The Berea College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers will present their annual spring concert in Gray Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, April 23 at 3:00 p.m. Gray Auditorium is located in Presser Hall (on Chestnut Street) on the Berea College campus, Berea, KY. The public is invited to attend, and there is no charge for admission. The choirs will be conducted by Stephen Bolster and accompanied by Lindsay Clavere on the piano.
The program features several “anniversary” pieces, mostly sacred, presented in honor of major anniversaries of composers’ births or deaths. The pieces include a motet and several madrigals by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), a cantata by German composer Georg Phillip Telemann (1681-1767), and selections from a Requiem Mass by African-Brazilian composer José Mauricio Nuñes-Garcia (1767-1830). The Telemann piece is scored for choir, two violins and continuo; the choir will be accompanied by Berea community members Megan Norris and Chloe Groth, violins, Charles Hoffman, cello, and Lindsay Clavere, keyboard.
The program also features music from around the world, mostly secular, including a selection of pieces from Indianas, music with Argentine folk roots by Carlos Guastavino, performed by the Chamber Singers; El Vito, a Spanish (Andalusian) folk song setting for two pianos by Mack Wilberg; Only In Sleep, a setting of a Sara Teasdale poem by Latvian composer Ēriks Eŝenvalds; Skylark, a famous jazz ballad by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael; and arrangements of two famous African-American spirituals, Rockin’ Jerusalem and Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord. El Vito will be performed by the Concert Choir and the Clavere Piano Duo.
Note: The concert will be livestreamed and available for viewing here.