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Sometimes, life — and careers — get in the way of people continuing to fully express their passions. That's a bit of the case for Olivia Grover; she's spent years promoting other musicians' performances through the Breckenridge Music Festival, and in the process, she hasn't had a chance to be on stage lately. But Sunday, she'll be part of 35 community members who have gathered to present a concert called From Bach to Beatles.
“I wanted to participate in the choir for several reasons — No. 1 being that because I don't consider myself a professional performing musician anymore, I tend to go through music withdrawal,” Grover said. “Also, since this concert is a joint venture between Summit Music and Arts and the BMF, it was one of the first opportunities I had to not only be in on the planning stage of an event, but be in every single element of the event. So not only do I take part in the marketing, promotion and everyday logistics, but I am a part of the ultimate result — which people in my field always miss out on. I don't know how many times I've sat in the audience in a concert and remembered how it felt play the piece being performed. I would experience longing and, honestly, a bit of jealousy.”
In fact, all of the community members, who responded to an open call, “all seem excited about the repertoire — this was an overwhelming sentiment from the time we auditioned — they all were so excited at the music I had chosen,” said Leonard Rhodes, director of music at the church.
The choir will perform works from John Rutter, J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, César Franck, Gabriel Fauré and Igor Stravinsky, as well as a medley of music from “Les Miserables,” and of course, the Beatles.
The group has four rehearsals (the last being Saturday) in less than two months, and as Grover says, “Each week we make noticeable improvement, which is very inspiring. It is also a very cool experience to hear our choir begin to truly sing musically and as a unit. This only can happen when dedicated musicians commit to learning their music and join with the other members to create a unified sound.”
Rhodes created a challenging repertoire, but he says the choir has risen to the challenge.
“This has become a tremendous representation of the talent here in Summit County,” Rhodes said. “Many of the choir have expressed their hope that this will be a regular event in the future. Summit Music and Arts is thrilled to collaborate on this concert with the Breckenridge Music Festival.”
“The energy and excitement surrounding this event is palpable, with the coming together of musicians from all over Summit County,” said Elmer Koneman.
Rhodes and Marcia Kaufmann, executive director of the Breckenridge Music Festival, came up with the idea to blend singers from the Summit Choral Society, Lord of the Mountains Church choir, Father Dyer Church choir and Dillon Community Church choir, as well as Summit School District teachers, students and community members who enjoy singing and like the limited commitment of four rehearsals and a concert.
Linda Shea, director of Instrumental Music at Summit High School, leads the choir in the program, which begins with the Bach's “Gloria Patri” and continues with Mozart's “Ave Verum Corpus” and “Lacrimosa,” Franck's “Panis Angelicus” and Fauré's “In Paradisum” and “Cantique de Jean Racine.” The concert rounds out with Stravinsky's “Ave Maria,” Rutter's “For the Beauty of the Earth” and a couple medleys from “Les Miserables” and the Beatles.
“Being able to rejoin the choir as an adult has brought on some very special nostalgic memories and has helped me remember why I used to love singing,” Grover said.
“I wanted to participate in the choir for several reasons — No. 1 being that because I don't consider myself a professional performing musician anymore, I tend to go through music withdrawal,” Grover said. “Also, since this concert is a joint venture between Summit Music and Arts and the BMF, it was one of the first opportunities I had to not only be in on the planning stage of an event, but be in every single element of the event. So not only do I take part in the marketing, promotion and everyday logistics, but I am a part of the ultimate result — which people in my field always miss out on. I don't know how many times I've sat in the audience in a concert and remembered how it felt play the piece being performed. I would experience longing and, honestly, a bit of jealousy.”
In fact, all of the community members, who responded to an open call, “all seem excited about the repertoire — this was an overwhelming sentiment from the time we auditioned — they all were so excited at the music I had chosen,” said Leonard Rhodes, director of music at the church.
The choir will perform works from John Rutter, J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, César Franck, Gabriel Fauré and Igor Stravinsky, as well as a medley of music from “Les Miserables,” and of course, the Beatles.
The group has four rehearsals (the last being Saturday) in less than two months, and as Grover says, “Each week we make noticeable improvement, which is very inspiring. It is also a very cool experience to hear our choir begin to truly sing musically and as a unit. This only can happen when dedicated musicians commit to learning their music and join with the other members to create a unified sound.”
Rhodes created a challenging repertoire, but he says the choir has risen to the challenge.
“This has become a tremendous representation of the talent here in Summit County,” Rhodes said. “Many of the choir have expressed their hope that this will be a regular event in the future. Summit Music and Arts is thrilled to collaborate on this concert with the Breckenridge Music Festival.”
“The energy and excitement surrounding this event is palpable, with the coming together of musicians from all over Summit County,” said Elmer Koneman.
Rhodes and Marcia Kaufmann, executive director of the Breckenridge Music Festival, came up with the idea to blend singers from the Summit Choral Society, Lord of the Mountains Church choir, Father Dyer Church choir and Dillon Community Church choir, as well as Summit School District teachers, students and community members who enjoy singing and like the limited commitment of four rehearsals and a concert.
Linda Shea, director of Instrumental Music at Summit High School, leads the choir in the program, which begins with the Bach's “Gloria Patri” and continues with Mozart's “Ave Verum Corpus” and “Lacrimosa,” Franck's “Panis Angelicus” and Fauré's “In Paradisum” and “Cantique de Jean Racine.” The concert rounds out with Stravinsky's “Ave Maria,” Rutter's “For the Beauty of the Earth” and a couple medleys from “Les Miserables” and the Beatles.
“Being able to rejoin the choir as an adult has brought on some very special nostalgic memories and has helped me remember why I used to love singing,” Grover said.
