Crystal Lake church to host annual spring concert
First Congregational Church’s adult Vestry Choir and Jubilate Bell Choir will present their annual spring concert on Sunday, April 27.
The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the church sanctuary, 461 Pierson St. in Crystal Lake. The choirs are under the leadership team of Ann Tucker, director of music; Toni Gambini, bellmaster; Barbara Thorsen, organist; Danielle Cairoli, assistant accompanist; and Jackson Pierzina, assistant director.
FCC’s virtuosic adult bell choir, Jubilate, will perform five pieces on the concert. Kevin McChesney’s “Tempest” will open their set. “Blaze” by William Bryan Kyle and Outburst by Karen Lakey Buckwalter continue Jubilate’s pursuit of finding out just how fast they can play.
Buckwalter’s beautiful “Whispers on the Wind” and Christian Humcke’s “My Strength Is From Heaven” will round out their portion of the performance.
For Vestry Adult Choir’s portion of the program, they will be singing “Saints Bound from Heaven,” arranged by Mack Wilberg, featuring Danielle Cairoli and Barb Thorsen on the four-hand piano accompaniment. “A New Song” is a hauntingly beautiful piece by British composer James MacMillan accompanied by Barb Thorsen on organ.
A central piece in this concert will be Vestry’s performance of “Saul,” an important 20th-century work by Norwegian composer Egil Hovland for choir, organ and speaker. The piece takes the listener through a dramatic interpretation of the moment when Saul, at the peak of his destruction of Christ’s followers, hears God’s voice asking, “Why do you persecute me?”
Vestry will also perform a piece by Iowa-based composer Elaine Hagenberg, with a text by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 19th-century author and abolitionist, entitled “Still With Thee.”
Aaron Knodle, Bethany Lutheran Church’s director of music, will be the featured organist for Melius Christiansen’s arrangement of “Praise to the Lord.” A string quartet made up of violinists Tom Vos and Pam Becker, violist Kristin Rock, and cellist Alexi Hagedorn will accompany the choir in Ola Gjeilo’s “Ground.”
The uplifting, original Gospel piece by Brandon Boyd, “Sign Me Up,” will round out their program and features pianist Danielle Cairoli, bassist Jim Seidel, and drummer Matt Potts.
For information, call the church office at (815) 459-6010 or visit fcc-cl.org. The public is invited to attend this free program; a free-will offering will be received. Nursery care will be provided during the performance, and the concert will be livestreamed. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. for the 4 p.m. concert. The church is handicapped accessible.