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The 80 singers of the North Country Chorus, led by Alan Rowe, will perform Messiah with a chamber ensemble. Featured soloists are sopranos Lisa Baclawski, Suzan Derby, and Kristen Morgan-Davie; altos Kim Beckley and Bridget Peters; tenors Michael Eareckson and Andrew Hudson-Sabens; and bass Lucas Weiss.

Messiah, written in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, is one of the most famous and often-performed choral works in Western music. It was first performed in Dublin in April 1742 and later in London the following year. The North Country Chorus has sung Messiah many times during its 78-year history, most recently six years ago. At the Sunday matinee in Peacham, audience members who bring their own Messiah scores are invited to sing along during the major choruses.

The words for this English-language oratorio were put together by Charles Jennens using passages from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter. The text reflects on Jesus as the Messiah, or Christ. The first section, about Christmas, begins with Old Testament prophecies from Isaiah and others, then moves to the announcement of Jesus’s birth to the shepherds—the only scene taken from the Gospels. The second part focuses on Christ’s suffering and ends with the famous “Hallelujah” chorus. The final section covers New Testament teachings about the resurrection and Christ’s glory in heaven.

Admission to the concerts are by donation.

The North Country Chorus is a community choir made up of singers with many different levels of experience. What they share is a love of performing music by great composers from past centuries to today.

The North Country Chorus will sing two classical works, both titled Gloria, one by Francis Poulenc, the other by John Rutter, in their annual spring concerts. The performances are Saturday, May 3, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 4, at 3:00 pm. Both concerts are at the United Community Church on Main St. in St. Johnsbury. Admission is by donation. 

The program for the Chorus’s 76th spring concerts will feature the Royal Towne Brass Quintet who, along with organ and percussion, will also accompany the Rutter Gloria. Director Alan Rowe will also lead several songs by the St. Johnsbury Academy Hilltones. 

The liturgical text of both settings of Gloria is taken from the Latin Mass. Poulenc’s work, composed in 1960, is set in “a joyful yet sincere, and in places, humble manner.” Some critics labelled the work as sacrilegious, but Poulenc answered that he had in mind frescoes with angels sticking out their tongues, and also some solemn-looking Benedictine monks that he saw playing soccer one day! 

Rutter’s Gloria, which premiered in 1974, is one of his most ambitious concert works. Rutter saw this work as “exalted, devotional, and jubilant by turns” and analogous to a symphony, with three movements in common with symphonic practice to express these different moods. 

The North Country Chorus has been singing since 1947. Currently about 50 members, this community chorus is a mix of trained and amateur musicians. Auditions are not required.

Dear Singers,

Though the start of every season makes me a little anxious, that nervousness disappears with the arrival of old friends and new voices as we start the process of bringing beauty through song. While the group already has demonstrated a robust sound, we will continually address the process of achieving our best blend and balance.

Next week we will start on the Carols and Lullabies. The challenge with this work will be the text. Many of the older scores have phonetic pronunciations. I hope to have a sheet with those printed out next week to avoid too much time spent on this in rehearsal. I do enourage you to listen to a recording to help in that process. www.northcountrychorus.org/learnyourmusic

I also hope we can memorize the Hodie in Ceremony. Traditionally, this is done a cappella and as a procession. Hopefully, we can achieve that.

The biggest news is that, by what appeared to be overwhelming support, we have decided to start rehearsals at 6:45 and end at 8:30. Certainly, if this means for some that you will have to arrive late, that will not be a problem. THIS CHANGE WILL START ON SEPTEMBER 24.

I look forward to seeing you all next week!

The performance dates will be Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6^th and 7^th for this program. We will also be sponsoring a Messiah Sing for the community on Dec. 8^th at 3:00 pm. This will be a new venture for the chorus. Although we will focus on Part 1 (the Christmas section), we will also include some of the more familiar choruses from Parts 2 and 3.  My plan, at this point, is to have the instrumentalists up front and the chorus and audience singers together in the pews. 

My best,
Alan

The North Country Chorus presents its

75th Annual Holiday Concert

Friday, December 1 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, December 3 at 3:00 PM
South Church Hall on the campus of St. Johnsbury Academy
Admission is by donation.

Featured work:

"Hodie"
by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Performances also by:

Academy Hilltones & NCC Youth Chorus

Under the steady, patient leadership of our fine director, Alan Rowe, the 70 members of the North Country Chorus present R. Vaughan Williams’s beloved Christmas cantata, “Hodie." The chorus will also sing Morten Lauridsen’s lush choral setting of James Agee‘s poem “Sure on This Shining Night.” 

Additional performances by the St. Johnsbury Academy Hilltones, also under the direction of Alan Rowe.

We are delighted to announce that the North Country Youth Chorus will also be with us. Our music program for students in grades 3 through 8 has returned under their wonderful new director, Cintia Lovo.

We are pleased to again open the doors to our concerts by donation. Our audiences have shown their appreciation for this policy; concert revenue has been comparable to ticket sales in previous years.

Welcoming new & returning singers through Tuesday, September 26. Rehearsals at 7:15 pm at the Morse Center for the Arts on the St. Johnsbury Academy campus (55 Fairbanks Drive, number 20 on this map, parking adjacent to number 21)

We're doing Vaughan Williams’s “Hodie” [see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOZ86sEU0o] as our major work and his “Fantasia on Christmas Carols”. Both are familiar to the seasoned members of NCC and we are excited to share these wonderful works with our more recent members.

Concerts will be the first weekend in December (1st-3rd). Specific dates and times TBD.

If you plan to sing this fall, please register for the Fall 2023 season by following these three steps:
1️⃣Log into the Members section of the North Country Chorus website https://www.northcountrychorus.org/dbpage.php?pg=membersonly Here's a video tutorial on logging in: https://youtu.be/oazoBVz3yzs (If your username or password isn't working, click on the Forgotten your username or password? link underneath the login to have your username and password emailed to you. If you're still having trouble, please email webmaster@northcountrychorus.org).

If you are brand new to the chorus, please fill out the New singer registration: https://forms.gle/D34Tah8iUNCiEopBA in order for us to create a website Member login for you. If you are considering joining and have questions feel free to email the music director, Alan Rowe: musicdirector@northcountrychorus.org

• Online (optional, but highly recommended): https://donorbox.org/ncc2023-24
• In person by check at the beginning of rehearsal

Rehearsal on Feb 22 will be at the Union Baptist Church, 932 Route 5, Waterford. As with all choirs, proof of vaccination and boosting are required to participate, and we ask that singers use CDC recommended masks (i.e. KN95,N95, surgical, singers masks).

▶️If you are planning on singing in the spring season, please indicate your availability online on the registration event page: https://www.northcountrychorus.org/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=events&id=150364 This serves as your registration for the spring 2022 season.

▶️If you paid your dues last fall, you do not need to pay your dues again. You only need to pay your dues online if you plan to sing in the spring season and did NOT pay dues in the fall. Dues are only accepted online at this page: https://donorbox.org/2021-22-dues due by or before the third rehearsal date (Feb 22) of the season.

▶️If you are brand new to the chorus, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/g6VQReHgHXH1HfRM7