Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Anthony Blake Clark, conductor
Sarah Berger, Soprano Soloist
Ross Tamaccio, Baritone Soloist
Leo Wanenchak, piano
Stephen Harouff, piano
Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 4pm
Ticket: $60

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society performs one of Johannes Brahms’s most beloved choral works, masterpiece Ein deutsches Requiem. Under the baton of Maestro Anthony Blake Clark, the 35-member chorus along with guest soloists, take you on a musical journey that is majestic, uplifting, and transformative—and this all happens in a country barn!

Baltimore Choral Arts Society...taking the roof right off Symphony Hall.
The Reviews Hub
The Dallas Symphony Chorus, prepared by guest director Anthony Blake Clark, sang thrillingly.
Dallas Morning News

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society is one of Maryland's premier cultural institutions. The Symphonic Chorus, Chorus, and Chamber Singers perform throughout the mid-Atlantic region, as well as in Washington, D.C., New York, and in Europe, reaching more than 70,000 people each year and is an integral part of the fabric of Baltimore’s performing arts scene.

For 29 years, WMAR Television, the ABC network affiliate in Maryland, featured Choral Arts in an hour-long special, Christmas with Choral Arts, which won an Emmy Award in 2006. The ensemble has been featured frequently on The First Art (Public Radio International), Performance Today (National Public Radio) and VOX (XM Radio). In Europe, Choral Arts was featured in a program devoted to the music of Handel broadcast on Radio Suisse Romande. 

Acclaimed artists collaborating with Choral Arts have included Sweet Honey in the Rock, Chanticleer, Dave Brubeck, the King’s Singers, Anonymous 4, Peter Schickele, Kathy Mattea, and others. Baltimore Choral Arts’ innovative programs often feature both choral and orchestral music, stage, and theater works.

Anthony Blake Clark

Music Director Anthony Blake Clark, embarking on his fifth season as conductor and composer, enjoys a reputation as one of the freshest young voices in classical music.

Maestro Clark is at home in front of orchestras and choirs alike and has worked with professional and amateur ensembles in the USA and Europe and comes from the tutelage of world-renowned teachers such as Simon Halsey and Marin Alsop. He has consistently received rave reviews, both for work on the podium in his subscription concerts and his preparation of choruses for performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Preparatory Orchestra. Winner of the 2019-2020 American Prize in Choral Conducting, Clark’s leadership of Baltimore Choral Arts has also been acknowledged with another nomination for the American Prize for Best Choral Performance, as well as the reception of the prestigious 2020 Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award. Recently, he led the ensemble on an enthusiastically received tour of the United Kingdom, culminating in a collaboration on Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. His leadership of BCAS during the global Covid-19 pandemic has been noted among his peers due to innovative digital concerts and a sizeable output of online interactive content.

Sarah Berger

Soprano Sarah Berger has performed solo and chamber repertoire ranging from Heinrich Schütz to John Adams with ensembles including Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Thomas Circle Singers, Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Bach Consort, Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, Hood College Choir, the Bach Sinfonia, the Baltimore Masterworks Chorale, the Orchestra of the 17th Century, and the chamber ensembles S’Amusant, Stylus Luxurians, and the Ceciliana Quartet.

Ms. Berger is a Vocal Fellow with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, performing solo repertoire in recent seasons ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Felix Mendelssohn to Craig Hella Johnson. Other recent solo appearances have included a recital at Charlestown’s Our Lady of the Angels concert series in Baltimore; Handel’s Messiah with the Handel Choir of Baltimore; Bach's Cantata 51 with trumpeter Andrew Balio as part of Christ Lutheran Church’s Hafenmusik concert series; and, with the Thomas Circle Singers, John Rutter’s Requiem, Rick Sowash's The Harvest of a Quiet Eye, and James Whitbourn’s Annelies. Collaborations have also included Afro House Productions and the Baltimore Rock Opera Society. She is the soprano soloist at Baltimore’s Christ Lutheran Church, Inner Harbor.

Ms. Berger received a Bachelor of Arts in musicology and English literature from Oberlin College, a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory, and most recently a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing and publishing arts from the University of Baltimore.

Ross Tamaccio

Since moving to Baltimore in 2016 from his hometown in Herndon, Virginia, Ross Tamaccio has enjoyed an emerging career as a solo and ensemble singer in the Maryland/DC area and throughout North America. He is a well-known soloist with Washington Bach Consort, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Central Maryland Chorale, Bach in Baltimore, and Maryland Choral Society. As a sought-after ensemble singer, Ross performs with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, Conspirare, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble, Bach Akademie Charlotte, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Washington National Cathedral Choir, Baltimore Concert Opera, and has performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (UK), Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society, and Tafelmusik Baroque Chorus and Orchestra. He can be found on social media @rktamaccio or at rosstamaccio.com

Leo Wanenchak

Leo Wanenchak, associate conductor, is an accomplished conductor, pianist, organist, vocalist, educator, composer and clinician. He has been with the Choral Arts Society since 2000. Leo has prepared the Chorus for appearances with the Baltimore Symphony under conductors Marin Alsop, Jack Everly, John Storgårds, and Yuri Temirkanov.  Mr. Wanenchak is the Director of the “Larks,” a women’s vocal ensemble, community service project of the Junior League of Baltimore. He developed and is musical director of the “ParkinSonics” choral ensemble for the Maryland Association for Parkinsons Support in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine. He has served as Director of the Children’s Chorus of Maryland, The Maryland Camerata at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and on the faculty of the Peabody Preparatory Department as Director of Arts for Talented Youth. Formerly the Academic Dean and Director of The Walden School’s Choral Program, with the founding generation of the Walden School Leo founded Avivo.com, Creative, Comprehensive & Customized Education for Musicians. Throughout the United States Leo’s appearances include performances at Carnegie Hall, Riverside Church and Grace Cathedral. Performances abroad have brought him to France, Greece, The Netherlands and Rumania. He sustains a large private teaching studio in Bolton Hill.