Chorale presents spring concerts

The Sisters High Desert Chorale, the community's performing choir, will perform two free public concerts this weekend on Friday, May 4, and Sunday, May 6. The choir has been rehearsing this year's choral pieces since February, with the women putting in extra time for three special selections for which the male singers will take a break and be part of the audience.

The women will be performing two mountain ballads arranged by Ron Nelson, "He's Gone Away" and "Will He Remember?" The ladies will also sing "Hail Holy Queen" from Sister Act. The men will participate fully in the remainder of the program, which is comprised principally of spirituals and musical theater, with musical theater filling the entire second half of the concert.

One of the tunes for which the men will take the lead is "Old Man River," from the 1927 musical Showboat, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein. Showboat was a ground-breaking production in that it was the first time a musical was used in a dramatic presentation. Prior to that time, musicals tended to be light and frivolous or follies-type revues.

The novel Showboat, which tackled serious social issues, racism in particular, was written in 1926 by Edna Ferber. When Kern approached Ferber about turning her novel into a musical, Ferber was appalled, given the nature of musicals up to that point in time. However, Kern was able to convince her of the idea, and a new genre of musical productions was born. Since 1927, Showboat has been revived on stage numerous times and produced on film in 1929, 1936, and - most notably - 1951.

The theater-oriented second half will continue with a medley from Lerner and Lowe's 1956 production of My Fair Lady, itself an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion, which was written exactly 100 years ago, in the spring of 1912.

The program will conclude with a medley from the 1985 musical Les Miserables, with selections including "At the End of the Day," "I Dreamed a Dream," Do You Hear the People Sing?," "On My Own," and the finale. Guest soloist Alana Lukens will perform "Castle on a Cloud."

The story of Les Miserables is set during the social unrest in France during the first half of the nineteenth century and is based on the 1862 book of the same name by French novelist Victor Hugo. The novel came out during the American Civil War and was well-received in this country.

Downtrodden Confederate soldiers who were familiar with the book took to calling themselves "Lee's Miserables," in a back-handed tribute to their commanding general.

Although the musical Les Miserables came out more than a half-century after Showboat's precedent-setting debut, objections were raised anew as to whether serious literature and social issues were appropriate for a musical forum. The public, however, had the final say; and the musical has become one of the longest-performed and most popular productions of all time.

The Sisters High Desert Chorale is directed by Irene Liden, who has a degree in Voice/Opera Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music in Voice & Opera Performance from the University of Southern California. She is Professor Emeritus of San Antonio College, where she taught voice, music theory, and choir ensembles.

Both concerts will be presented at Sisters Community Church, located on the McKenzie Highway, just east of Sisters Middle School. The Friday concert, on May 4, will be held at 7â¯p.m., and the Sunday concert, on May 6, will be presented at 2:30 p.m. The concerts are free to all, and cookies and refreshments will be served.

For additional information about the performances or choir membership, contact Irene Liden, 541-549-1037 or email [email protected] or check online at www.sisterschorale.com.