First Congregational Church’s (FCC) adult Vestry Choir and Jubilate Bell Choir will present their annual spring concert, “Music For Your Soul,” on Sunday, March 15 at 4:00pm in the church’s beautiful sanctuary at 461 Pierson St. in Crystal Lake, Ill. The choirs are under the leadership team of Ann Tucker, Director of Music, Toni Gambini, Bellmaster, and Dr. Andrei Liquer, Organist.
FCC’s virtuosic adult bell choir, Jubilate, will perform five pieces on the concert. Alex Guebert’s Built on the Rock will open their set. Capriccio by Kevin McChesney and How Can I Keep From Singing arranged by Arnold Sherman continue Jubilate’s pursuit of excellence and beautiful dynamic ringing. Guebert’s gorgeous Reunited, and Kurt Meyer’s ambitious Prestidigitation will round out their portion of the performance.
For Vestry Adult Choir’s portion of the program, they will be singing Cry Out and Shout by Knut Nystedt (1915-2014), a 20 th century Norwegian composer. O Love is a hauntingly beautiful piece by Iowa-based composer Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979) accompanied by piano and cello. A central piece in the concert is Moses Hogan’s (1957-2003) Music Down in My Soul, featuring the song “Over My Head” as well as fantastic original writing by the 20 th century African American composer. Kyle Pederson, (b. 1971) is a Minneapolis-based composer and has written this
exceptional work, All of Me, for chorus, violin and piano. The powerful text focuses on love, inclusion, and hope for our world. More Waters Rising is a collaborative effort of twin brothers, Adam and Matt Podd (b. 1986), based in New York City. They have arranged singer-songwriter Saro Lynch-Thomason’s (b. 1986) original song written in 2016 for chorus, piano and percussion; soloists will be Allison Atteberry and Rick Fergus. Lynch-Thomason’s uplifting text calls us to “resource the best parts of ourselves as we work towards justice.” Bagpiper, Anita Jannes, will join Vestry for a unique and stunning arrangement of Amazing Grace by Stephen Hatfield. Closing the program will be the inspiring 1968 gospel song, Oh Happy Day, written by
Edwin R. Hawkins (1943-2018) and arranged by Mark Hayes; it will feature Brandy Braxton, soprano.
For more information, call the church office at 815-459-6010 or visit fcc-cl.org. The public is invited to attend this free program; a free-will offering will be received. Nursery care will be provided during the performance, and the concert will be live-streamed. Doors will open at 3:30pm for the 4pm concert. A reception for all will follow. First Congregational Church is handicapped accessible.
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