Concert preview
8 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Emory University's Schwartz Center, and 8 p.m. Tuesday at Kennesaw State University's Bailey Performance Center. Tickets for the Emory performances, $10 to $40, can be purchased at 404-727-5050 or by visiting www.arts.emory.edu. Tickets for the Kennesaw performance, $15 to $55, can be purchased by visiting www.kennesaw.edu/arts.
Talking with Atlanta Opera chorus master Walter Huff about his work, the words you hear most frequently are “value system.” Those values and that system — which Huff learned at a young age from another Atlanta choral giant, Robert Shaw — have generated admiration for the opera chorus from pretty much everyone who’s worked with the company, and they are being celebrated in a special choral concert. The unique season-opening concert will honor Huff on his 25th anniversary with the company.
But this is not a farewell concert. Huff’s energy and enthusiasm are legendary; he shows no signs of slowing down. And, as seven-season chorus member Valerie Hamm pointed out: “Everybody loves him … his professionalism and attention to detail.”
Another chorus veteran, Lynette Anderson, said: “He is a taskmaster in the best sense. He drills us and prepares us, and we know the music inside out before we step out on that rehearsal floor.”
Huff grew up in Atlanta and began singing in groups that Shaw conducted while still in high school. “To me, this (Shaw’s once-radical technique) was just the way you do things, especially in terms of the way you prep the chorus. There’s a process, a plan. And there was his inspiration and leadership. I played for some of his rehearsals. I try to pass this knowledge on to the chorus and to my students.”
In addition to his work with the opera, Huff is an associate professor of choral conducting at Indiana University and keeps up a busy schedule of vocal coaching. And as a pianist/accompanist, he’s played for master classes given by such singers as Licia Albanese, Eileen Farrell and Sir Peter Pears.
The first thing you notice when watching a rehearsal here is Huff playing piano, something quite rare at this level. “I feel like I have more control,” he said. “It’s my way of communicating. And for an opera chorus, this means the singers don’t get too used to me conducting. When the opera conductor comes in, they’re more open, without being influenced by my gesture.” It helps, of course, that Huff is a very accomplished pianist.
The Atlanta Opera’s general and artistic director, Tomer Zvulun, commented: “There is power to choruses. This concert celebrates what this man has done. He is one of the great strengths of the company.”
The concert, to be performed Sept. 12-16, features some of the most popular opera choruses of all time, from Mozart and Wagner to Benjamin Britten, George Gershwin and Philip Glass. Guest soloists include sopranos Leah Partridge and Indra Thomas and tenors Victor Ryan Robertson and Timothy Miller. And this time pianist Brian Eads will accompany the chorus so Huff can conduct.
Two Atlanta icons will share the stage. WABE’s popular daytime host Lois Reitzes will speak. And William Fred Scott, who helped rescue the company from bankruptcy and then served as its artistic director for almost 20 years, will conduct “Va, pensiero,” Verdi’s choral masterpiece from the opera “Nabucco.”
Atlanta is a city of great choruses, but this one is special because it’s all about opera. And it really is one of Atlanta’s artistic glories, thanks to Huff. As Lynette Anderson put it: “Everyone who comes in is amazed by our chorus, and that is because of Walter.”
