Choral Tours, Choral Music: Berkshire Choral Festival

Berkshire Choral Festival E-Newsletter February 2009

FOCUS ON:

Week 1, Sheffield
July 12-19, Concert on July 18
Philip Brunelle, Conductor
VocalEssence, Minneapolis, MN

With Mrs. Rosa Parks as an exemplar, this concert celebrates the music of social change through singing Spirituals, freedom songs, and the oratorio Dear Mrs. Parks. All of these songs have a message of hope for the future — for us, and the generations to come.

The first half of the program features music by many contemporary African-American composers and arrangers.

I.	“Witness” (Jack Halloran) “The Word Was God” (Rosephanye Powell) “Deep River” (arr. Burleigh) “We Shall Walk Through the Valley” (Undine Smith Moore) “Soon Ah Will Be Done” (arr. Dawson)
II.	“Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder” (Chain Gang Song, arr. Düsing) with contralto Pamela Warrick-Smith “Black Betty” (Chain Gang Song, arr. Warrick-Smith) “I’m So Glad, Trouble Don’t Last Always” (arr. Warrick-Smith), with spoken tributes to famous African-American women, such as Sojourner Truth, Antonia Novello, Harriet Tubman, and Mum Bett (from Sheffield, the first African-American woman to be set free under the Massachusetts Constitution in 1781).
III.	Choral/orchestral work tbd, “We Shall Overcome" (arr. Uzee Brown, Morehouse College)
Intermission
IV.	“Dear Mrs. Parks” (Hannibal Lokumbe) “Dear Mrs. Parks is a prayer of music and words in honor of Mrs. Rosa Parks and every soul of her spiritual and social realm. She is the true nature of what is perceived and spoken of as being heaven. Her unselﬁsh love, as unselﬁsh love always does, transforms the entire world.” — from the journal of Hannibal, 2004

♫

Last Chance to Become A Charter Member of Singer Network!

Many of you have already taken advantage of the generous 30% discount for BCFers to join Singer Network, Chorus America’s new website designed just for choral singers. Version 2 enhancements to the website were released this month, with improved Calendar (list your chorus’s concerts!), Recordings, and Forum (talk with other choristers from around the country and the world!). Momentum is building, with nearly 600 singers (many of them BCFers) now as members. Sign up today. This discount is only valid until March 2, 2009! http://chorusamerica.org/SingerNetwork/2009-02/Berkshire03_offer.htm

♫

Meet BCF’s New Administrative Assistant

That helpful voice you’ve been hearing on the BCF telephone since December belongs to Janice Wilcoxson. She came to us from Landmark Volunteers, a company that matched youths to volunteer opportunities around the world. Janice was also a medical transcriptionist for 20+ years. The mother of three grown sons is a native of New York State, but moved to the bucolic Berkshires in 1983. Janice lives with her husband, Jeff, in nearby Ashley Falls.

♫ How Do You Spell B-R-R? ♫

Chorister Services Director Cynthia Pease just loves hearing from choristers who are enjoying 65° and higher temperatures. We’ve had lower than usual temps here in the Berkshires this winter, the lowest observed being -13°. Still, she and the rest of the staff are feverishly busy getting organized for the 2009 season. To you intrepid souls who also live in cold climes, remember that whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, winter can’t last forever. Let thoughts of beautiful music wafting through a balmy summer evening keep you warm!

Hedgehog

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing public photos and videos from berkshirechoralfestival. Make your own badge here.