Grinnell Singers and Oratorio Society to Present ‘The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci’

The Grinnell Singers and the Grinnell Oratorio Society will combine forces to present The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci on December 2, 2023, at 2 p.m. in Sebring-Lewis Hall. This concert is open to all at no charge.

Director John Rommereim says that this innovative work by composer Jocelyn Hagen uses colorful choral/orchestral music, combined with brilliantly conceived video materials to take the audience on an imaginative journey into the mind of Leonardo da Vinci.

The work premiered coast to coast in 2019 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s death. A consortium of 23 different ensembles commissioned the piece. It makes use of new technology created by Ion Concert Media that facilitates close synchronization between musicians and video materials.

In addition to the da Vinci work, the concert will also include John Stoddart’s virtuosic piece for piano and choir, “A Choral Fantasy on Soon I Will Be Done,” with pianist Hyejin Joo. The Grinnell Children’s Choir will make a guest appearance, performing “This Light,” by Reginald Unterseher.

The Grinnell Children’s Choir is directed by Erin Bustin, who is also the director of the Grinnell School of Music, a private, nonprofit school that will be opening in new facilities in fall 2024. The Oratorio Society is a community chorus first formed in 1903 that includes faculty, students, and staff from Grinnell College, as well as community members from Grinnell and Newton. It is open to everyone in Grinnell and in the surrounding area, and new members are encouraged to join for the spring season. The Grinnell Singers is a select ensemble comprised exclusively of students.

View a trailer for The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci