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Jephte
Sunday, April 29, 2018
4:00PM
A pre-concert talk by Dr. Neely Bruce
begins at 3:15PM
MHS Performing Arts Center
200 La Rosa Lane, Middletown, CT
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Continuing a long tradition of performing choral masterworks for the greater Middletown community, the GMChorale, led by Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, will present Jephte, the exquisite but rarely-heard oratorio by early Baroque composer Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674), on Sunday, April 29, 2018, at 4:00PM, at the MHS Performing Arts Center in Middletown.
The program will also include a selection of favorite Renaissance madrigals and the sparkling Te Deum by Franz Joseph Haydn. The Middletown High School Advanced choir, under the direction of Stephanie Zak, will join the 80 singers of the GMChorale in singing the madrigals and the Haydn.
The oratorio Jephte is based on the story of Jephte and his daughter, as told in the Biblical book of Judges. Jephte, as he goes off to war, rashly promises God that should he be victorious in battle, he will sacrifice the first living thing he sees upon his return home. As his daughter greets him with song and dance to celebrate his victory, the oratorio unfolds with music of rejoicing, despair, grief, and, ultimately, reconciliation.
The role of Jephte will be sung by tenor Terrence B. Fay, and soprano Kristine Pekar will sing the role of Jephte’s daughter.
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Kristine Pekar is an active performer as a soloist and on the theatrical stage. Solo work includes Soir sur la plaine (Boulanger) with the Greater Middletown Chorale; Petite Messe Solennelle (Rossini) with Cappella Cantorum; and Laud to the Nativity (Respighi) with Con Brio. Her stage roles have ranged from the title role in The Merry Widow (Lehar) to the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
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Ms. Pekar is Director of Choral Music at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, where she conducts four choirs and teaches music theory, music history, and musical theater performance. She holds degrees in voice performance from Ithaca College and in music education from Central Connecticut State University, where she also completed her Masters in Music Education.
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Terrence B. Fay – Lauded as a “musical polymath” by the New London Day, Terrence B. Fay is enjoying a burgeoning career as a tenor soloist. He has been a soloist most recently with the Eastern Connecticut and New Haven Symphony Orchestras, as well as Capella Cantorum, the GMChorale, and Con Brio Choral Society. He made his operatic debut in 2017 as Spoletta in Connecticut Lyric Opera’s production of Puccini’s Tosca.
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Mr. Fay is an active choral vocalist, as well. He has sung with the choirs of Christ Church, New Haven; St. John the Evangelist, Stamford; and with the Grammy-award winning choir, Gaudeamus, while also performing frequently with MidAmerica Productions in New York City under the direction of John Rutter, among others. In 2011, he performed as a member of the Collegiate Chorale at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland in performances with Bryn Terfel and Barbara Frittoli, and the Bard Festival with the American Symphony Orchestra. He is currently a member of the Schola Cantorum of St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, Norwalk, CT, and of the choir of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Darien, CT. A large part of Mr. Fay’s musical career is spent as a trombonist. He is currently principal trombonist of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theater of Connecticut, and assistant principal trombonist of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed with Orchestra New England, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the Ridgefield, Wallingford, Waterbury, Norwalk, and Greater Bridgeport Symphonies, among others. Mr. Fay is an avid educator as well, teaching everything from voice and brass private instruction to music theory, history, composition, and brass methods, while also enjoying coaching small vocal and brass ensembles. He is currently on the faculties of the Neighborhood Music School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Southern Connecticut State University, and the Universities of Bridgeport and New Haven.
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EVENT DETAILS
A pre-concert talk by Neely Bruce, John Spencer Camp Professor of Music at Wesleyan University, will begin at 3:15 for all ticket-holders. Dr. Bruce will talk about Carissimi’s Jepthe and its place in music history, and will also offer comments about the madrigals and Haydn’s Te Deum. The concert will last about an hour and will be performed without intermission. Following the concert, members of the audience will be invited to get a closer look at the instruments and talk with the players.
What: Choral concert by the Greater Middletown Chorale and professional orchestra, led by Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio.
Program: Jepthe by Giacomo Carissimi (about 30 minutes), Te Deum by Franz Joseph Haydn (about 10 minutes), and a selection of Renaissance madrigals (about 10 minutes).
When: Sunday, April 29, 2018, 4:00PM. The pre-concert talk by Dr. Neely Bruce begins at 3:15PM.
Where: MHS Performing Arts Center, 200 La Rosa Lane, Middletown, CT. Click on the map image below to open Google Maps for this location.
Accessible: Yes
Tickets: $15-$35. Discounted rates are available for groups of 10 or more.
Reserve Tickets at: www.gmchorale.org. Click HERE for a direct link to the online ticket store. Tickets are also available at the door on the day of the concert.
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The Greater Middletown Chorale in concert
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