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Arts

Manchester Choral Society Performs Anne Frank Oratorio
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      MANCHESTER — The Manchester Choral Society (MCS) will perform Annelies by James Whitbourn, a choral work based on the story and text of The Diary of Anne Frank and featuring soprano soloist Emily Trubey (PSU ’21). The first performance will take place on Saturday, November 13 at 7pm at the Brookside Congregational Church, 2013 Elm Street, Manchester, NH. MCS will present the second performance at the Rex Theater, 23 Amherst Street, Manchester, NH on Sunday, November 14 at 3pm.

      Annelies is a stirring oratorio bringing to life the diary written by Annelies Marie Frank between 1942 and 1944 when she and her family hid in an Amsterdam warehouse. From the windows, Anne looked up to the beauty of the sky and downwards to the brutality meted out by the Nazis. The contrasting sights inspired some of the most profound and memorable thoughts in an extraordinary diary, now expressed through the beautiful music of James Whitbourn.

      MCS’s performance of Annelies will run approximately 70 minutes with no intermission. Audience members will be required to wear masks, and full vaccination is recommended. Tickets for the Saturday performance at Brookside Congregational Church may be purchased at the door, or in advance at www.mcsnh.org or by calling (603) 472-6627. Tickets for the Sunday performance at the Rex Theater may be purchased through the Palace Theatre Box Office at www.palacetheatre.org/calendar/manchester-choral-society/. Ticket prices are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors. Admission is free to all students from Kindergarten to Undergraduate. 

      The Manchester Choral Society is a 100% vaccinated, non-profit auditioned community chorus established in 1961. MCS is committed to sharing and promoting the best in choral music of a variety of styles and periods through vibrant performance, collaboration, and educational and community outreach. Concerts for the public are offered several times a year under the musical direction of Dr. Dan Perkins, Professor Emeritus at Plymouth State University. Dr. Perkins is also Music Director of the New Hampshire Master Chorale and has served as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet in Hanoi, guest conductor of the Dartmouth Concertato Singers, Dartmouth Handel Society, and as the Music Director of the Hanover Chamber Orchestra and the New Hampshire Friendship Chorus.  Dr. Perkins’ choirs have performed all over the world, including Europe, Peru, Vietnam, South Africa, South Korea, and Brazil. For further information about Manchester Choral Society, visit their website at www.mcsnh.org.

Nashua Chamber Orchestra, November 14, Livestream Concert

      NASHUA – The Nashua Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of maestro David Feltner, invites you to enjoy music of Telemann, Victor Herbert, Elgar, Vivaldi, and living composer Robert Edward Smith, on Sunday, November 14th, at 3:00 P.M. This concert for string orchestra will feature bassoonist Gregory Newton in the Vivaldi Concert in E minor, and maestro-violist David Feltner, in the Telemann Concerto in G Major.

      The concert, Reunion and Rejoicing, will be live-streamed.  Please check the website, www.nco-music.org, for the link.  The NCO thanks our loyal audiences for your support during the pandemic.  Your donation in any amount would be gratefully appreciated.     Bassoonist Gregory Newton has an active career, performing regularly with the premier New England

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orchestras: the BSO, Boston Pops Esplanade, Boston Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, New Hampshire Symphony, Portland Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, to name just a few.  He also performs regularly in theatre orchestras for many of the Broadway touring companies.  He has  performed with the Bolshoi Ballet Orchestra and the Prague Radio Symphony.  An avid chamber musician, he is the founding member of the Northwinds Quintet.  Mr. Newton is a faculty member of the New England Conservatory Preparatory School.  He has been featured soloist with many area groups and can be heard on several Grammy nominated recordings.

     Boston composer Robert Edward Smith is an acclaimed harpsichordist and liturgical musician.  He has been Composer in Residence at Trinity College Chapel since 1979.  Smith’s Partita for Strings was originally written for organ on commission, and rearranged for string orchestra by the composer in the summer of 2021. The five movements of the Partita move from darkness to light. The opening Prelude is dark and intense. The following three movements, all dances, pick up the pace. The Sarabande, in triple time, is based on a 17th century slow dance. Sicilienne, a traditional dance from the Baroque, is graceful and lively. The fourth movement Gigue, an upbeat and vigorous dance, features shifting rhythms. The fifth movement Fugue with its display of contrapuntal skill, provides the concluding vigorous flourish to the Partita for Strings. This performance by the Nashua Chamber Orchestra is a world premiere. 

NOVEMBER 2021

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