Monday, December 7, 2009

Plenty to Do This Week (Part 1)

Monday December 7:
It's an evening of music on the Wesleyan campus with 2 fine concerts. At 6 p.m. in Memorial Chapel, Christopher Grundy (baritone) and Professor Neely Bruce (piano) present a recital of art songs by Busoni, Schubert, Brahms and Bruce. Joining them will be special guest Katherine Polit (soprano.) The event is free and open to the public.

At 8 p.m., Crowell Concert Hall will be the site for the annual Ebony Singers Fall Semester Concert. Under the direction of Pastor Marichal Monts, the gospel choir is truly filled with heavenly voices and even if you're not a religious person, this music will raise your spirits. Tickets are usually in short supply so call 860-685-3355 for more information.

Tuesday December 8:
The Wesleyan Wind Ensemble, Peter Hadley, music director, presents "WesWinds Wanders the World" at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall. The concert, free and open to the public, will feature pieces composed by
Alfred Reed, Robert W. Smith, John Philip Sousa and Jaime Texidor. On a personal, I attended the WesWinds Spring Concert and was highly impressed. You can't beat the price and the musicianship is excellent.

Wednesday December 9:
Stop by South Church, 9 Pleasant Street, at 12 noon for the 2nd of its Advent Organ Recitals. Students of Wesleyan Organ instructor Ronald Ebrecht perform and the music sounds great. It's free and open to all.

The Wesleyan Concert Choir and its special guest, the Pitee Chamber Choir of Sweden (pictured), presents "Jul Jul! A Winter Concert of Choral Music" at 7 p.m. in Wesleyan's Memorial Chapel. Conducted by Pitee's Music Director Erik Westberg, the concert, the first collaboration between the 2 ensembles, will feature music by Sandstrom, Norman, Rheinberger's "Gloria for Double Chorus", a special enactment of the Swedish "festival of lights" in honor of Saint Lucia as well as more familiar melodies. The concert is free and open to the public. As you will see in the comments below, the concert program will be repeated Thursday (12/10) at South Congregational Church at 7 p.m.

The Buttonwood Tree hosts its monthly Belly Dance presentation at 8 p.m. For more information, call 860-347-4957.

2 comments:

Catherine Johnson said...

Don't miss this chance to hear this choir from northern Sweden. Erik is a wonderful director and has been living here in Middletown this fall and teaching at Wesleyan. I think this will start your holiday off. Invite a friend and come: it's free!

Catherine said...

This same concert will also be performed Thursday evening at South Congregational Church.