Jul
20
On May 20th, 2010, choirs from Lebanon and U.S. joined together to perform Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York under the direction of Conductor Joanna Medawar Nachef. This performance went very well and the audience was very impressed by the talent and charisma of the choirs. It has fostered the historic joining of choristers from the U.S. and Lebanon, a first on the stage of the legendary Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall.
The choruses from Lebanon are American University Choir of Beirut; The Antonine University Choir, Hadath-Baabda; and Notre Dame University-Louaize Choir. The other choirs performing the Mozart work are California Academy of Math & Science Choir, Carson, CA; El Camino College Chorale, El Camino College Concert Choir, Los Cancioneros Master Chorale, and Voce Angelicus, from Torrance, CA, all directed by Dr. Nachef.
Dr. Nachef, the first, and to date only, female conductor from the Middle East, made her second conducting appearance at Carnegie Hall. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, she moved to Los Angeles in 1977. She is the Director of Choral Activities at El Camino College. She earned a B.M. in piano performance from California State University, Dominguez Hills; and a Master of Music degree in choral music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, both from the University of Southern California.
This performance could not have happened without the help of Los Angeles Beirut Sister Cities, who was a major sponsor. As a result, Dr. Nachef, who is currently serving as Vice President on the Board for Los Angeles Beirut Sister Cities, was given the opportunity to conduct at Carnegie Hall again.
Congratulations to all the choirs for a job well done and to Dr. Nachef for bringing together the American and Lebanese choirs under the language of music at Carnegie Hall. We truly appreciate everyone’s hard work and dedication and will be expecting more great things in the future!
