‏As a celebration of bringing joy and music to the community, the Hinesburg Artist Series will present its 25th Anniversary St. Patrick’s Day concert. This performance will feature the beautiful “Requiem for the Living,” by Dan Forrest. The South County Chorus and Hinesburg Artist Series Orchestra will perform with guest artists soprano Cristina Escobedo and tenor Cameron Brownell, and soloists Gary Moreau, baritone, and Jiwon Lee, cellist, under the direction of Rufus Patrick. Performances will be at 2 p.m. and again at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Hinesburg.

‏“This concert promises to be one of our most inspiring performances,” said Rufus Patrick, HAS Music Director and founder of the organization. “The Requiem is incredibly moving, and we are very excited to share the joy of this spectacular music.”

‏The chorus and orchestra will also present “A Song of Peace, May the Road Rise to Meet You, and Spirit Suite II,” arranged by Mark Hayes. The HAS Orchestra will play Irish Suite, Part 2, and the HAS ensembles will perform a group of Irish music including Kesh Jig, Star of the County Down, and Coleraine Jigs.

‏“We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to come together to make music like this in Hinesburg,” said soprano Karen Farnsworth, who has been singing with the Hinesburg Artist Series since it began. “We really feel a special connection with so many loyal audience members, and are always excited to see others discover the high quality we bring to a local performance.”

‏The Hinesburg Artist Series welcomes guest artist soprano Cristina Escobedo. She will be singing with the chorus and performing “Te quiero digiste” by Maria Grever and “The Silver Aria” from “The Ballad of Baby Doe” by Douglas Moore. Tenor Cameron Brownell will also be singing with the chorus and performing “Simple Song” from the “Mass” by Leonard Bernstein. Cellist Jiwon Lee is a returning guest soloist and she will be performing a stunning arrangement of “Be Thou My Vision” arranged by Gary Lanier.

‏“We are so grateful to our community for supporting our performances, especially Lantman’s Market, which has once again has made a generous donation as a major sponsor of the Hinesburg Artist Series,” Patrick said.

‏Meet the guest artists:

‏Soprano Cristina Escobedo was born in Lima, Peru. Her first exposure to classical music was at the age of eight at the National Children Choir, where she was part of multiple performances for six years including festivals, operas, oratorio and a European tour through Italy and Switzerland. In 201, Escobedo was admitted at the Universidad Nacional de Musica of Peru where she started her vocal studies under the guidance of the well-known Peruvian Soprano Maria Eloisa Aguirre. In 2021, Escobedo won the 4th Prize in one of the most important singing competitions of Peru held by Radio Filarmonia. Recent performances include a Mozart Arias concert at The Unadilla theater, soprano soloist in “The Messiah” by Handel with the Vermont Philharmonic and her debut at Carnegie Hall this past January. Now, Escobedo is getting ready to sing the role of “Anina” in La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi with the Vienna Opera Academy in July.

‏Tenor Cameron Brownell is honored to be making his debut with the Hinesburg Artist Series. He is the Vocal Music Teacher at Champlain Valley Union High School and the Music Director at Charlotte Congregational Church. He is also the Assistant Conductor of Solaris Vocal Ensemble, led by Dr. Dawn Willis. Brownell holds degrees in Music Education/Voice Performance from SUNY Potsdam, The Crane School of Music and a Masters in Sacred Music from The University of Notre Dame.

‏Tickets for the concert are $25 (free for children under 12) and available at the door or at the HAS website, hinesburgartistseries.org.