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Dedham Choral Society concludes its 2016-17 season and helps “remember” with a concert entitled “Lest We Forget,” featuring “Annelies” by contemporary British composer James Whitbourn on Sunday, April 30, at 3:00 p.m. at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston. Westwood residents performing in this emotionally moving concert include Brian and Leslie Davie, Carol Nichols, Terry Robinson, and Suzanne Stanke.
DCS’ performance of “Annelies,” the first adaptation of the diary of Anne Frank into a large-scale choral work, commemorates the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 19-May 16, 1943) and Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). It brings to life the diary written by Annelies Marie Frank between 1942 and 1944, when she and her family hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse. From the windows, Anne looked up to the beauty of the sky and downwards to the brutality meted out by the Nazis. The contrasting sights inspired some of the most profound and memorable thoughts in an extraordinary diary, read by millions of people throughout the world. The seventy-minute work is accompanied by a chamber ensemble of violin, clarinet, cello and piano, at times evoking the music of the Klezmerim, and features an extensive role for the soprano soloist, the incandescent Sonja DuToit Tengblad.
In its 61st year, Dedham Choral Society continues to be one of the premier community choruses in the Boston area, both in the quality of its performances and the vision of its programming. It performs much of the choral repertoire of the masters as well as works of living composers. The smaller Pops Chorus performs a program of Broadway and contemporary popular music at various elder communities in the late spring and has sung the National Anthem at Red Sox and Celtics games. With members from over 20 local communities, the 80-plus member DCS prides itself on being a “musical family.” DCS continually welcomes new singers while valuing those individuals who have been long-term members of our inter-generational ensemble. Auditions take place each September and January, and weekly rehearsals are held in Dedham’s historic Allin Congregational Church.
Ticket prices for the concert are $25, $35, and $45. They are available from Dedham Choral Society members until April 19, online at www.dedhamchoral.org/buy-tickets until April 20, and from the Jordan Hall Box Office starting April 24. Discounted group purchases of 10 persons or more are available by email request: ticketinfo@dedhamchoral.org.
