Fifty years ago, University of Vermont professor James G. Chapman founded the Vermont Choral Union, a community-based a cappella choral group. The ensemble of 36 auditioned-singers is still going strong, now with Middlebury's Jeff Rehbach at the helm since 2011. Rehbach will lead the Choral Union in three anniversary concerts the next two weekends: Friday, 4/21/17, 7:30 pm, Mahaney Ctr. for the Arts at Middlebury College; Sunday, 4/23/17, 3:00 pm, McCarthy Arts Ctr. at St. Michael's College; and on Saturday, 4/29/17, 7:30 pm, Unitarian Church of Montpelier.
"Wings of Song" celebrates 50 years of singing timeless a cappella music, and encompasses a mix of sacred and secular songs that cross the centuries from the European and North American continents. The centerpiece of the program features a dazzling choral suite commissioned for the ensemble's 50th anniversary, composed by award-winning composer and Middlebury College graduate Christina Whitten Thomas for SATB and flute, set to poetry by three Vermont writers, Jay Parini, Abilgail Carroll, and Jean Killary. The program also includes 18th century psalm settings by historic Vermont figures such as Justin Morgan and Elisha West, researched and brought to light by Professor Chapman, as well as works by Byrd, Schutz, Brahms, Rheinberger, Durufle, Stanford, Poulenc, Barber, Raffman, Baksa, Will Todd, and Randall Thompson. The Choral Union's soaring sounds take wing and promise to lift your spirits as spring takes hold in Vermont. Tickets will be available at the door. For details about advance ticket sales, see www.vtchoralunion.org
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