soft blink of amber light – Contemporary Choral Music by Dominick DiOrio, Jocelyn Hagen, Wayne Oquin, Christopher Theofanidis and David Ashley White [World Premiere Recordings]

The Houston Chamber Choir stands as one of the leading professional choral ensembles in the United States. Acclaimed conductor Paul Hillier remarked that he loved working with the Houston Chamber Choir, and that he believed founder and director Robert Simpson had created something special. The ensemble has collaborated with distinguished artists, including conductors María Guinand and Reinbert de Leeuw, and legendary jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. Houston Chamber Choir has toured internationally from Mexico to Wales and appeared nationally at conventions of The American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America and in concert at Trinity Wall Street in New York and Yale University. A champion of new music, the choir regularly programs music by living composers.

Robert Simpson is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Houston Chamber Choir. He also serves as Canon for Music at Houston’s historic Christ Church Cathedral, and Lecturer of Church Music at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Chorus America awarded him the Michael Korn Founders Award for the Development of the Professional Choral Ar. Choirs under direction of Simpson have toured the United States, Europe and Mexico, and performed before national conventions of Chorus America, the American Choral Directors Association, The American Guild of Organists, The Association of Anglican Musicians, and The Hymn Society of America. They have appeared nationally on CBS-TV, ABC-TV and American Public Radio. Robert Simpson is an honors graduate of Brown University and The School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Additionally, he studied for two years at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany. Mr. Simpson is married to Marianna Parnas-Simpson, the noted children’s choir conductor.