The Cantilena Chamber Choir will present a Martin Luther King weekend Psalms and Spirituals open sing at Trinity Church on Sunday, January 14th, at 3p.m. Special guests include the Urban Choral Arts Society from Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. King will be remembered in poems and speeches, but the focus of the program will be a spiritual sing along with the choirs. All words and music will be provided.
A featured work on the program will be They Called Her Moses about the life of American abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman. It was written by the esteemed choral director and composer Robert DeCormier and contains settings of several well-known spirituals. The performance is dedicated to DeCormier, who died Nov. 7 at the age of 95.
Also on the program will be readings by winners of the Berkshire Eagle sponsored Martin Luther King student essay contest who will be present to read their winning entries.
The Urban Choral Arts Society (www.urbanchoralarts.org) is a combined choir of youth and adults. It is under the direction of Ronald McFadden and is a based at the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural center. The society is dedicated to improving the achievement and esteem of Baltimore area youth through music and cultural arts. Its mission is to build a community of artists, preserve music of the African diaspora, and empower youth with competitive artistic skills for innovation.
Admission is by a suggested donation of $15 per person. Trinity Church is at 88 Walker Street in Lenox. More information: www.cantilenachoir.org. Phone: 518-791-0185 or email .
The Cantilena Chamber Choir, now in its fourteenth season, is the recipient of a Peers grant award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for this concert, the only Berkshire choir so honored. It is also a two-time winner of the prestigious Choral Arts New England’s Alfred Nash Patterson Award for unique programming. Andrea Goodman, the founder and director of the choir, also serves as the Music Director for the annual summer Saratoga Choral Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York.
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