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Jo-Michael Scheibe is a superb choral director. As chief director of choral activities at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, Scheibe has presented many notable concerts -- often devoted to contemporary music. His stirring presentation of David Fanshawe's landmark, multicultural African Sanctus in 2003 remains an indelible memory. A fervent perfectionist, Scheibe set a new standard for the Master Chorale with his surging, vividly dramatic performance of the Dona Nobis Pacem.

In the warmly resonant acoustics of the Second Presbyterian Church on Ft Lauderdale's north side, the strings of the recently formed Boca Raton Philharmonic Symphonia sounded rich and lustrous; the brass had cutting power and bite. Soprano Rebecca Sherburn exhibited wavering intonation in her opening plea Dona Nobis Pacem ('Grant Us Peace') but she gained confidence as the score progressed. The characterful vulnerability of her light soprano became a tower of strength.

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