The Bangor Area Children’s Choir’s annual spring concert promises to offer a garden of verses with songs inspired by classical and contemporary poetry. Artistic Director Steve Weston has selected works that will guide listeners into the ordered and rhythmic landscape of Philip Silvey’s “Bloom,” all the way through to the free-growing tangle of “Hist Whist” and “Tumbling Hair” by E. E. Cummings.
The April 11 program also features a contemporary piece based on the poem “I Dream a World” by Langston Hughes, along with a pair of rollicking folk dance tunes. A sound chant titled “Ta Tikee Tei” by contemporary composer Sid Rabinovitch showcases the oldest form of song in a very modern way: the composition offers complex rhythmic gymnastics but contains only two real words.
“There are many elements of music that make it either beautiful or entertaining,” says Steve Weston. “Composers, for hundreds of years, have used poetry and various forms of text to bring the meaning of their music to their listeners. Text brings meaning while the musical setting enhances the mood. I chose the settings of poetry and folklore for this concert with a purpose, either for their beauty or their cultural richness.”
Columbia Street Baptist Church in Bangor will host the concert at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 11. The performance is open to the public; admission is free and donations are always welcome.
For more information about the concert, auditions and BACC in general please call Steve Weston at 992-7472.