“Voices of Jubilation” will be heard in live performance May 7th .
With “Voices of Jubilation” the Westchester Chorale announces its first concert since 2019 when on Saturday, May 7th the glorious sounds of choral singing will once again ring from the rafters of Larchmont Avenue Church.
Their performance of works by two contemporary composers, Douglas Kostner and Dan Forrest, expresses musically our broader community’s exultation at our emergence from the “Covid fermata” which has silenced our voices for more than two years.
The concert will open with a newly commissioned work, Come…and Dance, by Maestro Kostner. This piece draws on the text of a play by William Butler Yeats to communicate our desire to return to life in the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic. Kostner leads us musically out of Yeats’ ‘dull house’ to ultimately to a joyous ending in which the choral voices join an explosion of triumphal wind instruments so that we finally “dance upon the mountain like a flame”. Mr. Kostner has served as Music Director for the Westchester Chorale for the past twelve years.
While Kostner needs only one language, English, to convey joyous optimism, Dan Forrest employs seven – from Arabic to Zulu –in his Jubilate Deo, which he wrote in 2016.
This stunning global celebration of joy pulls from the traditional Psalm 100 text to bring all the earth singing as one, “omnis terra, jubilate!” In Westchester Chorale’s presentation Jubilate Deo becomes 45 minutes of pure exuberance performed by the full adult choir with soprano and alto soli, the Westchester Children’s Chorus, and a full orchestra.
The “Voices of Jubilation” concert will be held at Larchmont Avenue Church, 60 Forest Park Ave., Larchmont, NY. General Admission: $25, Students: $10.
Information: www.westchesterchorale.org or email WestchesterChorale@gmail.com.
About The Westchester Chorale
The Westchester Chorale has long been recognized as one of the region’s leading musical ensembles. An auditioned amateur chorus, the Chorale’s members are devoted musicians drawn from all walks of life. Under the guidance of our Music Director, Douglas Kostner, the Chorale strives to deepen and enhance the vocal abilities and musicianship of all its members, through the inclusion of challenging and rewarding experiences at our weekly rehearsals. Maestro Kostner enjoys creating engaging programs which blend the familiar along with unusual and exciting pieces from the choral repertoire. As the official chorus-in-residence at the Larchmont Avenue Church, the Chorale normally rehearses weekly on Tuesday evenings in Russell Hall, the church’s rehearsal space in the heart of Larchmont Village. The Westchester Chorale is a proud member of the Chorus Connection, the Vocal Area Network, and past recipient of Arts Westchester’s Arts Organization Award and many other grants.