The Bucks County Choral Society's recently-announced 37th season presents a series of unique musical collaborations. Entitled "Singing our Stories - Building Bridges through Artistic Collaboration", season highlights include the Philadelphia premiere of Rodion Shchedrin's
The Sealed Angel , three multi-media Christmas performances of Dylan Thomas'
A Child's Christmas in Wales , two spring performances of Brahms' immortal
Ein Deutsches Requiem, and two season-ending concerts with Jay Fluellen and the African Episcopal Church of St Thomas Choir of Philadelphia.
The season opens in dramatic fashion with the Philadelphia premier of Rodion Shchedrin's
The Sealed Angel. Based on a story by Nikolay Leskov, the piece was composed as the crowning achievement of a series of works that Shchedrin completed in 1988 in connection with the millenium celebrations of Russia's conversion to Christianity. The performance features the Choral Society, dancer/choreographer Tim Early of Opus 1 Dance Company, flautist Mimi Stillman, and Keystone Boys Choir treble soloist Alex Bessen. The concert will begin with a 20-minute informal introduction to the work. The performance begins at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 1 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale.
The Choral Society celebrates Christmas 2009 with a weekend of performances featuring Matthew Harris' setting of poet Dylan Thomas' delightful remembrance -
A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Scenes from the story will be supported by projected original illustrations from student artists from the New Hope - Solebury school district. The program also includes a variety of English carol arrangements, the
Hallelujah Chorus, and our traditional sing-alongs to help to make the season bright! Concerts will be held on Friday, December 11 at 8:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale, and on Saturday, December 12 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 13 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Doylestown.
BCCS once again joins forces in the spring with the Riverside Symphonia to present another of the world's monumental choral/orchestral works - Brahms'
German Requiem. A requiem of hope for the living, this work has had a universal humanitarian appeal across sectarian boundaries. Soloists for these performances include soprano Katy Gentry, and internationally acclaimed bass-baritone Kevin Deas. The program begins with
Selig sind die Toten from German composer Heinrich Schütz, whose work influenced Brahms'
Requiem and other choral writing. Performances will be held on Saturday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m. at the New Hope - Solebury High School in New Hope, and on Sunday, April 11 at 4:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansdale
The Choral Society's season concludes with two combined concerts in collaboration with the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Choir of Philadelphia (Jay Fluellen, director). In these concerts, the groups will try to move beyond common assumptions, as we seek to know each other better by sharing the rich musical heritage of both the European and African traditions which grew up together in America. Concert dates are - Saturday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Doylestown, and Sunday, June 6 at 3:00 p.m. at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in Philadelphia.
To purchase tickets and for more information, please contact the Bucks County Choral Society at 215.598.6142, or online at www.buckschoral.org.
