May 6, 2018 @ 4:00 pm On May 5 at 4:00 PM and May 6 at 4:00 PM, Sheepscot Valley Chorus and St. Cecilia Chamber Choir will present Handel’s brilliant choral work “Israel in Egypt” at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle, Maine. One of the world’s favorite choral treasures, “Israel in Egypt” showcases Handel’s genius for storytelling and drama. The powerful chorus-laden oratorio vividly portrays the biblical stories in the Books of Exodus and Psalms, from the plagues of flies, frogs and hailstones, to Moses’ parting of the Red Sea. Gathered under the baton of Artistic Director Linda Blanchard, the large combined group will be accompanied by a twenty-five piece professional orchestra and five outstanding soloists for this magnificent work – second only in popularity to Handel’s “Messiah.” “Israel in Egypt” is deemed by many to be one of the most spectacular large-scale choral works ever composed. It demands technical brilliance in every aspect: from the precision required of the soloists in several arias, to the magnitude of skill and cooperation from the orchestra, as well as the volume of voices to bring the choruses to full and powerful fruition. “Israel in Egypt” was originally performed in 1739, and at first failed to garner an enthusiastic response. It was not until the 19th century, when choral societies and amateur music festivals began to flourish in England, that “Israel in Egypt” attained the level of popularity it has today. Performing will be the extraordinary soloists Mary Sullivan, soprano, Joëlle Morris, mezzo-soprano, Timothy Neill Johnson, tenor, and basses Josh Miller and Dominique Rosoff, who will perform the bass duet “The Lord Is A Man Of War.” Don’t miss these exciting concerts. Buy your tickets now easily at ceciliachoir.org/tickets, and soon at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta and Boothbay Harbor, and Treats in Wiscasset. For more information, please visit ceciliachoir.org, sheepscotvalleychorus.org, or call Del Merritt at 781-436-0335.
September 11, 2018 @ 6:00 pm Sheepscot Valley Chorus Welcomes New Singers The Sheepscot Valley Chorus begins their 38th season with a potluck supper at 6:00 PM with a rehearsal at 7:00 PM, on Tuesday, September 11 at the Wiscasset Congregational Church on Route 1. With a long history of community music making, members of the Chorus welcome and encourage new singers to join us. Singers wishing to participate may call director Linda Blanchard at 207-380-2768, or simply come to the first rehearsal. The major work for Sheepscot Chorus this fall will be Hubert Parry’s stirring and intricate “Magnificat in F” for mixed voices and soprano soloist. Dedicated to Queen Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee, the Magnificat is in five sections with an emphasis on counterpoint, as well as other Baroque devices, and takes its cue from Bach’s own Magnificat (BWV 243). This is quite apparent in the exultant opening, while the third part, “Et misericordia,” is a choral meditation with a moving violin obbligato, and one of Parry’s loveliest moments. The finale ends with an exciting fugue and cyclic reminder of the work’s opening measures. The December concert will also feature a mixture of classical works and lighter holiday fare, including the Leroy Anderson Christmas carol extravaganza “A Christmas Festival” which was played for many years by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. Sheepscot Valley Chorus is directed by Linda Blanchard and accompanied by Sean Fleming, both of Damariscotta. The Chorus will perform their concert Sunday, December 2 at 3:00 p.m. at the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor.
December 2, 2018 @ 3:00 pm Sheepscot Valley Chorus celebrates its 38th season with a “Christmas Pops!” concert on Sunday, December 2, at 3:00 p.m., at Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church. The featured work for the concert is Hubert Parry’s great Magnificat setting, the Magnificat in F. Led by artistic director Linda Blanchard and accompanist Sean Fleming, the concert will also feature several jazzy arrangements of hit tunes such as “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Little Jack Frost Get Lost,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” and more! The vocal talents of soprano Danielle Vayenas and bass Nick Azzaretti will be featured in solos and duets, along with multi-instrumentalist Marcus Hutchins. Written in 1897 and dedicated to Queen Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee, Parry’s Magnificat in F is in five sections with an emphasis on counterpoint, as well as other Baroque devices, and takes its cue from J.S. Bach’s Magnificat (BWV 243). This is quite apparent in the exultant opening, while the third part, “Et misericordia,” is a choral meditation with a moving obbligato, and one of Parry’s loveliest moments. The finale ends with an exciting fugue. Some familiar and not-so-familiar arrangements of Christmas songs will be sung, including a jazz-choir style version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the Vince Guaraldi favorite “Christmas Time Is Here,” and a fun women-only arrangement of “Here Comes Santa Claus” based on the popular Glee version. In the spirit of Christmas giving Sheepscot Chorus asks concert attendees to bring a canned or boxed food item for the Boothbay Region Food Pantry and/or a monetary donation to either the food pantry, the Community Energy Fund of Lincoln Country, or the Twin Villages Food Bank Farm. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students, and may be purchased at Sherman’s Bookstore of Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, Treats in Wiscasset, and at the door. For more information, please visit our website at sheepscotvalleychorus.org.
January 29, 2019 @ 7:00 pm Sheepscot Chorus rehearsals have resumed on Tuesday nights 7:00-9:00 PM at the First Congregational Church in Wiscasset. We’re working on Dvořák’s Mass in D Major, Op. 86, Cole Porter songs (“In The Still of the Night” and “Night and Day”), big-band-era favorites such as “Star Dust,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” and “Time After Time,” and a nice arrangement of “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” We’re accepting new or returning singers in all voice parts. Come sing!
April 27, 2019 @ 7:30 pm Sheepscot Valley Chorus celebrates its 38th season with a “Dvořák and Jazz” concert on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 28, at 3:00 at Second Congregational Church in Newcastle. The featured work for the concert is Antonín Dvořák exquisite Mass in D Major, Op. 86. Led by artistic director Linda Blanchard and accompanist Sean Fleming, the concert will also feature several jazzy arrangements of hit tunes such as Cole Porter songs (“In The Still of the Night” and “Night and Day”), big-band-era favorites such as “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “One O’Clock Jump,” “Star Dust,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” a jaunty arrangement of “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” and more! Dvořák wrote his Mass in D in 1886 for his friend Josef Hlavka, later the founder and first president of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In that year Hlavka had a new chapel built at his summer residence, a castle in Luzany in Western Bohemia. When the chapel was to be consecrated the following year, he asked his friend Dvorak to write a new mass for the occasion. Dvořák’s mass was first performed for the consecration of that chapel. The first public performance of the mass was held at the Municipal Theatre in Plzen on 15 April 1888. The mass soon became extremely popular in England. A reviewer in the Musical Opinion of 1 December 1894 wrote this about Dvořák’s Mass in D: “Numbered among the important musical productions of the past month is Antonin Dvorak’s Communion Service in D (Op. 86), a work of remarkable power and effect and fully worthy of the great reputation of its composer. All now are ready to lend a hearing ear to whatever the Bohemian master may have to say; and, although conscious that the reader will have formed an unusually high opinion of the service, I cannot refrain from saying that we have here a setting of the Credo that is calculated to create a deep and lasting impression. This is truly a magnificent piece of music, such as can only be written at rare intervals even by a Dvorak.” As a special treat, the three high-school-student winners of the Sheepscot Chorus 2014 Student Music Awards will also be featured in solo performances at the concert. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students, and may be purchased at Sherman’s Bookstore of Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, Treats in Wiscasset, and at the door. For more information, please visit our website at sheepscotvalleychorus.org.
April 28, 2019 @ 3:00 pm Sheepscot Valley Chorus celebrates its 38th season with a “Dvořák and Jazz” concert on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 28, at 3:00 at Second Congregational Church in Newcastle. The featured work for the concert is Antonín Dvořák exquisite Mass in D Major, Op. 86. Led by artistic director Linda Blanchard and accompanist Sean Fleming, the concert will also feature several jazzy arrangements of hit tunes such as Cole Porter songs (“In The Still of the Night” and “Night and Day”), big-band-era favorites such as “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “One O’Clock Jump,” “Star Dust,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” a jaunty arrangement of “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home?” and more! Dvořák wrote his Mass in D in 1886 for his friend Josef Hlavka, later the founder and first president of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In that year Hlavka had a new chapel built at his summer residence, a castle in Luzany in Western Bohemia. When the chapel was to be consecrated the following year, he asked his friend Dvorak to write a new mass for the occasion. Dvořák’s mass was first performed for the consecration of that chapel. The first public performance of the mass was held at the Municipal Theatre in Plzen on 15 April 1888. The mass soon became extremely popular in England. A reviewer in the Musical Opinion of 1 December 1894 wrote this about Dvořák’s Mass in D: “Numbered among the important musical productions of the past month is Antonin Dvorak’s Communion Service in D (Op. 86), a work of remarkable power and effect and fully worthy of the great reputation of its composer. All now are ready to lend a hearing ear to whatever the Bohemian master may have to say; and, although conscious that the reader will have formed an unusually high opinion of the service, I cannot refrain from saying that we have here a setting of the Credo that is calculated to create a deep and lasting impression. This is truly a magnificent piece of music, such as can only be written at rare intervals even by a Dvorak.” As a special treat, the three high-school-student winners of the Sheepscot Chorus 2014 Student Music Awards will also be featured in solo performances at the concert. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students, and may be purchased at Sherman’s Bookstore of Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, Treats in Wiscasset, and at the door. For more information, please visit our website at sheepscotvalleychorus.org.
December 8, 2019 @ 3:00 pm Sheepscot Valley Chorus celebrates its 39th season with a “Christmas Pops!” concert on Sunday, December 8, at 3:00 p.m., at the Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church. Led by artistic director Linda Blanchard and accompanist Sean Fleming, the concert will feature Felix Mendelssohn’s brilliant Magnificat setting, the Magnificat in D. The concert will also include several jazzy arrangements of hit tunes such as “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and more! The vocal talents of soprano Mary Sullivan, alto Jazmin DeRice, tenors Jesse Wakeman and David Myers, Jr., and bass John David Adams will be featured in solos, duets, and trios, and a jazz combo will accompany the chorus on several numbers. Written in 1822 when Mendelssohn was only 13, the Magnificat in D is in seven sections, with solo movements interspersed with ones for full chorus. The musicologist and critic Hans Keller used to say that Mendelssohn was even more phenomenal as a boy prodigy than Mozart, writing more impressive masterpieces while still in his teens. In 1822 Mendelssohn was set by his teacher Karl Zelter to write pieces in the style of compositional masters such as Bach, Mozart, and Haydn, and so the Magnificat is similar to Bach’s compositional style. The Bach influence is quite apparent in the exultant opening, in which orchestral passages are alternated with choral passages. For the last movement, an exciting Haydn-like fugue ends the piece on a triumphant note. The fabulous soprano Mary Sullivan will headline the second half of the concert. Sullivan will lend her inimitable talents to such pieces as “Gesù bambino,” “Maria Wiegenlied,” and the Roland Carter’s gospel hit “Mary Had a Baby.” The finale of the concert will be “Jingle Bells” as sung by Michael Bublé and The Puppini Sisters, accompanied by a combo including Marcus Hutchins, winds, Asher Barreras, bass, and Doug Kennedy, drums. In the spirit of Christmas giving, Sheepscot Chorus asks concert attendees to bring a canned or boxed food item and/or a monetary donation for the Boothbay Region Food Pantry. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students, and may be purchased at Sherman’s Bookstore in Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, Treats in Wiscasset, and at the door. For more information, please visit facebook.com/sheepscotchorus and sheepscotvalleychorus.org.
January 14, 2020 @ 7:00 pm The Sheepscot Valley Chorus is beginning preparation for an April performance of Paul Winter’s “Missa Gaia (Earth Mass): A Mass in Celebration of Mother Earth.” All are welcome to join us for our first rehearsal, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 7:00 p.m., Congregational Church, Wiscasset. We’re a friendly group, working to perfect our craft as we enjoy the company of our fellow singers. Come join us! Our performance of “Missa Gaia” celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Written by Paul Winter in 1981, the work was dedicated to St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology. In “Missa Gaia” Winter created a work both ecumenical and ecological, embracing all the voices of the Earth. The piece will feature a children’s choir, African percussion, bass, cello, guitar, organ, piano, and soprano sax, along with animal calls. Members of the Chorus welcome and encourage new singers to join us. Those wishing to participate may call director Linda Blanchard at 207-380-2768, or simply come to the first rehearsal.
April 18, 2020 @ 3:00 pm The Sheepscot Valley Chorus begins their 40th season with April 18 and 19 performances of Paul Winter’s “Missa Gaia (Earth Mass): A Mass in Celebration of Mother Earth.” The Chorus’ performances of “Missa Gaia” celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Written by Paul Winter in 1981, the work was dedicated to St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology. In “Missa Gaia” Winter created a work both ecumenical and ecological, embracing all the voices of the Earth. The piece will feature a children’s choir, African percussion, bass, cello, guitar, organ, piano, and soprano sax, along with animal calls. The concerts will be on Saturday, April 18 at 3:00 PM and Sunday, April 19 at 3:00 PM at the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor. The Chorus is directed by Linda Blanchard and accompanied by Sean Fleming. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students, and may be purchased in April at Sherman’s Bookstore in Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, Treats in Wiscasset, and at the door. For more information, please visit facebook.com/sheepscotchorus and sheepscotvalleychorus.org.
April 19, 2020 @ 3:00 pm The Sheepscot Valley Chorus begins their 40th season with April 18 and 19 performances of Paul Winter’s “Missa Gaia (Earth Mass): A Mass in Celebration of Mother Earth.” The Chorus’ performances of “Missa Gaia” celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Written by Paul Winter in 1981, the work was dedicated to St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology. In “Missa Gaia” Winter created a work both ecumenical and ecological, embracing all the voices of the Earth. The piece will feature a children’s choir, African percussion, bass, cello, guitar, organ, piano, and soprano sax, along with animal calls. The concerts will be on Saturday, April 18 at 3:00 PM and Sunday, April 19 at 3:00 PM at the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor. The Chorus is directed by Linda Blanchard and accompanied by Sean Fleming. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students, and may be purchased in April at Sherman’s Bookstore in Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta, Treats in Wiscasset, and at the door. For more information, please visit facebook.com/sheepscotchorus and sheepscotvalleychorus.org.