#James Bass

James Bass, director of choral studies and chair of the music department, has recently served as the guest director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Under his direction, the chorus achieved "rich and lustrous vocalism, clearly delineated sections, and impressively clear articulation of the German text, even with 119 singers." The Chicago Symphony likewise soared. Read the full review by Lawrence A. Johnson in Chicago Classical Review.

James K. Bass, professor and chair of the music department, is also the associate conductor of the vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire. Their most recent release, The Apple Tree: Christmas with Seraphic Fire, cracked the Billboard classical charts at number seven in the holiday week. Seraphic Fire is an ensemble known for its breadth and risk-taking.

Richard Danielpour’s dramatic oratorio, The Passion of Yeshua, which also features members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and the UCLA Chamber Singers, as well as six soloists, including baritone James K. Bass, was recently nominated in three Grammy categories for the Naxos recording of last year’s performance.

Richard Danielpour, a professor at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, scored a nomination for best contemporary classical composition with “Yeshua.” The album also is up for best choral performance, and if it were to win, the Grammy would be shared by a team that includes the UCLA Chamber Singers — an ensemble of about three dozen undergraduate and graduate students studying music performance, education, composition and conducting.

READ: "Fielding a larger than usual choir of 21 voices (including eight singers from Seraphic Fire’s Ensemble Artist Program at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music), Bass favored a fuller choral sonority and wider dynamic spectrum...Leading with spare gestures, Bass unobtrusively summoned full-voiced, resonant corporate sound and subtle vocal nuances."

‘The Passion of Yeshua,’ by Richard Danielpour, will be performed for free on Dec. 9 in Royce Hall.

READ: The Ensemble Artist Program offers students advanced training with esteemed professionals.