WICKEDLOCAL.com – The Pilgrim Festival Chorus is celebrating its 25th anniversary with two concerts in April.
The chorus will perform its spring concert, “Old and New,” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Scituate Center for the Performing Arts in the high school at 606 Chief Justice Cushing Highway and at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at St. Bonaventure Parish at 803 State Road, Plymouth.
The chorus is led by artistic directors William B. Richter and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly. The concerts will feature soloists Allyson Lynch, David Lynch, Susannah Thornton and David Tyler, along with a 19-piece orchestra.
The program will include C.P.E. Bach’s “Magnificat,” composed in 1749, and Elaine Hagenberg’s recently composed “Illuminare.”
The Scituate concert will feature the 50-member Scituate High School Select Choir in the “Illuminare” performance.
“From the first day of rehearsals, our student singers have embraced this milestone opportunity with vigor,” Richter said. “The addition of this ensemble to our Scituate performance promises to deliver a resounding concert to remember.”
Singers performing in PFC’s 2024 Spring Concert.
“Together, these pieces represent PFC’s broad performance history: vintage works and contemporary selections, with traditional texts and unexpectedly introspective vision, looking forward to a bright future, even while remembering a rich past,” according to the announcement.
The concert’s title, “Old and New,” also refers to the span of the chorus’s membership. Some members have sung with the ensemble since its earliest days, while others joined this season.
“It’s exciting to be marking this anniversary,” Reilly said in the announcement. “I don’t think that anyone in the founding group envisioned this PFC journey. These concerts will be a wonderful testimony to the many individuals that have worked to make PFC a continuing success for 25 years.”
In addition to its spring concert, the chorus presents an annual winter concert and “Messiah” sing-along in December, as well as a summer concert series featuring Broadway and American traditions.
The chorus participates in the Card to Culture Program, a collaboration between the Mass Cultural Council, the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants & Children Nutrition Program and the Massachusetts Health Connector, to increase access to cultural experiences.
Tickets for “Old and New” are $25 for adults, $20 for senior citizens and $15 for students over 14. Card to Culture attendees and children ages 14 and under are admitted for free. Tickets are available at pilgrimfestivalchorus.org/tickets, from chorus members and at the door.
For more information, including details on membership and performances, visit pilgrimfestivalchorus.org. Follow the chorus on Facebook and Instagram.
By Reporter Beth McDermott
