Spring Concerts in Stoughton & Cooksville

The Stoughton Chamber Singers & the Bel Canto String Ensemble 

under the direction of John Beutel present

 Music and the Human Experience

Friday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House

Wednesday, June 12, at 7:00 p.m. at the Cooksville restored church. 

The theme for the concert is the connection of music in our everyday lives.The music reflects the power and influence of music over humans through the ages.We think you will enjoy the variety of music in this unique concert.

Tickets are $5

All students have free admission.

Tickets for the Stoughton Opera House performance are available at the McGlynn Pharmacy on Main Street in Stoughton. Tickets may also be obtained from members of the Chamber Singers, or purchased at the door prior to the performance. Tickets for the Cooksville concert will be available at the church door.

The concert opens with a tribute to the power of music,featuring "Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite" by Handel, and the madrigal "Music Thou Most Noble Art" by Johann Jeep.  The longstanding spiritual aspects and influence of music will be represented in "Adoro Te Devote", a 13th century plainsong with a text by St. Thomas Aquinas; "Locus Iste" by Anton Bruckner;  and "Praise His Holy Name," a gospel hymn by Keith Hampton.

In the final part of the concert, the Singers present two songs from Africa that represent the power of song in revolution and the power of song describing everyday events; several folk songs; “Requiem for the Masses” a war protest songof the 1960's performed by the rock group The Association; Hoagy Carmichael's ballad "Skylark"; and a medley of Beatles songs.

During the Singers' intermission, the newly named Bel Canto String Ensemble, composed of Stoughton Area string players, will perform "Andante Festivo" by Jean Sibelius, originally commissioned in Finland for the 25th Anniversary of the founding of a sawmill and later revised to be performed at the wedding of the composer's niece. (A radio recording of this piece in the 1930's is the only recorded instance of Sibelius conducting his  own music!) The string ensemble will also perform three movements from Gustav Holst's "St. Paul Suite", composed in honor of his students while Holst taught at St. Paul School in England.