Held this Saturday, June 1 at 7:30, tickets for Brubeck! A Celebration range from $10 for students to $45 for general admission. They are available online from the Houston Chamber Choir's website.

  

Courtesy of the Houston Chamber Choir

The Houston Chamber Choir closes its season with a celebration of Dave Brubeck's choral compositions.