There's lots going on at CONCORA! The Summer Festival concert on August 5 was a thrilling experience for listeners and performers ... Next up for CONCORA: Brahms' moving Requiem on October 15 ... Save the dates for two new special events from CONCORA's Friends of Bach! ... Tickets are now on sale for CONCORA's 2017-2018 season... The 2017-2018 brochure will be out soon ... and more!
That’s what one member of the audience had to say after the thrilling performance by the CONCORA Festival Choir on August 5 at Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin. Thank you to the many, many listeners who crowded in to that lovely space to hear the CONCORA Festival Choir, with Artistic Director Chris Shepard and pianist Allan Conway, present "Exploring the Great Choral Masterworks." More than 100 singers from 6 states held the audience spellbound with timeless choral masterworks by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and many more. The concert was the culmination of CONCORA’s 19th annual Summer Festival, a week-long gathering dedicated to exploration and enjoyment of beautiful choral music.
Festival participants told us that they had a wonderful time:
"What a great week! It was my first time participating
and it was a wonderful experience!"
“Thank you CONCORA for a great week of music and friendship!”
“I was one of the newbies this year. It was incredible to join
so many talented singers to rehearse and perform this outstanding repertoire.”
"Chris Shepard makes this musical experience both profound and joyous -
what a wonderful singing summer! So exciting to hear these 100 plus voices
approaching performance level for Saturday's magnificent concert!”
Members of the audience were also inspired to write to us:
"It was a beautiful concert!
I would gladly have listened to another hour
of those gorgeous voices and the well-chosen repertoire."
"Exquisite program...I just closed my eyes in some passages
to let myself soar through these passionate renditions.
The soloists were spectacular, and Chris Shepard is just sublime.
This is my second CONCORA experience...
it is easy to fall in love with such an ensemble!”
“The Festival Chorus's renditions gave me goosebumps!”
Were you part of this moving shared experience on August 5?Which music most moved or delighted you? Write and let us know! Post a comment on Facebook, send a Tweet to @CONCORASings, or just reply to this email. We’d love to hear from you!
It’s not too late to enjoy the Summer Festival concert! The August 5 performance was recorded, and we are pleased to offer this live concert recording of the Festival Chorus for sale. Please visit the recordings page of CONCORA’s website or contact the CONCORA office for more information and to place your order for this and other CONCORA recordings.
In the 2017-2018 season, CONCORA celebrates masterworks of the choral art, with fresh interpretations of music that many consider the greatest examples of the genre, including the Requiems of Brahms and Mozart and Bach’s monumental Saint Matthew Passion, all under the direction of Artistic Director Chris Shepard.
Season subscriptions for all five main-stage concerts are on sale until October 15, 2017. A season subscription offers the best value and guarantees your seats throughout the season. New this season: A special thank-you just for subscribers! When you subscribe to all five concerts before October 15, we will send you a private code by which you may enjoy $5 off general admission tickets for any of the five season concerts, purchased at any time during the season. Early-bird prices for single concert tickets are available through October 1, 2017. But don't wait - reserve your seats soon for each exciting program. Visit CONCORA's website for informationon concerts, season subscriptions, early bird discounts, and more. Tickets for all CONCORA concerts and events may be purchased at any time at our secure ticketing site, or by contacting the CONCORA office during business hours at 860-293-0567 or contact@concora.org.
FIRST CONCERT OF THE SEASON! Brahms: A German Requiem Sunday, October 15, 2017, 4:00 PM South Church 90 Main Street, New Britain, CT CONCORA opens the 2017-2018 season with one of the most enduring works in the choral repertoire. This performance (sung in German) offers the “London Version” of the Requiem, an arrangement for choir and four-hand piano that Brahms prepared for more intimate performances. The program also includes Brahms' Nänie, a poignant, achingly beautiful, but ultimately consoling elegy. Tickets are on sale now ($10-$55).
CONCORA's 2017-2018 season brochure will be mailed soon!
We're excited about the colorful 2017-2018 "Masterworks" season brochure! If you do not receive a brochure by September 10 but wish to, or if your contact information has changed, or if you'd rather not receive a print brochure, please contact the CONCORA office to request a copy or to update your mailing address. You won't want to miss a thing!
Save the dates for two favorite musical events
from CONCORA's Friends of Bach!
CONCORA's Friends of Bach is a volunteer organization whose mission is to support CONCORA’s performances of the works of J.S. Bach and to “enhance and inform the audience’s understanding of Bach and his music.”
In addition to an annual membership drive, the Friends of Bach produces two signature musical events to raise funds for CONCORA's annual Bach concert: the ClavierFest (Friday, November, 4), featuring music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries, performed on an array of Baroque keyboard instruments; and Wine, Jazz & Song (Saturday, January 20, 2018), an elegant evening of fine wines, delicious hors d’oeuvre, and a feast of jazz songs and standards from the American Song Book, artfully interpreted by the Sir William Trio and CONCORA vocalists. Tickets for both events are on sale now; more information is offered below.
Are you a Friend of Bach? The Friends of Bach welcome new members at any time. For more information on membership and benefits, and to join for the 2017-2017 season, please visit the Friends of Bach page on CONCORA's website or contact the CONCORA office for more information. Thank you!
Friday, November 3, 2017, 7:30 PM
St Mark the Evangelist Church
467 Quaker Lane, West Hartford, CT
CONCORA's Friends of Bach presents an engaging program of music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, performed on harpsichords, clavichords, and positive organ. Featured performers include keyboardists Edward Clark, Christa Rakich, and Stephen Gamboa-Diaz, with guest artists Emlyn Ngai, baroque violin; Andrea LeBlanc, baroque flute; Alice Robbins, baroque cello; and a special appearance by CONCORA vocalist Jermaine Woodard, Jr., baritone. All proceeds support CONCORA's performance of the Saint Matthew Passion on March 25, 2018. The program includes selections by J.S. Bach (Preludes from the Well Tempered Clavier, an aria from the Saint Matthew Passion, and Brandenburg Concerto No. 5) and C.P.E. Bach (movements from a harpsichord concerto arranged for two clavichords). Tickets are just $10-$30 and are on sale now.
Saturday, January 20, 2018, 6-9PM Porter Memorial 75 Main Street, Farmington CT
CONCORA’s Friends of Bach invite you to enjoy an evening of Wine, Jazz, & Song on Saturday,January 20, 2018, from 6-9 PM, in the lovely Porter Memorial at First Church, 75 Main Street, Farmington. THE SIR WILLIAM TRIO and vocalists from CONCORA (Connecticut Choral Artists) will offer their interpretations of jazz standards, selections from the American songbook, and much more. Enjoy fine wines, plentiful, delectable hors d’oeuvre, a silent wine auction, write-your-own song dedications, and perhaps even a spin around the dance floor, all in a casually elegant atmosphere. This midwinter festivity is hosted by CONCORA’s Friends of Bach in support of CONCORA's performance of J.S. Bach's Saint Matthew Passion on March 25. 2018. Seating is limited at this special event, so reserve your seats soon online or contact the CONCORA office. Tickets are just $50 per person and are on sale now. Snow date: Sunday, January 21, 2018, 6-9 pm.
Reach a Smart, Engaged Audience: Advertise in CONCORA's Program Books
Many local businesses and organizations share their messages with the community by purchasing affordable advertising in CONCORA’s professionally designed and printed program books. These advertisers understand the value of being aligned with a cultural cornerstone such as CONCORA.
CONCORA’s concert audiences — smart, engaged, active people from the Greater Hartford region — enjoy perusing our program books, and take them home after concerts. They take note of advertisers who support CONCORA and the great choral music that draws them to our concerts. To learn more, including key dates, rates, and technical requirements, and to reserve space in the 2017-2018 concert programs, please visit the advertising page on CONCORA's websiteor write tomedia@concora.org. Ad copy must be received by September 15 and payment must be received by October 1 to guarantee placement in the 2017-2018 concert programs.
Join the conversation on CONCORA's social media pages! We post new content nearly every day, with news and notes of interest to lovers of classical music, choral music and singing, and the arts.
CONCORA’s 2017-2018 season is made possible through the generous gifts of many individual donors and with the generous support of the following foundations and institutions: the American Savings Foundation; the Greater Hartford Arts Council; the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the J. Walton Bissell Foundation; the William T. Sloper Trust for the Andrew J. Sloper Music Fund; the State of Connecticut, with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Helen M. Saunders Charitable Foundation; the Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation; the Ensworth Charitable Foundation; the City of New Britain Commission on the Arts; the William and Alice Mortensen Foundation; and the Robert C. Vance Charitable Foundation.
