Under the direction of RCS Music Director, Dr. Graham Bier, and Jennifer Nolan Michalik, Alvernia University Choral Director. Reading Choral Society (RCS) and Alvernia University Choir will join for a performance of Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla, Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 7pm at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church, 925 Centre Ave Reading, PA 19601.
Join us for an evening of rhythm and music from Latin America, featuring Federico Diaz & his Band with Tenor soloist Bryan Umberto Hoyos. Federico and his Band are coming down from NYC to accompany the choirs as they present this joyful dance inspired music. A performance will be given by the Alvernia University Dance Company & JWK Dance Lab. Our guest tenor soloist is Bryan Umberto Hoyos.
Tickets may be ordered through their websites. www.readingchoral.org Tickets: $15 in advance / $20 at door; Students $10.
Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Federico Díaz is a versatile musician with a multi-faceted career as a performing artist, arranger and composer in the classical and Argentinian music worlds. His performances have taken him to festivals and concert halls across the North America, Latin America and Europe. His passion for chamber music has lead him to collaborate with musicians such as Philippe Quint, Lionel Cottet, Daniel Binelli, Juan Falú, Paquito D’Rivera, and Bruno Cavallaro. As an arranger, he has been working with singer Juana Luna in a variety of projects including a recent collaboration with the NY Philharmonic. As a sought-after studio musician, he has recorded in a wide variety of projects collaborating with artists such as Nora Buschmann, Sol Liebeskind, Pablo Lanouguere, Emilio Teubal, Rodrigo Aranjuelo, Florencia Iriondo, Jacinta Clusellas, Solange Merdinian and Pablo Woiz.
An alumnus of Westminster Choir College, Bryan is pursuing a career as a soloist while simultaneously enjoying his passion for choral singing. Most recently, he was a featured soloist in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance of Gabriella Lena Frank’s work Pachamama Meets an Ode in June of 2022. As a chorister, Bryan has performed across the country and around the world with various ensembles including The National Chorale, The Philadelphia Symphonic Choir, The Princeton Singers, and the Polyphonia Society in Philadelphia. When he’s not performing, Bryan also enjoys a career as a voice over artist and actor – having his voice featured in radio ads around the country and in Europe; and most recently, appearing in M Night Shyamalan’s feature film A Knock at the Cabin.
Founded in 1875, the Reading Choral Society has a long and proud tradition of presenting vocal music, particularly symphonic choir masterworks, but also exploring and interpreting other genres. Under the energetic and nurturing leadership of Dr. Bier, our twelfth Music Director, the organization seeks to continue to pursue its mission to perform, foster, and advance choral music with a balance between honoring our heritage and looking to the future. Its educational programs now encompass regular performances with invited local high school and college choirs. While continuing the tradition of programming master choral works, the Society has expanded its repertory to include the more frequent performance and commissioning of new music and the exploration of more “popular” literature, like folksongs, spirituals, and musical theater.
The Reading Choral Society is comprised now, as it has always been, of dedicated semi-professional singers from all walks of life with no minimum or maximum age. Determined to present the highest caliber musical performances possible, the Society rehearses weekly in a professional atmosphere, fulfilling the lives of its members by immersing them in great music, and through RCS performances enriching and enlivening the musical life of the greater Reading community.
Misa Criolla
- Directed by Dr. Graham Bier RCS Music Director & Jennifer Nolan Michalik, Alvernia University Choral Director
- Featuring: Federico Diaz and his Band
- Soloist: Bryan Umberto Hoyos, tenor
- Performance by Alvernia University Dance Company & JWK Dance Lab
