Rustin Singers Blend with Choral Society for Premier Performance
The Bayard Rustin High School Concert Choir and the Chester County Choral Society will give a combined concert at 4:00 PM on Sunday, May 4th to commemorate the Society’s 35th season.
The Choral Society is a non-profit community choir made up of 75 auditioned singers from throughout Chester County. In addition to performing annual holiday and spring concerts in the tri-county area, the group has also completed two European tours. The Society established the “Excellence in Vocal Performance Award” in 1993 to recognize and reward the achievement of vocal excellence in young singers of Chester County. Artistic Director Gary Garletts explains, “Part of the Choral Society’s mission is to encourage young singers. Since this is our 35th anniversary year, we decided it was an appropriate time to invite Rustin’s choirs to join in the spring concert.”
The concert, entitled Our Poets Sing will include the world premier performance of By the Brandywine. Funded by The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and composed for adult choir, youth choir and piano by West Chester resident David Bennett Thomas, By the Brandywine fulfills the desire of the Choral Society to commission a piece with a connection to Chester County. The text is inspired by the poem In The Meadow by Chester County native poet John Russell Hayes and offers the listener musical vistas of the simplicity of rural life, as well as the idyllic beauty of the local countryside.
Also featuring the combined choirs will be a performance of Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, a choral suite based on Robert Frost’s collection of poetry by the same name, along with Elijah Rock and Anthem of Peace.
Tickets are available at the door, on-line at www.chestercountychoralsociety.org, or through society members for $15/adult and $5/student. Following the concert, the public is invited to a reception in the school cafeteria highlighting the history and cultural contributions of the Society.
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