With spirituals, musical theater and opera selections, the closing program of Williamsburg Choral Guild’s season seems random at first glance.
But artistic director Jay BeVille tied the program together with a religious thread.
The Choral Guild will present “Spiritual Expressions in Abundance” April 30 and May 1, joined by the Williamsburg Youth Chorale.
“It’s the final concert of our 40th anniversary season,” said Linda Baker, Choral Guild publicist and longtime member. “We’ve just been gratified at the response of the community to our programming this year.”
The reason for the three genres stemmed from a three-way tie in the Choral Guild’s “Raves for Faves” survey. Votes from last year’s audience and member survey shaped programming for the current season.
Selections include a “Sound of Music” medley and “Regina Coeli” from the “Cavalleria Rusticana” opera. Two local vocalists, Branch Fields and Phaedra McNorton, will join the nearly 90-voice chorus.
“As always, their voices blend beautifully with the Choral Guild,” Baker said.
The Williamsburg Youth Chorale will perform two American folk pieces, said co-director Ann Porter. She said of the Chorale’s around 30 members, in third through 12th grades, many have been with the group since the start.
“Some of them have been in this group for five years,” Porter said. “They’re getting older and have a more mature sound and enjoy singing challenging music.”
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
Want to go?
When: 7:30 p.m., April 30 and 4 p.m., May 1
Where: Williamsburg Presbyterian Church, 215 Richmond Road
Tickets: $20/advance, $25/door, $10/students
Tickets available at williamsburgchoralguild.org or by calling 220-1808.
