“America the Beautiful Mosaic,” a winter concert by Women’s Voices Chorus

(Chapel Hill, NC) - Women's Voices Chorus (WVC) will perform a winter concert entitled “America the Beautiful Mosaic,” on two dates and at two locations: Saturday, January 21, 2012, 4 pm, First Presbyterian Church, 305 E Main St, Durham, and Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 3pm, University United Methodist Church, 150 East Franklin St, Chapel Hill. For more information contact (919) 684-3855, [email protected].  Tickets available at the door and at www.womensvoiceschorus.org , $15 adults, $5 students. Group rates available.

President Jimmy Carter once described America as “not as a melting pot, but as a beautiful mosaic.”  Whereas most other nations have a centralized music tradition informed by outside elements, American music is a wonderfully diverse collection of musical strains.  This concert features music from Latino-American, Jewish-American, African-American, and Native-American traditions.  It includes music of the Shakers, work songs, and songs of the American South.  There are show tunes and jazz standards, as well as music by American classical composers. There is music for the church, music for the factory, and music for the gin joint.  Taken on their own, these styles may seem to have little in common with each other.  Taken together, however, they form a larger picture of American music, a broad and deep tradition springing from the joys and sorrows of the many people that have come to live, work, and play in this country.          

The concert will also feature a world premiere of “If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking,” as well as “I Never Saw a Moor,” both composed by Jayne Swank and based on poetry of Emily Dickinson. Three pieces will also be conducted by chorus members who are conductors in their own right, showcasing another aspect of the talented musicians in Women’s Voices Chorus.

Deborah Coclanis will accompany on piano, Sidney Curtis on oboe, Linda Metz on flute, and Jennie Vaughn on percussion.

About Women’s Voices Chorus

The Triangle's only community-based classical chorus for sopranos and altos has received numerous rave reviews in its eighteen-year history, such as Classical Voice of North Carolina: “a top-flight ensemble […] one of the great artistic gems of the Triangle.” Repertoire includes classical sacred and secular music, folk song settings, spirituals, and a little bit of jazz, and much of the repertoire is by women composers. For more information visit www.womensvoiceschorus.org .