2023/2024 PERFORMANCES

GREENBRIER VALLEY CHORALE SPRING CONCERT

Greenbrier Valley Chorale Pays Tribute to Alice Parker in Upcoming Concert

 

The Greenbrier Valley Chorale will pay tribute to the legendary choral composer and arranger Alice Parker in its annual Spring Concert on Sunday, April 28. The performance will take place at 3 p.m. at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg.

 

Parker, who died last December at age 98, was one of the most widely known composers of contemporary music, having created more than 500 choral arrangements, hymns and other pieces. The Greenbrier Valley Chorale was honored to have her as guest conductor at a concert of her works in 2005. In this concert they will perform four of her pieces in very different styles.

 

In addition to works by Parker, the concert also will feature works by two other women composers, Gwyneth Walker’s Tree of Peace and Lisa Young’s Thulele Mama Ya. 

 

A string quartet will accompany the singers in a work by Giovanni Battista Martini, who was one of Mozart’s many teachers. Percussionist Sarah Hann, whose talents frequently delight chorale audiences, will be joined by Cassidy McCoy, and will accompany the choir on two pieces, including Oggun Belele from Trinidad. Dan Forrest’s breathtakingly beautiful Shalom will be accompanied by solo violin. 

 

The chorale’s versatility will be on full display, with additional works ranging from Weep O Mine Eyes, a madrigal composed by John Bennett in 1599, to the bluegrass standard Hard Times Come Again No More.   

 

For more than 30 years, the Greenbrier Valley Chorale has excited audiences with its musical excellence, offering a full repertoire that varies in style from the great choral classics to the Broadway stage. Comprised of some 55 singers of all ages, the group is directed by Barbara Wygal Lutz and accompanied by Teresa Bryant.  

 

This concert is made possible in part with support from the Greenbrier County Commission Arts and Recreation Fund and the City of Lewisburg Arts and Humanities Fund.