Grex Musicus
|
Grex Musicus is a chamber choir formed in 1991 in Helsinki and conducted from the very beginning by Marjukka Riihimäki. It draws on the full repertoire for mixed choir, from modern music via items of the Romantic and National Romantic eras to folk songs and popular music. Most of its members are young adult students, and nearly half of them are studying to be professional musicians. Grex Musicus Chamber Choir came third in the international Harald Andersén Chamber Choir Competition in September 2006. The previous year it had been the second Finnish choir in the history of the Tampere Chorus Review to win the rare Grand Prix with three gold stamps. In 2004 Grex Musicus came second in the International Choral Festival at Cork in Ireland. Grex Musicus regularly contributes to productions with prestigious partners:Paul McCartney's Standing Stone with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sibelius Academy production of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito and Händel's Messiah, and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana (2005) and Erkki Melartin's Aino (2000) in Espoo and Ilkka Kuusisto's Come Back, Gabriel at the Finnish National Opera in 1998-1999. Grex Musicus has also absorbed new ideas on its several tours abroad, such as to the United Stated, South Africa, Cuba, Ireland, Brazil, Argentina and Germany. The choir has released four albums: Grex Musicus in 1996, The Making of the Drum in 1999, Blue Magic 2007 and The Light of Christmas (2010).  |