Sierra Master Chorale to perform on May 15, 18: “drama, excitement and emotion”

What:
InConcert Sierra presents
Sierra Master Chorale and Orchestra

When:
Thursday, May 15, 2014 – 7:30 p.m. concert
Sunday, May 18, 2014 – 2 p.m. concert

Tickets:
$30 general
$15 youth 5-17
Group discounts available – please call

Available at:
BriarPatch Co-op Community Market
Online at www.inconcertsierra.org
Or call 530-273-3990

On Thursday May 15, and Sunday May 18, the Sierra Master Chorale and Orchestra directed by Ken Hardin will present two concerts with great drama, excitement, emotion and beautiful lush melodies.

“My assistant music director Toon Vandevorst and I have created an eclectic program with great variety for both the choir and the audience, with something for everyone to enjoy. I describe the program as being like a trip in a time capsule,” says artistic director and conductor Ken Hardin.

“We begin our journey with a snippet of a Bach Cantata; witness Handel’s music for the coronation of King George II; an entertainment by Johann Hasse at the palace of Dresden; take in a tidbit of a Mozart opera; then be inspired by a plea for peace by Mendelssohn.

“We continue on our way reveling in the lively strains of the overture to an opera by Rossini; partake in a side trip to Paris for the gentle and haunting music of the French impressionist Gabriel Faure; experience the fervor and originality of Baltic choral music of the 20th century from the pen of Arvo Pärt; and be spellbound by the power and mystery of the Northern Lights as evoked by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo in 2008.

“It’s going to be quite a ride for all of us.”

70-voice choir and 26-piece orchestra

The 70-voice choir will be joined by a 26-piece orchestra for this performance. “The orchestra will be smaller than we typically have at our holiday concerts. The instrumentation includes mainly strings and winds, a few trumpets and harspichord,” notes Hardin.

The program will include the majestic ‘Zadoc the Priest’ (which you can hear on youtube as it was played for the procession of the Denmark Royal Wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Elizabeth Donaldson) and two glorious arias for bass and chorus from Bach’s “St. John Passion.”

The Sierra Master Chorale will be joined by bass-baritone soloist Gary Aldrich, who made his Carnegie Hall debut on New Year’s Eve 2004-2005, in the title role of Johann Strauss’ operetta Die Fledermaus.

He has performed many times at Avery Fisher Hall in New York’s Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and with opera companies and symphonies throughout the United States, Canada, Russia, the Middle East and Europe.

Currently Aldrich is a professor of voice at University of Nevada in Reno while maintaining his singing career.

“I hired Gary in the past when I was the choral conductor for Music in the Mountains, and have been looking for a perfect opportunity to bring him back to our community. I really liked working with him, he’s got a great voice. I’d say he’s one of those artists whom you never forget,” said Hardin.

The concerts are sponsored by New Moon Cafe, Elan Clinic, Gerri Griswold, and Robin Runbeck in honor of her parents Joan and Lance Goddard.

(Photo: Fred Hall)