On Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. at Christ Church Easton. The spring program, “Songs from the Heart,” will include the 21st-century choral piece, “For A Breath of Ecstasy” by Michael John Trotta, as well as an array of popular love songs. “For A Breath of Ecstasy” is a seven-movement work for chorus, strings, and oboe that is based on poetry by Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Sara Teasdale. Her poems reflect a woman grateful for the affection she has received. The work, using lyrics from poet Sara Teasdale’s anthology Love Songs, was commissioned in 2017 by Northwestern State University to celebrate the centennial of Teasdale winning the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1918.
Accompanied by piano, oboe, and strings, Trotta’s music represents, in his words, “moments of yearning, love, joy, and peace in the contemplation of love and nature.” Fueled by a passion to share new music that engages conductors, ensembles, and audiences alike, Michael John Trotta (b.1978) is fast becoming one of the most “exciting and prominent new composers of choral music.”
To complete the program, Easton Choral Arts Society will sing beautiful and clever arrangements of songs about the different aspects of love. Come hear music from Broadway musicals, movies, jazz and popular music, such as “Till There Was You” from The Music Man, “Unchained Melody” featured in the movie Ghost, Leroy Anderson’s “Blue Tango” and more.
Maestro Wes Lockfaw, who directs the chorus, states, “This concert, featuring a choral work by the extraordinary composer Michael John Trotta, is sure to please audiences. His musical interpretations give breadth and depth to the written word. The lyrical verses of Teasdale’s poetry prompted him to create equally lyrical musical responses. The rest of our concert builds on these beguiling love songs.”
Christ Church Easton is located at 111 South Harrison Street in Easton, MD. Easton Choral Arts Society, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization funded in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation. Tickets will be $30 at the door and are available online in advance at $25 at www.eastonchoralarts.org or at Ticket Hotline 410-200-0498. Students will be admitted free (reservation required). Seating is limited, so advance ticket purchases are recommended.
ECAS was founded in 1977 by organist Florence Ruley of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, a group of caring singers was organized to commemorate the installation of a new bishop. The experience was so rewarding that they continued with the idea of singing two to three concerts a year. As public appreciation and awareness of the Easton Choral Arts Society were growing within the community. Its presence was marked by a new and thoughtful broadening of the repertoire, featuring guest soloists, and professional instrumentalists.
In 2010, Wes Lockfaw became Easton Choral Arts Society’s fifth Artistic Director. A very talented and accomplished organist, pianist, and choral director, Wes has led music ministries in seven states as well as having served as a choral adjudicator, clinician, and piano instructor in a college environment. In January of 2009, he accepted the position of Organist and Music Director at Christ Church Episcopal in Easton, Maryland where he directs ensembles ranging from children to adults.
Thanks to community support, Easton Choral Arts is keeping the spirit of its mission alive — to bring great choral masterworks programs to audiences of all ages on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
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~ Easton Choral Arts Society