2010

Sonare was singled out for acclaim with "Recording of the Month" by Music Web International of Linda Cionitti's "Jag and Jersey." Further kudos came in the form of choosing "Arise, Shine" (Cathedral of St James) and "Sing We Now of Christmas" (Taylor Festival Choir) as two of only a dozen "2010 Favorite Holiday Recordings" by WFMT Chicago.

METROPOLITAN METHODIST, DETROIT

Home to a large Moller Organ (127 ranks) and Andrew Galuska, an organist of exceptional musical and technical ability, several recordings were made there including an all-Lizst CD for MSR Classics and a Christmas disc featuring the staff singers.

CATHEDRAL OF ST JAMES, CHICAGO

Bruce Barber led his fine choir through the Salisbury Cathedral Service of Advent Lessons and Carols. A distinctive service that is different from the traditional St. John's College liturgy, this showcases musical variety and the generous acoustic.

INDEPENDENT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BIRMINGHAM

The last recording with the Aeolian Skinner organ (which is being retired with a new Dobson), the choir and instrumentalists shed new light on traditional Christmas repertoire that congregations love to hear.

TAYLOR FESTIVAL CHOIR, CHARLESTON

Robert Taylor carries on the choral tradition established by his father in Little Rock, Arkansas. Sensitive and precise singing joined with Liz Carroll, John O'Doyle, and other Celtic musicians for fresh arrangements that combine folk and classic genres. The wonderful acoustic of the Cathedral of St Luke & St Paul is also a star in this recording.

GEORGIA BRASS BAND

Modeled on the traditional British sound of cornets, alto horns, euphoniums plus "the usual" brass family members, this CD is conducted by Joe Johnson and also features Timothy Albrecht and the fine Jaeckel organ at the Schwartz Center at Emory University. An altogether different yuletide experience.

BEACHES FINE ARTS

American Public Media continues to favor artists in this series which for 2010 included the Choir of New College Oxford, Chase/Kibbey Duo, Chris Norman Ensemble, and Pablo Zielger.

2009

Health issues rarely happen when convenient-- and so it was when I went to the emergency room on February 16. Slightly concerned about possible heart attack symptoms I was not expecting that in the next few hours I would have open heart surgery to stop an aortic dissection and prevent an aneurysm; plus replace 8 inches of aorta and my aortic valve. There is a plan to it all, however, and I now am healthier than before. Life does go on, however, and so did many projects in 2009.

BOYS CHOIR OF CINCINNATI

Colleagues Brian Peters and Alex Kosiorek stepped in to produce and engineer this one week after my surgery and did a marvelous job. Director Bryan Mock and the boys all produced a memorable CD. While I couldn't actually be there, I did get to edit and master it!

TEXAS BOYS CHOIR

Conductor Bryan Priddy overcame several obstacles (including a last-minute change of venue) to lead the boys and Texas Camerata in the Pergolesi Stabat Mater and Magnificat plus another CD of tour repertoire. The Boys Choir is one of the few ensembles of it's type that utilize boys with changed and unchanged voices to sing all four voice parts.

ANTOCH CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

This stellar choral group of Westminster Choir College alums finished off a several-year project recording the repertoire that earned them first-place honors in the highly prestigious Tolosa International Choral Competition in Spain, establishing them among the top rank of professional choirs in the world. This MSR Classics release should be available in Spring 2010.

HERB BUFFINGTON AND CHRISTMAS ORGAN IMPROVISATIONS

Having received the second-place award in the AGO Improvisation Competition one would expect something special but Herb did so much more with this material. It is a fine line between familiar and trite when using tunes that many people have known since childhood but in each instance the unexpected surprise is a delight. The splendid new Schleuter pipe organ and the fabulous acoustics of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Atlanta all combine for a memorable recording.

2008

The past year could be summed up as "the year of the chorus," with CD projects for St. Peter's Charlotte, Peachtree Christian in Atlanta, St. Philip's Charleston, Decatur Presbyterian in Atlanta, and Sursum Corda in Birmingham. The latter features choral music of the Jewish tradition, and joins "Jersey and Jag" (Linda Cionitti and friends) on the MSR Classics label. The Cionitti disc is of special interest for fans of contemporary clarinet repertoire with several unrecorded works by Libby Larsen.

GSU WIND ENSEMBLE

2007 marked the first of two sessions for this fine ensemble, which will culminate in a disc of new and old wind ensemble repertoire.

NPR PERFORMANCE TODAY

The American Brass Quintet and the Amani Winds were the focus of several concerts we recorded in the Beaches Fine Arts Series. The acoustically gorgeous St. Paul's by the Sea provided an acoustically stunning setting.

2007

HOUSTON SYMPHONY

Sonare recently collaborated with producer Michael Fine to record the Houston Symphony under the baton of Hans Graf, Music Director. The repertoire was the Lyric Symphony of Alexander Zemlinsky and Three Pieces by Anton Berg for the Naxos label.

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL

The Christ Church Cathedral Choir (Nashville) has just released a disc featuring music of all-living composers. We worked with Michael Velting, organist & choirmaster on this project that was recorded in January 2007.

JODY MILLER, RECORDER

Atlanta-based recorder player Jody Miller has completed half of an adventurous disc that includes a premiere that utilizes multiple percussion. The work was recorded in Schwartz Center at Emory University, with later session work at St. Bartholomew's Church, possibly the two most stellar acoustics in Atlanta. This will be on the MSR Classics label.

CHRISTMAS DISCS

Westminster Presbyterian Church and Dunwoody Methodist Church both recorded Christmas discs that have done exceptionally well in sales and will be solid fundraisers for the choirs. Now is the time to consider a Christmas project for your ensemble!

HOWARD ALDEN, SOLO JAZZ GUITAR

Just Jazz Guitar Player Magazine recently commissioned Howard Alden to record many of the arrangements that have appeared in the magazine. Howard is one of the most sought-after jazz guitarists active today. We recorded this in a quiet and beautiful residence at The Landings, an exclusive Savannah community.

INDEPENDENT PRESBYTERIAN

Independent Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Alabama wanted a disc with a wide range of music to take on their Italian tour, and they achieved this with repertoire spanning the centuries from Orlando Gibbons to Benjamin Britten. This was the first disc the choir had done since 1996.

ANTIOCH ENSEMBLE

Good things take time, and this CD is no exception. Begun last spring after an acclaimed appearance at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, this ensemble will again sing at the 2008 and 2009 festivals and finish their recording in sessions at St Philip's Church. The sound of this stellar group is best described as "a mixed-voice King's Singers" and will be released on the MSR Classics label.

2006

THE MAGIC WAND HAS ARRIVED!

What on earth are we talking about? It's software called "Renovator" that removes the sound of chair scrapes, trucks and motorcycles, short-duration noises such as coughs, and even fixes some notes that are not steady! Just the thing for live performances that have audience noise and other unwanted sounds. Skeptical? We were too until trying this pricey piece of wizardry from the German company Algorithmix, and now it is a permanent part of our arsenal. Contact us for a demo.

SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVAL

Seventeen days and 21 recorded performances later, the Savannah Music Festival continues to hold its own in the world of jazz and chamber music. Featuring British violinist Daniel Hope and his friends, the chamber music events have already aired on NPR's Performance Today. In addition, the many jazz events that featured such luminaries as Marcus Roberts, "Slide" Hampton, Frank Wess, Wycliffe Gordon, Roland Guerin, Jason Marsalis (and many more) are "in the can."

RECENT AND UPCOMING PROJECTS

Christ Church Cathedral (Nashville) has a long and distinguished music program, now under the direction of Michael Velting. The Cathedral Choristers' first CD, "Praise, My Soul. the King of Heaven" was recorded several months ago and is nearing its release. The relatively new organ by Lively-Fulcher sounds especially good with Michael at the console.

We recently completed several things for Birmingham composer K. Lee Scott. The first was a recording for Morning Star Music of his cantata "Sing the Songs of Bethlehem" that featured the Presbyterian College Chamber Singers and instrumentalists from the area. Next, we mixed and mastered Lee's "Requiem," which was multi-track recorded in Birmingham with a hand-picked choral and instrumental group. Finally, we re-mastered a 1987 recording entitled "The Tree of Life." The best source was a 1:1 cassette which required a bit of restoration, but in the end Lee was amazed with what we could extract from the cassette.

Atlanta organist Richard Morris will be releasing a disc on the MSR Classics label of the new Schlueter Pipe Organ at First Presbyterian Church in Savannah. This is the second disc we have recorded on this instrument for the Schlueter Company, the first being a cost-effective solution to the organ builder's need to get a sample disc into the hands of organ committees as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible. This was done by recording MIDI files that the organist made without Sonare in the church. We came a few days later, recorded the material, edited and mastered the disc, and then provided the organ builder with a first-class project that took a total of 3 weeks at a cost of $3.25 per disc. We would be happy to send you a copy at your request.

The mastering/re-mastering business of Sonare is busy with a compilation CD from the 2005 Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. This is festival is always a challenge, with Florida air conditioning, nearby traffic, and very dry acoustics. We would be happy to send you the final disc and let you be the judge!

Also in the offing are several orchestral projects in Virginia that are awaiting the finalization of details.

If you are thinking of doing a recording-- no matter the scope-- please contact us for a quote. Remember that label placement is a "value added" component of what Sonare Recordings can do for you.

Fall 2005

Sonare Recordings is proud to announce a new relationship with MSR Classics, an independent classical record label based in Elmsford, New York. MSR Classics is managed by a 19-year veteran of the classical recording industry, and boasts an impressive roster of artists in a wide array of vocal and instrumental repertoire. Each release is carefully ushered through a highly evolved design and production process, and is widely distributed and publicized in a worldwide marketplace. Selected artists will enjoy all the benefits of major-label distribution while maintaining complete ownership of their recording.

The internationally acclaimed 20-year-old concert organist Felix Hell recently completed a project with Sonare. Recorded on the new Rieger-Kloss pipe organ at the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, the program spans the repertoire from Buxtehude to Reger's "Variations on America." This recording is being released on the MSR Classics label. You can order this directly from Sonare on our homepage, and a soundclip can also be heard.

Mastering is a cost-effective option for those who have a pre-existing recording that they would like to release. Our recent acquisition of restoration software from Algorithmix is practically a magic wand for less-than-pristine recordings, including cassettes and LPs.

Recent mastering projects include Presbyterian College, Christ Church (Savannah), St. Cecilia Academy of Nashville, and Samuel Metzger, senior organist at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

Finally, November marked the release of the Nine Bachianas Brasileiras for Naxos Records that we produced and engineered in the Spring of 2004. The Blair Quartet project for Naxos has not yet been scheduled for release.

Spring 2005

In January Sonare traveled to First Baptist Church of Rome, Georgia, and the Cathedral Church of the Advent (Episcopal) in Birmingham, Alabama. Both discs feature a wide variety of repertoire that the various ensembles of the two churches are known for.

The Savannah Music Festival, which is quickly emerging as an important venue for chamber music and jazz, engaged Sonare to record 20 events, ranging from solo pianoforte to chamber orchestra and solosts, with blues and jazz mixed in.

In April we returned to Nashville to record a hymn CD with the choir of Westminster Presbyterian Church. This project set a new "record" as the project was completed in only four hours! Later in the month the choral ensembles of Armstrong Atlantic State University recorded a CD in the stunning acoustic of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Savannah.

The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival 2004 Highlights CD was released in time for the 2005, and features such musical talents as Pepe Romero and Hilary Hahn.

Fall 2004

In June Sonare traveled to Florida to record many of the concerts of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. This marks our second season there. Both CD projects will be heard on public radio as well as on a compilation CD to be sold at the 2005 festival. Music Director Chris Rex, Principal Cellist of the Atlanta Symphony, once again assembled an impressive array of talent.

Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina came to us in the fall with a very challenging project: a CD compliled from concerts and recitals recorded in various formats that ranged from 24-bit 88.2kHz to monophonic mini-disc! The final result pleased the college and has greatly enhanced their recruiting efforts.

Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta invited Sonare to produce their "Carols on Peachtree" Christmas CD. In addition to new material, some previously recorded tracks were re-mastered to more closely match the sound of the new sanctuary and organ. To put everyone in the mood, some anonymous elves arrayed a panoply of Christmas decorations (including Santa and Frosty) across the chancel! Prior to the sessions organist David Higgs was recorded on the magnificent Mander.

Other Christmas CD projects for the fall include Decatur First United Methodist Church in suburban Atlanta, as well as recordings for I Cantori and the Savannah Choral Society.

Spring 2004

Naxos Records recently engaged Sonare Recordings to record the Nashville Symphony performing nine Bachianas Brasileiras by Villa Lobos, conducted by Music Director Kenneth Schermerhorn. This will be a 2-disc release available in high-definition surround formats. Pictures of these sessions can be viewed by clicking "Pictures" on the navigation bar to the left.

Sonare also recorded the Blair String Quartet for Naxos. Their recording of Ives String Quartets are due to be released in Spring 2005.

These sessions, which occurred in Nashville during March, are featured in an article which may be read on the Naxos America website: http://www.naxos.com/newDesign/fprofile.files/bprofile.files/news124.htm

The Savannah Music Festival 2004 showcased dozens of events from March 21 through April 4, and Sonare recorded 16 concerts featuring such artists as Frederica Von Stade, the Tallis Scholars, the Beaux Arts Trio, Marcus Roberts, Wess Anderson, Dick Hyman, and Bucky Pizzarelli. These concerts will air on NPR Performance Today and Studio GPR .

Fall 2003

Sonare Recordings is proud to announce that it is now one of a handful of American companies chosen by Naxos Records to produce and record projects in the US. Begun in 1987, Naxos distributes its catalog of over 2500 classical, jazz, historical and spoken word titles to markets throughout the world. Naxos is known for varied repertoire and sonics, having garnered Grammys and Editor's Choice awards for many releases.

The recordings that Sonare will produce and engineer include chamber and orchestral music in both stereo and DVD-A surround. We will post further information on our website as these projects are recorded.

Summer 2003

Sonare Recordings is pleased to announce several new additions that offer our classical and jazz clients a new level of sonic excellence that now stands alongside anyone at any price-- even major labels.

By far the most exciting is our new Sequoia Digital Audio Workstation (NOT a laptop!). It can record from 2 to 16 tracks (and more) of super high-definition audio (24-bit/176.4 kHz). In plain English, this means we are able to produce stunning CD masters. This audio quality is easily up to the challenge of SACD or DVD-A. We can now carry a project of any size from recording through mixdown (if needed), editing, mastering, and even 5.1 surround production. The editing capability of Sequoia is quite amazing. If this isn't enough, DSD will be supported soon. Sequoia is the choice of Sterling Sound New York, Finesplice London, WDR Cologne, and many others.

Complementing this system is our Altiverb Impulse Response reverberation, which perfectly replicates the sound of the Concertgebouw, Phillips Hall in Denmark, and many other fabulous acoustics. Absolutely the best solution for having to record in a less-than-stunning room.

To insure that our B&K, Schoeps, Neumann, and Royer microphones contribute their full potential, we have upgraded all cabling to Mogami AES Digital. This cable is unsurpassed in its ability to reveal detail with both analog and digital signals, and is utilized throughout our setup-- from the mics to our True Systems and DPA mic preamps, and then from the recording environment to our Studer console in the control room.

Some things that have not changed are our prices and the level of musical production and care our clients enjoy and expect. Dedicated to the highest level of the art, we hope to have the opportunity soon for you to experience these new benefits.