Since 1975 the chorus has been fortunate to have a wonder-ful audience and patrons who have very generously supported the music of the Chorus. The Chorus would not exist without both. An endowment was established early in the Chorus’ history to give it financial stability, and the Chorus received 501(c)(3) status in 1985 from the IRS. All Chorus funds go toward producing music of quality, and the Chorus is committed to performing without admission. This allows everyone, regardless of financial means, to enjoy the music. However, our major expenses – orchestra, soloists, and music – increase each year, so a successful 2019 patron drive is vital to the music of the Chorus. Donations can also be made at www.mercersburgchorus.org.

Spring2019

Come and enjoy the music!

You Make it Happen!The costs of producing Verdi in April are represented in the graph to the right and equals $36,100.

Music of quality comes with a price!

The first performance in 1874On May 22, 1874, the cathedral of St. Mark’s in Milan, Italy, was filled to overflowing by an international group of musi-cians and music lovers who had come to hear the latest work by Italy’s premier composer Giuseppe Verdi. The work, a requiem, was dedicated to the Italian poet and novelist Alessan-dro Manzoni, widely loved throughout Italy as the outstanding symbol of Italian culture, who had died one year earlier. The world watched and listened to the performance of the finest Italian soloists and a handpicked orchestra and chorus. Verdi conducted.

The success of the Requiem’s first performance was stupen-dous and the work was repeated three times at the La Scala Opera House during the next several days.

Today the Requiem remains a monumental work and is often referred to as “Verdi’s greatest opera”. Just as Verdi dealt with death in his operas, he also used a tremendously dramatic treatment in the Requiem’s great medieval sequence “Dies irae” with its terrifying images of the Last Judgment. Drama

RequiemVerdiThe Mercersburg

PerformancesOn April 13 and 14 the monu-

mental Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi will be performed by the Mercersburg Area Community Chorus in the Irvine Memorial Chapel on the campus of Mer-

cersburg Academy. Verdi’s mas-terwork will be brought to life by 4 professional soloists, a 45-piece

professional orchestra, and the 120-voice Chorus.

Saturday, April 13 – 7:00Sunday, April 14 – 3:00

Irvine Memorial Chapel at Mercersburg Academy

Continued on back

MERCERSBURG AREA COMMUNITY CHORUS

CHORUS NEWSLETTER

Music$2,000

Printing & Postage

$2,500

Orchestra & Soloists$31,600

SoloistsSoloists for the Verdi Requiem include Kylena Parks, soprano; Dawn Pierce, mezzo-soprano; Gran Wilson, tenor; and Kwangkyu Lee, bass. They have all performed in opera houses and in concert halls across the United States. The Verdi Requiem requires soloists who can perform with power, and musicianship, and the Mercersburg soloists promise to deliver just that. More information about each soloist is available at mercersburgchorus.org.

Chorus Newsletter 2019

Mercersburg Area Community Chorus, Inc.

122 South Main St.Mercersburg, PA 17236

Phone 717 328-2324merchorus@gmail.com

www.mercersburgchorus.org

December ConcertsRutter: Gloria

And Other Christmas Music

Saturday, December 7 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Sunday, December 8 3:00 pm

The Mercersburg Area Community Chorus seeks to provide opportunities for singers, instrumentalists, and listeners to enjoy great choral-orchestral music at high artistic standards.

Dawn PierceGran Wilson Kwangkyu Lee

Kylena Parks

www.mercersburgchorus.org

permeates the work: the trumpets sounding their call through all the earth, the stupefying confrontation with death, the pleas for grace, and the massive invocations to the heavenly King intertwining with heartfelt prayer.

The first performance Cont.

Matthew Levine, Guest ConductorMat is a conductor, performer, director, and educator living in Chambersburg, PA. He re-ceived his BM from Mansfield University and is currently completing his MM at Kent State University. Mat serves as the vocal music in-structor and musical theater director at his Alma mater: Waynesboro Area Senior High School. As a performer, He has appeared in various musi-cal productions in the area and has appeared on stage in various concert halls both nationally and internationally including The John F. Kennedy Center, St. Casimir in Vilnius, Lithuania, and a recent conducting credit at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Richard Rotz, our regular conductor, is taking a sabbatical for health reasons.