St. Charles Singers to celebrate American music at June 3 concert

The St. Charles Singers, conducted by Jeffrey Hunt, will cap off its 33rd concert season with "American Reflections," featuring the American music program that the professional chamber choir will tour in England later in the month.

Concertgoers can bask in the choir's "American Reflections" program at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles.

"These are radiant works by revered composers," says Hunt, the ensemble's founder and music director. "They mirror and speak to our national spirit."

Some of the reflections radiate from bodies of water. The concert's centerpiece, Dominick Argento's "Walden Pond," from 1996, is a sublime five-song cycle for chorus, three cellos, and harp. Inspired by author Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," a meditation on nature and self-reliance, the virtuosic, evocative work comprises movements titled "The Pond," "Angling," "Observing," "Extolling," and "Walden Revisited."

Other water works include Eric Whitacre's "Water Night," based on an Octavio Paz poem; William Hawley's "Beautiful River," a choral setting of the gospel hymn "Shall We Gather at the River?"; and James Erb's arrangement of the tender folk song "Shenandoah," which speaks of the Missouri River.

The mixed-voice choir of 32 accomplished singers will also perform the following American works under Hunt's direction:

• Randall Thompson's "Praise Ye the Lord" from his "Twelve Canticles" for unaccompanied mixed voices

• Aaron Copland and Irving Fine's arrangement of the traditional ballad "Long Time Ago" for chorus and piano from Copland's "Old American Songs." In an unusual twist, Hunt has transcribed the piano part for three cellos.

• Jake Runestad's dramatic "As the Caged Bird Sings," based on a text by celebrated African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, whose parents were freed slaves.

• Morten Lauridsen's expressive and deeply thoughtful setting of German poet Rainer Maria Rilke's "Dirait-on" (So They Say), written with piano accompaniment. A harpist will perform with the choir, instead of a pianist.

• Stacey V. Gibbs's captivating arrangement of the traditional spiritual "Great God Almighty."

• Kevin Siegfried's arrangement of "I Hunger and Thirst," a traditional Shaker song.

• Shawn Kirchner's soulful rendering of the beautiful folk tune "Bright Morning Stars" and Kirchner's bluegrass-infused setting of the 19th-century spiritual "Unclouded Day"

The concert includes one non-American work, the Newfoundland folk song "She's Like the Swallow," arranged by English composer Edward Chapman. It's a selection from the St. Charles Singers' critically acclaimed 2016 album "Bushes & Briars: Folk-Songs for Choirs Books 1 & 2" (MSR Classics).

Single tickets for the St. Charles Singers "American Reflections" concerts in St. Charles are $35 general admission, $30 for age 65 or older, and $10 for students.

Concert tickets and general information about the St. Charles Singers are available at www.stcharlessingers.com or by calling (630) 513-5272. Tickets are also available at Townhouse Books, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles (checks or cash only at this ticket venue). Tickets also may be purchased at the door on the day of the concert, depending on availability. Group discounts are available.

<h3 class="breakHead">Off to England June 12</h3>

The St. Charles Singers will leave for England on June 12, where the choir will present "American Reflections" on a concert tour, its third in the United Kingdom. Stops will include Windsor Parish Church, Windsor; St. James's Church, Piccadilly, London; Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge; Lincoln Cathedral Chapter House, Lincoln; Ripon Cathedral, Ripon; and Durham Cathedral, Durham. The choir returns home June 23.

Founded and directed by Jeffrey Hunt, the St. Charles Singers is a professional chamber choir dedicated to choral music in all its forms. The mixed-voice choir launched in St. Charles in 1984 as the Mostly Madrigal Singers. ClassicsToday.com calls the ensemble "one of North America's outstanding choirs," citing "charisma and top-notch musicianship" that "bring character and excitement to each piece."

St. Charles Singers ensemble members

Sopranos: Jeanne Fornari, Batavia; Marybeth Kurnat, Cortland; Laura Johnson, Hanover Park; Cynthia Spiegel, La Fox; Meredith Du Bon and Jennifer Gingrich, Naperville; AnDréa James and Jessica Palmisano, St. Charles; and Karen Lukose, Winfield.

Altos: Christina Collins, Arlington Heights; Margaret Fox and Valerie Heinkel-Bollero, Batavia; Mary Kunstman, Elburn; Julie Popplewell, North Aurora; Bridget Kancler, Oak Park; Jennifer Hunt, St. Charles; Debby Wilder, Wheeling; and Chelsea Rhoades, Yorkville.

Tenors: Rob Campbell, DeKalb; Bryan Kunstman and Bradley Staker, Elburn; Jonathan Cramer, Gurnee; Aaron James, St. Charles; Gregor King, Sycamore; and David Hunt, Wayne.

Basses: Jess Koehn, Aurora; Brandon Fox, Batavia; Antonio Quaranta, Carol Stream; Nate Coon, Crystal Lake; Michael Popplewell, North Aurora; Drayton Eggleson, Sycamore; and Jens Hurty, Yorkville.