Calmus Ensemble Leipzig coming for acapella holiday concert

Calmus Ensemble Leipzig will perform “Christmas A Cappella,” joined by Delaware Valley High School Chamber Choir, under the direction of Richard Horst, at 1:30 p.m. on December 11, at Milford Theater, 114 E Catharine St, Milford.

Who Is Calmus?

The award-winning Calmus Ensemble, founded by students in 1999, offers a repertoire spanning eight centuries. Influenced by the tradition of the old masters of Leipzig, this quintet is equally comfortable with the vocal music of the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic periods as well as folk, jazz, and pop songs.

Calmus, whose 26 albums include two compilations of Christmas music, is ending its U.S. tour in Milford after performing in venues in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and New York. The first half of the two-part program will feature “Christmas Then and Now” and the second half will feature “Carols from All Over the World.”

Additionally, Calmus has commissioned and premiered numerous compositions, and they love collaborating with other musicians. They are dedicated to coaching young talent and are delighted to work with the DVHS Chamber Choir. Richard Horst, the DVHS choir director said that “being able to perform on a program with an ensemble of the caliber of Calmus will open our students to what it is like to experience musical performance at such a high level.”

For Yosif Feigelson, founder and artistic director of Kindred Spirits Arts Programs (KSAP), bringing Calmus to Milford has been a long-time dream.

“I am thrilled that Calmus will bring its enchanting Christmas repertoire to Milford,” he said. “An agent recommended them years ago and they were booked for a concert here in December, 2013. A heavy snowstorm prevented them from travelling. Though they did perform an entirely different concert the following April, I have been listening to their superb recordings of holiday-related music, hoping I could bring them back. We are all in for a treat.”