In Blue Hill, Maine (December 10, 2016)
The regionally renowned Bagaduce Chorale gave a resounding second performance of its annual Holiday Concert at the Blue Hill Congregational Church yesterday afternoon. The last of the three performances will take place December 18 at the Ellsworth High School Auditorium.
The engaging Bronwyn Kortge directed the Chorale again and Douglas Beck accompanied the group on piano and organ.
The title of the concert this year, "Unceasing Love," was taken from a poem that was set to music in Stephan Paulus’s Pilgrim’s Hymn.
That Hymn was one of 11 widely-diverging pieces on the program that ranged from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Regina Coeli to Baba Yetu, Chris Kiagri’s and Christopher Tin’s Swahili adaptation of The Lord’s Prayer. Five percussionists were added for Baba Yetu (Megan Howell, Takanao Ishimura, Peter Philbrook, Quentin Pileggi, and Deborah Reinke).
.Soprano Sarah Schneider and tenor Frank Bachman were the soloists. The string section contained four violins (Richard Hsu, Annie Painter, Byron DeGrave, and Takanao Ishimura), two violas (Ryu Mitsuhashi and Grace Higgins), and a cello (John Frankland).
During the traditional Sing-Along with the audience, the Chorale lined the sides of the Church while Director Kortge performed her hilarious “women-only,” “men only,” “both” routine.
A well-deserved standing ovation followed the formal program.
For larger versions of the above images, as well as a few additional images of the concert click on the link below. (We recommend that your initial viewing be in full-screen mode, which can be achieved by clicking on the Slideshow [>] icon above the featured image in the gallery to which the link will take you.) Here’s the link to the full concert:
https://leightons.smugmug.com/US-States/Maine/Out/2016-in-Maine/Bagaduce-Chorale/
Cheers,
Barbara and Dick