Free Concert Posted on December 18, 2016July 19, 2023 From Chorister Annette: After the holidays, there’s more good music ahead in a free concert. Some NOVA chorus members will remember singing both music by Paul Leavitt and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, which are featured in this concert. The Friday Morning Music Club (FMMC) Chorale is looking forward to entertaining a large audience with its all-American Composer program on January 13 and 14 at the Church of the Reformation (212 E. Capitol St., NE). Each concert will start at 8:00 pm. Three of the works on the program are from the middle of the 20th Century (Barber, Bernstein and Burton) while the fourth work is newly composed and orchestrated by Paul Leavitt for this, its premier performance. The program will open with a short work for chorus and orchestra by the Chorale’s conductor, Paul Leavitt. Mr. Leavitt chose Modern Greek for this, his newest work, appropriately entitled In the Beginning. This introduction will be followed by Stephen Douglas Burton’s cantata titled I Have a Dream, based on the famous speech by the Reverend Martin Luther King. The cantata was commissioned by the FMMC in 1986 as part of the Club’s celebration of its 100th anniversary. This will be the first time that the FMMC Chorale will perform the work, as the cantata’s premier performance was sung by The University of Maryland Chorus, accompanied by the Club’s orchestra. Mr. Burton will be in the audience for these performances. Samuel Barber’s Agnus Dei was composed in 1967 and was based on his Adagio for Strings, one of the most well-known works for string orchestra. Agnus Dei, which can be done accompanied or a capella, closely follows the Adagio, with only minor differences. For this performance, the orchestra will accompany the Chorale. Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was composed in 1965 and combines the texts of six different psalms from the Old Testament. Sung in Hebrew, it is both a difficult and extremely satisfying piece to present for both the chorus and orchestra. In summing up this concert, Paul Leavitt notes: “It seems to me that Dr. King’s dream was akin to the dream of the psalmist who wrote: Behold how good And how pleasant it is, For brethren to dwell Together in unity.” Supported by a grant from the Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation, this concert was developed to honor the memory of Charlotte W. Holloman, a well-known soprano and voice teacher who was a long-time member of the Club and President of the FMMC Foundation. Mrs. Holloman’s daughter plans to attend the concert.