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ENSEMBLE ALTERA is fast becoming a leading American chamber choir dedicated to bringing thoughtful, engaging, and relevant programs of choral music to in-person and digital audiences at home and around the world. The group is versatile, working on multiple scales, in a wide range of idioms, across the full gamut of medieval to modern to minimalist music. Led by internationally acclaimed countertenor Christopher Lowrey, Altera comes from the Italian word for change, and the ensemble prides itself in its truly transformative approach to music-making. Recent projects undertaken by the group include an innovative series of digital concerts recorded in empty parking garages during the Covid pandemic, as well a virtual series of Christmas concerts produced for viewers around the world.

Altera has developed a reputation with audiences for bold programming that invites listeners to imagine connections between works from many different historical perspectives to tell one unified and edifying story. Some of these projects include ‘illumine’, centering on the myriad representations of light across the repertoire, ‘Hail Mary’, a concert based on Marian themes, and ‘Music For Elizabeth’, a program devoted to music heard in Elizabeth I's court. This summer, Altera will mount a Covid Memorial Project entitled 'We Remember', featuring music to uplift, heal, and bring together the community in the wake of the ongoing Covid crisis. As part of this project, the ensemble is sponsoring a Composition Competition for new choral works. Details can be found on the 'Competition' page.

Upcoming EVENTS

Join Ensemble Altera for "We Remember," a choral experience unlike any other. In our first live concert since the pandemic, we gather to remember those who were lost, and to honor those front-line heroes who kept our communities strong over the past year. Throughout four distinct musical sections, the audience will be guided through a process of healing, using musical themes to facilitate reflection. Structured around the ideas of Repentance, Repose, Requiem, and Remembrance, the concert will feature a range of choral pieces from the Baroque through modern eras, representing the breadth of western music.

11 July 2021 | 8:00 PM
Blessed Sacrament Church, Providence, RI

If you are unable to attend the in-person concert but would still like to support our cause, please click on the "DONATE" button below. 

Our MISSION

Ensemble Altera is dedicated to the mission of bringing to both the local and global community a greater awareness of – and engagement with – choral music and group singing in all its forms. To that end, we will present physical and virtual concerts; record audio and video albums; perform educational outreach in schools, at conferences and through broadcasts; as well as tour throughout the United States and globally. Our work aims to raise the standards of execution and understanding among artists, but, more generally, to advocate for greater exposure to and appreciation for the indispensable and ennobling beauty and healing power of the choral arts.

CHRISTOPHER LOWREY
Director / Countertenor

 

Director Christopher Lowrey was born and raised in Johnston, RI, and trained at Brown University, the University of Cambridge, where he sang under Stephen Layton with Trinity College Choir, and the Royal College of Music. In addition to conducting, he enjoys a dynamic international solo career as a countertenor, working at some of the world’s leading opera houses and concert platforms, including the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonie de Paris, The London Symphony Orchestra, and next season he will be making his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Roster of

SINGERS

Soprano

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Vicky Brandt

Lydia Brotherton

Kristina Frances

Rachel Garrepy

Barbara Hill

Pauline Lim

Olivia Miller   

Carey Shunskis  

Janet Stone

Laura Thomas

Rebekah Westphal

Shari Wilson

Alto​

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Ruth Berry

Cody Bowers

Christopher Garrepy

Olivia Kleyla

Christopher Lowrey

Cory MacLean

Gerrod Pagenkopf

William Peacock

Tenor

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Andrew Brown

Mark Garrepy

Brad Kleyla

Pierre Masse

Cody Mead

Kilian Mooney

Eric Christopher Perry

Grant Randall

Steven Soph

Jon Wiening

Zachary Wilder

Bass​

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John Brooks

Andrew Garrepy

Michael Garrepy

Daniel Gostin

Paul Guttry

Nicholas Halar

Nathan Halbur

Craig Juricka

Amory Kisch

Jon Moore

Bodie Pfost

Devon Russo

Dennis Ryan

Board Members

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Michael Garrepy, Artistic Advisor

Jennifer Hughes

Gregory King

Jared Kornblatt

Christopher Lowrey, President & Artistic Director

Donna Lowrey, Secretary

Mark Meyer

Trevor Neal

Reverend Janet Cooper Nelson

Charles Oliver, Treasurer

Dwight Porter

Camilla de Rochambeau

Nancy Shanahan

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Website / Marketing

Olivia Kleyla

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Videographer

Matthew McGuire

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Audio Engineer

Brad Kleyla

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