HAILSTORK, HOLIDAY, & A LITTLE HALLELUJAH
DECEMBER 12th at 4:00PM • Norwalk Concert Hall • Norwalk, CT
Join Fairfield County Chorale and tenor Anthony P. McGlaun this upcoming holiday season as we gather together for the first time since March 2020 to offer our holiday favorites – some old, some new, some unexpected. With so much to honor and remember, FCC begins with Mendelssohn’s sacred cantata Verleih uns Frieden, a heartfelt plea to ‘Grant us peace.’
FCC is fortunate and honored to participate in the birthday celebration of Chorale friend and composer Dr. Adolphus Hailstork, who turns 80 this year. (And who will be visiting in person!) Born in Rochester and educated in New York and Michigan, Dr. Hailstork, whose current composition tally tops 300, is an heir to the midcentury American style, writing vibrant forward-looking pieces threaded with internal emotion. He has written so many pieces in so many styles that his work is impossible to pigeonhole, getting inspiration from the sacred, the spiritual, contemporary events, and the other arts. His commitment to cross-fertilization is very much in keeping with FCC’s two online performances from last year.
The program will include Dr. Hailstork’s beautiful and moving A Christmas Canticle, and continuing with the sacred cantata theme, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, composed in 1997 in memory of American composer Undine Smith Moore, the “Dean of Black Women Composers.” In a recent interview, Dr. Hailstork discussed the inspirational options available to him, saying, “it’s a great time to be a composer; so many things that are acceptable to try out now.”
With a festive selection of international holiday favorites, FCC builds on this past year’s experience, incorporating multimedia components. The entire program spotlights the spirit of strength and affirmation in navigating the past year’s difficulties. As is our tradition, we end the evening by inviting the audience to join us in singing Silent Night.
This is Fairfield County Chorale’s 59th season of presenting great choral works in southwestern Connecticut. Like so many arts organizations, these last eighteen months have tested the resolve of the Chorale. With a fierce commitment to music and mission, the Chorale has sustained itself throughout the period, offering online performances, broadening its audience throughout the world, even adding new members. The Chorale membership is comprised of over 100 voices, and every concert is presented with professional accompanists or orchestra, and soloists. FCC has presented a number of U.S. and world premieres and has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Sunday, December 12, 4:00PM
Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT
Tickets — available from Chorale members, on FCC’s website, by phone, or by mail — are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, $5 for students. Advance tickets are encouraged; Norwalk City Hall is following local covid-related protocols regarding seating, so there may be limited availability. To purchase tickets online, please visit the Chorale’s website at fairfieldcountychorale.org.
