"A Very RenMen Christmas LIVE!" Set To Release November 2020!
Dear RenFriends,
We are beyond excited to share with you that Renaissance Men has officially signed an agreement with Navona Records to release "A Very RenMen Christmas LIVE!" in November 2020. The specific date will be announced at a later date.
"A Very RenMen Christmas LIVE!" celebrates five years of RenMen's annual "A Very RenMen Christmas" concert and gala, which has been performed in Boston, Brookline, and Newton, Massachusetts, and on tour in Connecticut and Vermont during the 2018 holiday season.
The album was recorded live in concert at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts in December 2019, with some additional tracks recorded at an earlier date. We have been so thankful to work with our producer, Jeffrey Means (Sound Icon), who brings tremendous skill, expertise, and boundless positive vibes to this most joyful, vibrant, and eclectic Christmas record.
Along with the album's release, we anticipate a major release event in the Boston area in December 2020, and are planning an extensive "A Very RenMen Christmas LIVE!" tour to support the album. If you are interested in bringing this tour to your town, visit www.renmenmusic.com/booking or email Anthony Burkes Garza, General Manager, directly. We look forward to bringing this high-energy Christmas experience to your neck of the woods!
The working track list includes:
Some Children See Him - Alfred Burt (1920-1954)
Cantate Domino - Paul John Rudoi (b. 1985)
Riu Riu Chiu - traditional Spanish villancico, arr. The Monkees and Modern Folk Quartet
O Magnum Mysterium - Jan Wilke (b. 1980)
The Longest Night - Daniel E. Gawthrop (b. 1949)
I’ll Be Home for Christmas - Walter Kent (1911-1994), arr. Rascal Flatts
Mary Had a Baby - traditional spiritual, arr. David Wright
Jingle Bells - James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893)
Snowfall - Claude Thornhill (1908-1965), arr. The Four Freshmen
Frosty the Snowman - Steve Nelson (1907-1981) and Jack Rollins (1906-1973),
arr. Rob Campbell
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - John Rox (1907-1957), arr. Jon Nicholas
Angels We Have Heard on High - traditional French carol, arr. Saunder Choi (b. 1988)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Hugh Martin (1914-2011) and Ralph Blane (1914-1995),
arr. Jim Clancy
Performers include Eric Christopher Perry, tenor and conductor, Fausto Miro, tenor, Eduardo Ramos, tenor, Corey Dalton Hart, tenor, Peter C. Schilling, baritone , Will Prapestis, baritone, Brian Church, baritone, Benjamin Pfeil, bass-baritone, and Anthony Burkes Garza, bass.
We have been awarded generous support from the Newton Cultural Council, supported by the Mass Cultural Council, as well as the Boston Cultural Council for the production of our "A Very RenMen Christmas LIVE!" concert in December 2019. Thanks to their generosity toward the evening's event, we were able to record and produce it for a live commercial recording, anticipated for release later this year on Navona Records.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Boston Cultural Council and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Newton Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Renaissance Men Inc. congratulates and expresses profound gratitude to our Board of Directors, Samantha Dotterweich, Director of Grants, our artist-led administrative team, Navona Records: Bob Lord, Executive Director, Brandon MacNeil, A&R Director, Jeffrey Means, St. Mary's Episcopal Church staff, and our loyal donors and supporters for their continued dedication to RenMen's mission and musical aspirations.
We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone around the globe in the midst of this health crisis. We hope this update gives you all a little to look forward to in spite of the seemingly endless bad news – it definitely does for us. We absolutely cannot wait to share this with you and generations of RenFriends to come.
Much love, many blessings, and wishes of good health,
RenMen
