GUILFORD — Now in its 50th season, Friends of Music at Guilford is moving its season finale to a special hilltop property in Guilford.
The annual A Cappella à la Carte menu traditionally offers three distinct elements: a membership meeting, a community potluck, and a vocal concert. The festivities begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 25.
The brief and entertaining annual membership meeting sums up the year's events, introduces plans for the following season, and offers a slate of trustees for a vote. The meeting is open to all interested folks, but only members can participate in voting for trustees and other items of business. Attendees can sign up at the meeting to become voting members.
The community potluck begins by 6 p.m. and will include both a meat and veggie main dish option. Guests are asked to contribute appetizers, salads, side dishes, and other entrees. Potluck desserts will be added to a post-concert reception featuring an anniversary cake, ice cream and sundae fixings, and a champagne toast. A variety of non-alcoholic beverages will also be provided.
The a cappella concert at 7 p.m. will feature the 15-member Guilford Chamber Singers in a program of love songs from the 16th century (John Dowland, Robert Jones) to the 19th and 20th (Charles Villiers Stanford, Gustav Holst), including a taste of Broadway and American pop, plus a few of Sara Teasdale's evocative poems recently arranged by Tom Baehr, director of the Chamber Singers since 2012.
The Singcrony women's quartet - Ruth Allard, Beth Kiendl, Andrea Matthews, and Carrie Walker - will delight concert-goers with a set of swing jazz classics from the 1920s, '30s, and '40s.
Assembled photo albums, videos, posters, and memorabilia from the past five decades will be displayed, and a few surprises of a musical nature may punctuate the celebration.