Fresno Community Chorus Master Chorale will celebrate its 60th season with a concert featuring the world premiere of a piece commissioned from two of the chorus’ own members. “Like Streams We Gather” by Joungmin Sur with text by Glad Ruiz features expressive music and moving text that celebrates the Central Valley landscape and the diversity of the people who call it home.
The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 6, at Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall at Clovis North High School.
“Composing this piece was a most gratifying opportunity for me to give back,” Sur said. “There was not one day that I didn’t get teary while composing because of the depth and the beauty of Glad’s poem.”
The concert will also include Handel’s “Zadok the Priest,” which was written for the coronation of King George II in 1727 and has been performed at the coronation ceremony of every British monarch since. Composed to fill the large interior space of Westminster Abbey, the piece is at once powerfully grand and buoyantly light.
Bach’s cantata “Christ lag in Todesbanden,” based on Martin Luther’s hymn of the same title, will be performed by Coro Piccolo, Fresno Master Chorale’s small ensemble. Vaughan Williams’ “Toward the Unknown Region” and Mozart’s “Regina Coeli” will also be performed.
The music will be performed with orchestra, chorus and soloists under the direction of Dr. Anna Hamre. All are invited to join in a reception following the concert to celebrate the chorus’ 60th anniversary.
Tickets are $25 for general admission. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.fresnocommunitychorus.org (service fee applies), call 559.709.6245 or email fresnocommunitychorus@gmail.com. Unclaimed tickets at will call will be released 10 minutes before concert time.
For more information, contact Dr. Anna Hamre at 559.278.2539.
