A musical BrightSpot in Tucson: PCC's Chorale and College Singers

My husband and I did our second volunteer-usher stint at today's PCC chorale concert.  Mark was able to take a photo of one of the two choirs during the pre-show rehearsal and a very supportive crowd attended. 

Our guesstimate was about 150 people of diverse ages.  We met one charming couple who drove from Douglas to see their grand daughter sing. 

We were familiar with the director, Dr. Jonathan Ng, who is also the music director at our occasional-church, Catalina United Methodist.  The repetoire was diverse and, to me a former youth/church choir member, pretty challenging.  One of the first pieces, Danny Boy, which I usually don't like because it reminds me of The Lawrence Welk Show, brought me to tears.  It was a lovely arrangement and sung with tenderness.  Two pieces from "Phantom of the Opera" were Mark's favorites, and while I enjoyed these, I was inspired by two pieces by Edward Elgar--so much so I had to look him up on the Internet:  http://saturdaychorale.com/2011/08/18/edward-elgar-my-love-dwelt-in-a-northern-land-university-of-delaware-vocal-group/.  This piece, based on a poem written by a poet I do not know, really moved me--even though I couldn't catch all the lyrics the melancholy mood struck me deeply.  In a mood-music change next, I tapped my feet to two songs arranged by Aaron Copland, based on America's past.

The performance ended with combined choirs and featured soloists, weaving their voices through two pieces by Joseph Haydn from "The Creation."  I didn't know these pieces either but I could appreciate the trajectory of the voices and the rhythm changes which brought the audience to close the performance with two curtain calls and a strong number of "bravos!"

What a gem we have at PCC and their Center for the Arts www.pima.edu/cfa.  The next chorale concert is December 6th and we'll be there to celebrate our 39th anniversary!