BRANDON & MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College Community Chorus takes to the stage in Brandon and Middlebury this weekend in May for its “Spring Awakening” concert. Performances take place at the Brandon Town Hall on Saturday evening, May 6, 7:30 p.m., and at the Robison Concert Hall, Mahaney Center for the Arts in Middlebury on Sunday afternoon, May 7, 3 p.m.
Conductor Jeff Rehbach, of Middlebury, notes that the program offers songs of solace and hope, alongside pieces that celebrate the wonder of star-filled nights and an awakening to new possibilities. Included are rarely heard classical music, a traditional African song, and stirring works by contemporary American composers.
The concert includes two classical works that speak of hope in the midst of grief: Elegischer Gesang (Elegiac Song) by Ludwig van Beethoven and Geistliches Lied (Let nothing ever grieve thee) by Johannes Brahms. Other songs on the program are inspired by poems, like Robert Frost’s Choose or Sara Teasdale’s May Night.
The chorus will also sing two versions of Sure on this Shining Night. The program’s namesake
“The Awakening” will also be featured, with words and music by pianist-composer Joseph M. Martin.
Rehbach leads the College Community Chorus, and Timothy Guiles returns to the piano as the choir’s virtuoso accompanist. With 90 singers this spring, the group is open without audition or mandatory fees to all singers who can follow a musical score. Its members travel from throughout the region to participate in this 150-year-old community tradition, hosted by Middlebury College. In Brandon, donations at the door help support ongoing renovations and programming at the historic Brandon Town Hall; the Middlebury performance is sponsored by the College Department of Music and is free. For more information, contact Jeff Rehbach at (802) 989-7355.