Duerr named music director for Harmonia Chamber Singers

14th season begins Oct. 27

Robert Duerr was named music director of the Harmonia Chamber Singers as the group begins its 14th season.

“We’re thrilled to have Robert join us,” said Robert Pacillo, the founder and executive director of Harmonia. “Robert comes to Harmonia with tremendous passion for choral music, and a wealth of experience in conducting choral groups around the world. He is renowned for his innovative approach to concert programming and his ability to lead choruses to new heights. This will be an incredible season for Harmonia and our audience.”

Duerr has a lengthy list of accomplishments in the choral world, including founding the award-winning Pasadena (California) Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, and conducting the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera. A prize-winning organist, Duerr holds multiple degrees from the University of South California. Locally, he has conducted the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Chautauqua Symphony, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, and the Greater Buffalo Opera. He is also currently the music director of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral Choir.

Harmonia’s 14th concert season begins at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, with “My Spirit Sings: The Many Voices of Buffalo,” in Assumption Church, 435 Amherst St., Buffalo.

Duerr said, “This is a musical homage to our vibrant, diverse community. The program will include selections by Italian, German, Irish and Polish composers, representing Buffalo’s traditional music cultures. We’ll also honor ‘new Buffalonians’ by including selections sung in Somali and Spanish; music from Palestrina and Bach to Takach and Ortiz to celebrate our region’s rich cultural make up. This will be a powerful reflection of the beauty of cultural harmony.”

Tickets are $15 and are available online at www.harmoniacs.org or at the door one hour before the performance.