Quartet to perform tonight on Gaede Stage

“Their performance epitomized what truly fine singing is all about.”

You’ve probably heard the voices of Prince, Adam Levine, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, and the lead singer in the Four Tops. If you weren’t familiar with their music, but heard them on the radio, you may have mistaken them for female singers because they often sing in falsetto.

You may have never heard a countertenor sing. The range is similar, but the technique used for getting that high is different. The sound produced by a countertenor is bigger and purer than that of a man singing in falsetto.

A countertenor is one of four male singers that make up New York Polyphony. The other voices are tenor, baritone and bass. The quartet performs Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7:30 p.m., on the Gaede Stage in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts. The performance is the second event in this season’s Cheryl Nelson Lossett Performing Arts Series.

New York Polyphony is regarded as one of the finest vocal chamber ensembles in the world. The group applies a modern touch to repertoire that ranges from austere medieval melodies to cutting-edge contemporary compositions. NYP is dedicated to innovative programming, but also to rare and rediscovered Renaissance and medieval works.

The ensemble’s growing discography includes two GRAMMY®-nominated releases and albums that have topped the “best of” lists of The New Yorker, Gramophone, and BBC Music Magazine. Called a “spacious, radiant retreat” by The New York Times, their current release, Sing thee Nowell, scored NYP its second GRAMMY® nomination in the Best Chamber Music/ Small Ensemble Performance category.

With the 2013 release of Times go by Turns, the ensemble’s fourth album, NYP continued “to claim a spot as one of the finest small vocal groups performing today.” (Audiophile Audition) Commended as “a complex, clear-eyed yet still painfully beautiful tapestry,” (Gramophone) Times go by Turns amassed substantial critical acclaim. In addition to being named one of iTunes 10 Best Classical Releases of 2013, the album garnered a GRAMMY® nomination.

An ensemble singing masterclass featuring the MSUM Concert Choir takes place the same day at 1:30 p.m. on the Gaede Stage. Members of NYP will work with choir members and their director on performance techniques and sound. The masterclass is free and open to the public.

For more information about New York Polyphony, go to www.newyorkpolyphony.com. For tickets, buy online at www.mnstate.edu/tickets, or call the MSUM Box Office Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. at (218) 477-2271, or buy at the door the night of the performance.