Let Freedom Sing

The folks at Monmouth Civic Chorus are an ambitious bunch…. The group's mission fuses a tightly focused art music aesthetic with practical marketing concerns, adding large-scale works, world premieres and unknown manuscripts to a mix of pop favorites and catchy program themes… The choir's March 18 offering at Red Bank's Count Basie Theatre is likewise a smash-up of the clever and the courageous … Artistic director and conductor Mark Shapiro deserves applause for the planning and execution of such daring, imaginative programs.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press and Home News Tribune

Jorge MartÍn: Stronger Than Darkness (world premiere)
Beethoven: Ode to Joy
Randall Thompson: The Testament of Freedom, March 2007

Four Trumpets and a Chorus

With 100 active members and over 50 years of history, Monmouth Civic Chorus remains a treasure of local life.… During rehearsal for last spring’s MCC program “Sounds Like Shakespeare,” Shapiro challenged the poised chorus – shouting the phrases with an instinctive, almost primitive voice that rose practically to a roar. The ethereal, angelic voices of the chorus rang softly in unison; high, high above Shapiro’s occasionally fervent, visceral sounds – leaving behind a divine, resonant beauty…. For those among us who love singing, but who would never think of singing anywhere other than alone in the car or shower, Dr. Shapiro’s prescription may be the ideal way to release the music that resonates inside each and every one of us. If you’ve got a song in your heart, MCC wants to hear your voice.
-- Michael P. Murray, Red Bank Red Hot

November 2006

4 Pianos and a Wedding

There was also the earthy punch, the sweep and sparkle of detail that every Stravinsky fan yearns for. Les Noces has a presence, a weirdly spiritual and dancing sense of humor that embraces all the tears and vain foibles of human bonding. Performed correctly, as it was Saturday, it’s like an injection of marvelous and coarse humanity straight into the vein.… Shapiro and his ensemble have set the bar quite high with this ambitious achievement. Let’s hope others follow their lead.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press and Home News Tribune

Stravinsky Les Noces
Walton: Belshazzar's Feast, April 2006

Messiah plus Christmas Pops

The Monmouth Civic Chorus is a well-established group that has given us many thrilling concerts in its 49-year history. The group’s director, Mark Shapiro, has broad experience in a wide range of styles, and his programs always are as inventive and surprising and they are polished. The “Messiah,” particularly the Hallelujah chorus, is permanently associated with Christmas, even though only parts of it are themed around the nativity of Christ. This program should be a great way to enjoy the Christmas bits without having to commit to a full performance of the three-hour-plus oratorio.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press and Home News Tribune

A yuletide tradition as long-standing as any you'll find, the annual Monmouth Civic Chorus presentation of Christmas selections from Handel's Messiah brings joyous sounds and a genuine feeling of community to the seasonal stage.
-- Tom Chesek, Red Bank Red Hot

Dr. Mark Shapiro conducts the MCC in the 2005 edition of what has become an unshakable Yuletide tradition for Monmouth County audiences.
-- The Hub

December 2005

Continental Spirit, classics of European sacred music

As usual, the group plans an intriguing mix of the standard and the exotic, blended in imaginative programs. Part of the role of an ensemble such as the Monmouth Civic Chorus is to act as a local curator for the archives of great music, educating and informing its audience as well as entertaining.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press

The Monmouth Civic Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Mark Shapiro, presents Continental Spirit, a program of Sacred Classics from the quills of Brahms, Bruckner, Rachmaninoff and others. It all takes place beneath the famous white steeple of the First Presbyterian Church high atop Tower Hill - a setting that, whether on account of the assembled talents or the stately surroundings, can make one feel that much closer to heaven.
-- Red Bank Welcome Tip Sheet, November 2005

The concert honors Karin Gargone as the Principal Accompanist for 20 years. She is certainly one of the premier accompanists in New Jersey.
-- Classical New Jersey

Handel Organ Concerto #13
Purcell O Sing Unto the Lord
Bliss: Shield of Faith, June, 2005

A thrilling concert of beauty and grace.

Mezzo-soprano Barbara Dever was great as the soloist in the Rhapsody. Her style perfectly captured the dichotomy of both Brahms' music and Goethe's text, an unsatisfying struggle toward a heavenly answer, a call for divine intervention to heal the human pain.

A male choir [MCC's men] and the orchestra served primarily as a backdrop for the soloist in the Rhapsody, and they succeeded in adding the necessary contrast and support, creating a very moving experience.

Throughout the evening, the large choir and the orchestra were thrilling. ... The singing was meaty and passionate where it needed to be and overall technically secure. The fugue section at the end of the Gloria was particularly impressive.

The orchestra likewise seldom wavered in its support of the singers. Artistic director and conductor Mark Shapiro clearly understands this work and is undaunted by the scope of its vision, and he succeeded in communicating that vision to both ensembles.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press

Brahms: Alto Rhapsody
Bruckner: Mass in F Minor, April, 2005

... a powerful and moving performance of a beautiful contemporary work.

... a wise choice of programming, well within the ability of this talented choir, and performed very effectively.

... the Otcenas was sung in Czech -- a feature that made it all the more exotic and delightful, somehow even more musical.

Tenor Douglas Clark, a regular with Monmouth Civic Chorus, was expert and graceful in the impassioned tenor solos.

This collection of music represents the kind of inspired programming that takes a lot of research, a lot of extra rehearsal, a lot of convincing board members and seducing subscribers. But it pays off in enjoyable performances and a richer culture for all of us.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press

Sparkling Sonorities from Three Centuries of Czech Musical Tradition
Lukas Requiem, Janacek Otcenas, and Dvorak Te Deum; November, 2004

...The Group's concert at Red Bank's First Presbyterian Church explored repertoire not usually heard beyond more rarified urban venues, and the performances were inspired, at times even inspiring. ...

With this ensemble's alluring male/female blend and Shapiro's sensitive shading, the Monmouth Civic Chorus gave an absorbing account of Poulenc's richly melodious score. The voices struck the ideal supplicating tone, poised and fervent by turns. ...

... The accompaniment was by organ rather than the usual orchestra; yet longtime Monmouth organist Karin Gargone didn't leave one missing much, adding pungent coloration a well as gravity.
-- Bradley Bambarger, The Star-Ledger

Mixed Company: a program for men's, women's, and mixed choruses
featuring music of Poulenc, Biebl, Barber, Holst and Mozart; June, 2004

The Monmouth Civic Chorus upheld its reputation as a crack area ensemble at Red Bank's First Presbyterian Church Saturday night in what amounted to two concerts in one, grandly displaying the group's twin loves of precious choral heirlooms and rare musical gems.

Eight sacred works, mostly from the popular repertoire, made up the second half of the program. Naturally, it was this half that drew the most sustained and enthusiastic applause from the packed house, with full-bodied performances ... But it was the discovery portion that made the evening really glow.
-- Carlton Wilkinson, Asbury Park Press

Grace Notes, and
Charpentier: Filius Prodigus (The Prodigal Son), November, 2003

This was the chorus's moment. The singers were well-prepared, comfortable and earnestly happy. Most notably, they sang with gorgeous blend. This seamless sound originated in the sopranos and altos, pervading the men's voices. Nothing could budge this unity of purpose. A civil war could have broken out in front of them, and they wouldn't have been shaken.
-- Frederick Kaimann, Asbury Park Press

Mozart: Requiem, March, 2002

The Monmouth Civic Chorus successfully navigated an ocean of music... most triumphantly the storm-tossed A Sea Symphony... the chorus was the star that guided this journey...the chorus' talented, sensitive artistic director Mark Shapiro at the helm...
-- Frederick Kaimann, Asbury Park Press

Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony, March, 2001

The Monmouth Civic Chorus has become a model of clarity and balance under music director Mark Shapiro...
-- Peter Spencer, The Newark Star-Ledger

...a haunting and deeply moving setting of great beauty, sung with faithful reverence by the fine choir.
-- Albert H. Cohen, Asbury Park Press

Tom Cipullo: Voices of the Young, June, 1999 (world premiere)

And finally, there was this wonderful chorus. Purity of tone, excellent clarity of line, subtle dynamic changes...a beautiful collaboration between a conductor and his singers.
-- Albert H. Cohen, Asbury Park Press

Händel: Messiah, December, 1998

Shapiro's balances stayed true from beginning to end.... [His] insightful handling of texture and balance continued into the Brahms, [the choir's] creamy sound.
-- Peter Spencer, Newark Star-Ledger
Ulysses Kay: Song of Jeremiah, and Brahms: Requiem, March, 1998

The Chorus was at its height of effectiveness under Mark Shapiro's energetic leadership...the music's underlying urgency was never absent.... The Monmouth Civic Chorus sang the entire work with confidence which rose to transcendent heights of committed music making.
-- Paul Somers, Classical New Jersey

Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 3, The Cycle, March, 1997

RED BANK - The Verdi Requiem is a work with many thunderous, theatrical moments: big orchestral explosions and loud choral segments. Yet to a great degree, its performance by the Monmouth Civic Chorus and Orchestra on Saturday succeeded so movingly because of its gentle and persuasive subtleties.

The Requiem was performed at the Count Basie Theatre before a sell-out crowd ...

The work of this fine chorus and Shapiro's magnificent conception brought the heavenly beauty of Verdi's music to life.

I will long remember the silken sounds of the "Lacrymosa" and the uplifting finale, "Libera me." It was a special evening, a special performance, completely deserving of the standing ovation it received.
-- Albert H. Cohen, Asbury Park Press

Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem, March, 1996