Community Chorus Welcomes New Director for May Concert

The St. Augustine Community Chorus will introduce their new Director, Michael Sanflippo, during the upcoming concert “Jubilee! 450 Years of Song”.   This concert takes place at 3:00 PM on Sunday, May 17 at the historic Memorial Presbyterian Church on the final day of the Romanza Festivale.

During the concert the chorus will take a musical journey featuring music from six centuries, beginning in 16th century Spain with Tomas Luis de Victoria’s beautiful setting of O Vos Omnes.  Selections from Henry Purcell’s celebratory Come Ye Sons of Art are followed by a gem from the young Mozart, Veni Sancte Spiritus.  Felix Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer will feature the St Augustine Youth Chorus singing the serene melody O For the Wings of a Dove.  A masterpiece of the 20th century follows: Norman Dello Joio’s dynamic setting of texts penned by Walt Whitman, A Jubilant Song.  The chorus then returns to the 21st century with a performance of John Rutter’s Mass of the Children to close this choral salute to St Augustine’s 450th celebration.

Joining the chorus are soloists: Regina Torres, Mezzo-Soprano and Stephen Mumbert, Baritone.  The St. Augustine Youth Chorus, under the direction of Kerry Fradley, will add their youthful voices to the program.  The accompanist, Shannon  McKay, will be joined by a Chamber Ensemble.

Michael Sanflippo was selected last summer as the new “full-time” Director for the St. Augustine Community Chorus.  For the past ten years, the chorus was under the co-directorship of Dr. Theodore K. Mathews, who has moved to California, and Kathleen           Vande Berg, who recently retired from this responsibility.   Sanflippo, who began rehearsals with the chorus in March, will take on the responsibility for all three of the seasonal concerts.

Sanflippo recently settled in Palm Coast, after more than two decades living and working in the Northern New Jersey area, where he directed several choruses including the Apprentice Chorus of the Newark Boys Chorus School, which is the training chorus for the celebrated Newark Boys Chorus. Additionally, Sanflippo developed a challenging and thriving music theory and ear-training program that he taught to all the boys in the Newark school.  He directed two community choruses - the Concord Singers,  a women’s chorus in Summit, NJ and the Harmony Singers , a mixed ensemble in Wayne, NJ.  He was also a director of a music program at the Community United Methodist Church in Roselle Park. Sanflippo holds degrees from the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts and Teachers College of Columbia University, and spent a year at the Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary.  In addition to his work with the St. Augustine Community Chorus, Sanflippo is the Director of Music at Grace United Methodist Church in St. Augustine.

 For more information visit the website or call Nell Toensmann at 904-484-4960.