Voci Nobili, a female choir affiliated with Bergen University College in Norway, pays a visit to New York's Merkin Concert Hall on January 30 at 8 PM for a concert to benefit the The Norwegian Seamen's Church in New York. The choir was established in 1989 and consists of about 25 female singers, most of whom are students at the Bergen University College or the University of Bergen. The singers are not professionals, but they all spend an average of 500 hours a year with the choir, rehearsing, competing and giving concerts. The choir has gained wide recognition as an exceptionally fine vocal ensemble, and has won international choral competitions in Ireland, France, Sweden and Italy. Most recently they returned from the prestigious Sligo International Choirfestival competition in Ireland with three out of four possible first prizes, including top awards to the choir and its conductor, Maria Gamborg Helbekkmo. Voci Nobili has been invited to perform at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Los Angeles in February 2005. 

While Voci Nobili's repertoire is firmly rooted in classical composers such as Bach, Grieg and Britten, the choir does not shy away from works by exciting contemporary composers like Javier Busto, Jeffrey Biegel and Knut Nystedt. Depending on the occasion, they will also mix in an occasional Broadway tune or a Norwegian folk song. The program for the New York concert features songs by Grieg, Nystedt and Hovland, the New York premiere of Jeffrey Biegel's new composition Hey, ho, the wind and the rain for female voices and piano and a solo performance by the choir's pianist, Geir Botnen.

Tickets for the concert are $30. To reserve, call the box office at 212- 501- 3330 or visit www.kaufman-center.org.

For more information about the choir, visit www.kjerka.com/kultur/Voci-Nobili.html.