arts & entertainment
The Vero Beach Choral Society will present several performances this year in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the group’s inception. The first concerts of the season will be on Saturday, December 2, and Sunday, December 3, both at 4pm at First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Boulevard in Vero Beach. These concerts will feature masterfully arranged works from both traditional and contemporary choral repertoire with a holiday theme. All Choral Society concerts are free, and a $10 donation is suggested at the door for each performance.
This group of talented singers resumed rehearsals on September 11, and this particular season is looking to be fantastic. They are actively looking for new singers to join their ranks under the direction of Dr. Jacob Craig, and auditions are a fairly simple process. This intergenerational group welcomes adult singers of all ages. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings at First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach, 520 Royal Palm Boulevard. Those interested in singing with the Vero Beach Choral Society should visit their website and click on “Sing with Us” for more information.
In December, two performances of the Winter Concert will be presented. Selections include Masters in this Hall by Hayes, Tomorrow Shall be my Dancing Day by Gardner, This Christmastide by Fraser, African Noel as arranged by the talented choral director and arranger Andre Thomas from Florida State University, among others. One of the most fascinating works presented during these performances will be A Musicological Journey through the Twelve Days of Christmas by Craig Courtney. The work is a fun puzzler that chronologically follows musical styles from the Sixth Century (501-600 A.D.) until present day. From “a partridge near a monastery in 6th Century Rome” to “Twelve Drummers drumming in a time and place you will all remember”, this work will keep audiences on the edge of their seats and guessing which famous composer must have been the inspiration for each section.
The Spring Concerts will take place on April 13 and 14, 2024 in collaboration with the Vero Beach High School choral department. The two groups will present “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” by Karl Jenkins. This truly stunning work will also feature full orchestra. The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum’s move from London to Leeds, and it was dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis. Like Benjamin Britten‘s War Requiem before it, it is essentially an anti-war piece and is based on the Catholic Mass, which Jenkins combines with other sources, principally the 15th-century folk song “L’homme armé” in the first and last movements. The Armed Man charts the growing menace of a descent into war, interspersed with moments of reflection; shows the horrors that war brings; and ends with the hope for peace in a new millennium, when “sorrow, pain and death can be overcome”.
The Vero Beach Choral Society provides merit- and need-based scholarships to students from our local community for private instruction from a pool of vetted teachers who guarantee to maximize the students’ efforts and inculcate a true appreciation for musical education. Too often, students take lessons from an instructor who is not current or motivated. They become apathetic to the study and discipline and even the joy of music. By vetting both teachers and students for this program, the Vero Beach Choral Society ensures the most probable and favorable results. For more information on the scholarship program, visit the Choral Society website.
The Vero Beach Choral Society has been making beautiful choral music and thrilling audiences since its formation in 1984. It is an auditioned, community-based, and intergenerational ensemble that performs choral art music from the Renaissance through the 21st century. From concerts in Europe to the prestigious Carnegie Hall, the VBCS has continued to grow and outperform itself, as it remains committed to making a difference through its music. The Choral Society tagline encapsulates the reason for its very existence: enriching the community with music, education and inspiration.
For more information, please visit http://www.verobeachchoralsociety.org or contact Dr. Jacob Craig, Artistic Director, at (772) 562-9088 or JacobCraig@firstpresvero.org.
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