Mountain Voices Community Chorus is preparing for their tenth season of making music in Northeast Georgia. Friday, June 12th, will be their next “Hot Fun in the Summertime” concert. This season is “A Night at the Opera”. There are many beautiful choruses from operas including “The Humming Chorus” from Madame Butterfly and “The Neighbor’s Chorus” from Offenbach’s La jolie Parfumeuse. Familiar choruses will be interspersed with solo arias and duets and will culminate with “Make Our Garden Grow” by Leonard Bernstein from his opera Candide.
The concert will be held in the sanctuary of Cornelia United Methodist Church at 7:00 P.M.
Along with the Chorus members, Maggie Bristol will be a part of the concert. Mrs. Bristol is a dramatic soprano from Atlanta. She is a graduate of Piedmont College with a Master of Arts in Music Education and Warner University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Ministry. A mother of three, she also finds time to perform and teach. She has a home studio and teaches voice and guitar at Moth Music in Lawrenceville, Music & Arts in Snellville, and Dacula Classical Academy. It is a delight to have her join this concert.
Bill Loyd will serve as the host for the evening. He is the minister of music at Cornelia United Methodist Church. He will share a bit of the history and background of each piece since that is an important part of understanding and appreciating each musical selection.
The choir is dressing in costume as opera characters or divas. The audience is encouraged to do the same. A quick internet search can provide ideas for costumes. At the concert, a prize will be given to the audience member with the best opera themed apparel.
Each season Mountain Voices grows and changes depending on who is available to sing for that particular concert. Although there is a core group that sings each concert, there are others who sing only one in the summer or fall or spring. Foothills Chorus is for ages 6 through middle school and Mountain Voices is for high school and up. Over 100 singers from Habersham, White, Rabun, and Hall counties have been members of Mountain Voices since its founding. They rehearsed every Tuesday night during this season at Clarkesville United Methodist Church. After this concert, they will take the summer off and regroup again in August.
There is no admission charge for the concert. A love offering will be taken. For more information about Mountain Voices or the June program, contact the director, Donna James, at [email protected].
