WESTMINSTER WEST-The 60-voice River Singers Community Chorus will perform a concert of eclectic world music at 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, at the Westminster West Church.
The River Singers, in its 33rd year, is a multi-generational community choir led by Mary Cay Brass. The choir sings a variety of community-based music from many diverse cultural and musical traditions.
Brass will be joined by Dr. Kathy Bullock, Professor Emerita from Berea College, who is a workshop clinician, choral conductor, arranger, and scholar in the field of African American music. This is the 12th time Dr. Bullock has worked with the River Singers, sharing the joy of gospel, spirituals, freedom songs, and West African praise songs.
The River Singers Choir is dedicated to musical diplomacy, using music as a bridge for learning about and enjoying other cultures while, at the same time, using their concerts to benefit peace-building projects. This concert will feature love songs from the Balkans, liturgical hymns from the Republic of Georgia, South African church hymns, as well as traditional and contemporary shape note music.
The River Singers has a number of excellent musicians as its members who enrich the choir with their accompaniments to the Balkan songs. Joining director Brass on accordion will be Walter Slowinski on clarinet, Mary Lea and Laurie Rabut on fiddle, and Richie Davis on percussion.
Admission to the concerts is $15-$25 by check or cash at the door only. Every River Singer concert is a benefit for a local or global peace initiative. This year's concerts will support the Refugee Ministry of St. Michael's Episcopal Church. For more information, email [email protected].
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.