Community Choruses celebrate spring in concert on May 1

The Hudson Community Choruses - Adult, Youth & Children’s – return for their first spring concert performance in two years on Sunday, May 1 at 4 p.m. at Christ Church Episcopal, 21 Aurora St., Hudson.

"The Promise of Living" will feature three choral pieces by composer Aaron Copland, as well as works by American writers Robert DeCormier and Randall Thompson, British composers Russell Hepplewhite and Ralph Vaughn Williams in addition to contemporary singer/songwriter James Taylor.

Tickets are $12 for adults online or $15 at the door and $5 for students and are available at www.hudsonsings.org. All HCC singers are vaccinated and will wear a mask during the performance, and HCC encourages audience members to be vaccinated and wear a mask.

According to HCC artistic director Nathan Duvuvuei, Copland’s "Promise of Living" was top of mind in his list of pieces for the spring concert, “but after reading the first few lines of the text - 'The Promise of Living,' with hope and thanksgiving is born of our loving, our friends and our labor - I felt that it encapsulated so many feelings that it quickly became the concert theme,” he said.

Originally composed as a song of thanksgiving from Copeland’s American opera, "The Tender Land" that premiered in 1954, "The Promise of Living" showcases the full chorus and includes a four-hand piano accompaniment that will feature HCC’s assistant music director and accompanist, Mario Buchanan and guest pianist Charlotte Beers Plank, associate director of music and organist at Hudson First Congregational Church. Two other Copeland compositions, "At The River" and "Simple Gifts" - which will feature all three choruses - are part of the program.

Also included is Randall Thompson’s evocative "Alleluia." When commissioned to compose a vocal fanfare for the opening of the Berkshire Music Center in 1938, Thompson struggled with what to write given that these were among the darkest days of World War II. He chose only one word - 'alleluia' - and used it to mirror the hope of light emanating from out of the darkness.

After the Russian invasion in Ukraine, at the request of the chorus, director Duvuvuei added the poignant "Homeward Bound" by Marta Keen to honor those refugees torn from their homes, and in a small way, to show support for Ukraine and its people.

Picking up the theme, Youth and Children’s Choruses director Buchanan included several British compositions including the rhythmic "Us," by Russell Hepplewhite and "Let Beauty Awake" by Ralph Vaughn Williams. "Us" features the Children’s Chorus and harnesses the exuberance of youth by declaring “We are who we are, so near and so far...we can imagine, we can make our plans, we can make our dreams…” The Youth and Children’s choruses combine for Herbert Howells’ "Bunches of Grapes," a piece written for his children although he is best known his prolific writing of Anglican church music.

HCC’s Youth Chorus will be joined by a small adult ensemble, for "Night," from "Six Choruses" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff composed "Six Choruses" in 1895 for a chorus at the Maryinski Girls School where he was a music theory teacher. It will be sung in its original Russian. The Youth will also be featured in Ralph Von Williams’ "Let Beauty Awake."

The adult chorus performs Robert DeCormier’s adaption of the spiritual "Let Me Fly," featuring HCC member and soloist Clay Archer. "No Time," a traditional camp meeting song concludes the program along with singer/songwriter James Taylor’s "Shed A Little Light." Originally written by Taylor to honor Dr. Marti Luther King, it features HCC members Ryan Dawe, Jennifer Dudinec, Roger Lewis, Pat McCoy, Kevin McMillan, Laura Pritchard, Amy Shick, Maria Tazzi and Kristina Yoder.

HCC are celebrating 34 seasons of creating memorable choral music for and with people from 8 to 80 plus. While based in Hudson, the choruses include members from more than a dozen area communities and for many, it is a family affair that spans several generations singing together. There is no audition to become a member of the group and the choruses welcome new singers in August and January of each year.

A 501 c (3) non-profit organization, HCC are grateful for ongoing support from members, audiences and community supporters, the Hudson Community Foundation, the Hudson Kiwanis Foundation and Peg’s Foundation. More information is available at www.hudsonsings.org.

The choruses are committed to keeping our singers and audiences as safe as possible in this changing environment. All HCC singers are vaccinated and will wear a mask during the performance, and HCC encourages audience members to be vaccinated and wear a mask. HCC asks audience member who feel unwell to stay home and enjoy the concert via Livestream at www.hudsonsings.org. Unused tickets can be presented at another performance in the 2022-23 season or can be donated to the choruses. Please check our website www.hudsonsings.org for any last-minute changes to our COVID procedures.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Community Choruses celebrate spring in concert on May 1