The Tryon Concert Association is pleased to present Calmus, the German vocal ensemble, which will perform an evening of Christmas music at the Tryon Fine Arts Center on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, at 8 p.m.

Calmus, known for its precision, lightness, wit, and blend of sound, is one of the most successful singing groups in Germany. The a capella ensemble embraces many forms of music, including Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic as well as contemporary pop, folk, and jazz, and performs throughout Europe and the Americas. The presentation of Christmas music at TFAC promises to display the high level of musical achievement and joy of performing that have won Calmus numerous awards. The group has been described as singing with “wonderful lyricism and exquisite expressiveness.”

The ensemble is a unique combination of five voices: one soprano and four male voices ranging from countertenor to bass.

Anja Pöche, who joined the group as a soprano in 2001, studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelsohn Bartholdy and performs as a soloist in oratorio and cantata concerts throughout Europe.

Countertenor Sebastian Krause is a co-founder of the ensemble and arranges music for Calmus as well as other ensembles and choirs. Tobias Pöche, the tenor, who has sung with a wide variety of groups in Europe and worked with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Riccardo Chailly, also performs as a soloist in opera and operetta productions in German companies.

Baritone Ludwig Böhme, also a co-founder of Calmus, is a singer, conductor, lecturer, and arranger whose work includes collaboration with baroque orchestras.

Manuel Helmeke, bass, has performed as a soloist with organizations such as the Leipziger Gewandhaus and is the group’s most recent member.

Together, the five singers achieve exquisitely blended sound with perfectly meshed vocal timbres.

Information about the concert series at TFAC is available through the Tryon Concert Association, P. O. Box 32, Tryon, NC 28782. For more information visit tryonconcerts.org.

– article submitted by Anne De Sutter