Cumberland Choral Society Concert to Spread Holiday Cheer

Next Friday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m., the Cumberland Choral Society will give its holiday performance at the First Presbyterian Church on Washington street in Cumberland. The show will include  “Messiah,” a holiday selection by G.F.Handel, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ potpourri of Christmas carols, “Fantasia on Christmas Carols.” The choir consists of sixty singers, and members  from the Maryland Symphony Orchestra will accompany the chorus.

A few of FSU’s own will perform. Judith Brown, organ professor at FSU, is the artistic director of the Choral Society as well as the Director of Music at the First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Jill Morris will also be a part of the concert. “I don’t personally get nervous for these shows because I have performed all the music before and have a lot of it memorized,” stated Dr. Morris about her upcoming show.

Financial Aid Counselor Jessica Taylor will also be partaking in the concert. When asked what she was looking forward to the most during the concert, she replied, “I’m most looking forward to the synergy of the choir when performing these beautiful works, and also the feeling that you get when you know the audience is enjoying the performance.” According to Taylor, the Ralph Vaughn Williams selection is new to her this year, but she really likes performing “For Unto Us a Child is Born” and the chorus of Hallelujah. Chorus concerts like this do not make Taylor nervous, but she did state that a few of the songs that will be performed during the concert have multiple melismas, a syllable stretched over a run of notes, which can be difficult to sing. “I think [the audience] will probably enjoy the Hallelujah chorus the most, but also the Messiah portion as a whole work,” stated Taylor.

Other members participating in the show from FSU include  Dr. Sally Boneice and music majors Robert Brown and Sakkara Turner. This year’s guest soprano soloist will be Mariana Mihai-Zoeter, a Professor of Music at FSU.

Admission for the Cumberland Choral Society Concert is $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens.

 Featured image from the Cumberland Choral Society’s website, cumberlandchoralsociety.org.