Coshocton Community Choir hosting virtual spring concert

| April 22, 2021

“Even though the Coshocton Community Choir cannot present an in-person concert this spring, we will still offer a concert experience,” said Charles R. Snyder, founder, and director of the Coshocton Community Choir. “Our 50th annual spring concert would have been Sunday, April 25, at 3 p.m., so we will instead premier a virtual concert beginning at that very time on the Coshocton Community Choir’s YouTube Channel.”

Snyder worked with the choir’s administrative assistant, Erin Jobes, to create the hour-long virtual concert. “We borrowed the concert title and theme ‘Out of Chaos, HOPE’ from our 2005 Christmas concert,” Snyder said. “The music for this virtual experience is pulled from recordings of our live 2016 and 2017 spring performances and in many places includes audience participation components.”

Nearly 200 participants from the Coshocton Community Choir, the Coshocton Singers (founded as the Coshocton Children’s Choir), the Coshocton Youth Chorale, the Roscoe Brass Quintet [Don Kason, Ricky Harvey, Joan Kason, Keith Watson, and Steve Hildreth – and joined by Haley Evans and Ron Geese on two songs], pianists Dickie Rohrer Barrick and Mark Wagner, flutist Luane Campbell, soloists Haley Evans, Josh Chaney, and Karen Hildreth, and timpanist Tom McLeish are featured in this musical presentation.

The first set will include Dan Forrest’s arrangement of the early American song, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” Cary Ratcliff’s “Come to the Water,” the Moravian composer Christian Gregor’s “Hosanna, Blessed Is He Who Comes,” Richard Johnston’s a cappella composition (dedicated to the community choir) “He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word,” with bass soloist Josh Chaney; and Leland Sateren’s “Resurrection.”

The second group will feature Rene Clausen’s arrangement of the familiar hymn, “Nearer, My God to Thee,” John Ness Beck’s rhythmic “Psalm 46,” and will conclude with Paul Christiansen’s arrangement of the hymn “On Our Way Rejoicing.”

The Coshocton Youth Chorale will sing Giuseppe Pitoni’s “Cantate Domino [O Sing Ye],” Rene Clausen’s original composition on the text from Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (“Set Me as a Seal”); and conclude with early American composer William Billings’ short, peppy setting of the Lord’s Prayer: “Kittery,” named after Kittery, Maine.

The Coshocton Singers will begin their set with Allen Pote’s “Festival Alleluia,” followed by Andrea Ramsey’s composition on a text by Emily Dickinson, “I Shall Not Live in Vain,” Ray Charles’ “Fifty, Nifty United States,” and their traditional song, “I’m Goin’ Up a-Yonder.”

“If you’ve been to a spring concert recently, you’ll remember we try to include all three choirs – and the audience – in a song before the last set,” Snyder said.  “That comes next in the virtual concert: John Rutter’s arrangement of “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In.” Be ready to join us in singing the final chorus!”

“The final set will include Roy Ringwald’s arrangement of George Allen’s ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand,’” Snyder said. “Then Eric Nelson’s moving arrangement of ‘It Is Well’ [an appropriate song for this pandemic]; and two traditional Coshocton Community Choir closing songs: F. Melius Christiansen’s arrangement of ‘Beautiful Savior,’ and Peter Lutkin’s benediction, ‘The Lord Bless You and Keep You.’”

“We’ve been doing our best to keep alive, hopeful, and helpful during these many months,” Snyder said. “We have a new office in the Sutton building on upper Walnut Street, and I’ve sent more than 200 musical links to community choir members and alumni over these months to buoy their spirits. We hope our virtual Christmas concert in December gave you joy, and we will be happy if this upcoming virtual spring performance will help you remain hopeful. We’re praying that we’ll be singing in person again this fall!”

The “Out of Chaos, HOPE” virtual concert will premiere at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 25, 2021, and will be available any time after that on the Coshocton Community Choir’s You Tube channel: www.youtube.com/coshoctonchoir.

To find out more about the Coshocton Community Choir, call the choir office at 740-623-0554, check out the Coshocton Community Choir Facebook page, or visit their website www.CoshoctonCommunityChoir.org. Contributions to the choir can be mailed to Coshocton Community Choir, PO Box 1648, Coshocton, OH 43812 or on the contribute link on their website.

Category: Arts & Entertainment

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Article contributed to The Beacon.

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