Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Notre Dame Alum Tops iTunes Charts!

 


University of Notre Dame Alum, Patrick Dupre' Quigley's (pictured) latest album Claudio Monteverdi: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin 1610 put him atop of the iTunes classical charts -- when it was released in August -- and for a brief time the recording was even more popular in the iTunes all genre category than superstar Lady GaGa's "The Fame Monster."  Quigley '00, is the founding artistic director of Seraphic Fire, a Miami-based ensemble of professional singers that performs a variety of choral works, including classical, contemporary, sacred and secular.  Seraphic Fire teamed up with the Western Michigan University Chorale to record this album.  Ironically, the Irish play Western Michigan University this Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium.  After graduating from Notre Dame's Department of Music in 2000, Quigley went on to Yale to get his Master's in conducting -- before founding Seraphic Fire in 2002.  Two years later, he became the youngest ever recipient of the Robert Shaw Fellowship, which the National Endowment for the Arts and Chorus America give to one promising early-career conductor each year.  His Seraphic Fire is known for its high-quality and exciting performances of Baroque and new music. The group appeared with international pop star Shakira, singing the opening Gregorian-style chant on her platinum-selling album, “Oral Fixation 2.”  Here's a few YouTube video links to Seraphic Fire's performances and an interview of Quigley by WLRN-TV in Miami -- THEY ARE GREAT -- A MUST WATCH!

LINK:  AN INTERVIEW OF QUIGLEY AND SERAPHIC FIRE

LINK:  SERPAHIC FIRE:  Amazing Grace

LINK:  SERAPHIC FIRE:  Bach: Cantata 147 "Jesus Bleibet"

LINK:  A SERAPHIC FIRE REHEARSAL