The Kearsarge Chorale will present its fall concert, “Mass in Blue and Holidays Too,” on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m. at Kearsarge Regional High School. The concert program will combine Will Todd’s Mass in Blue with a selection of seasonal songs performed by small groups, including a guest appearance by the Sunapee Singers.
For the first half, audiences will enjoy an assortment of seasonal songs, including Autumn Leaves, September Song, Still, Still, Still, and In the Bleak Midwinter. This varied offering allows the Chorale’s 40 members to perform without the strain of learning a second full-length work in addition to Mass in Blue, which will be featured after intermission. The ensemble includes members from Andover, Bradford, Salisbury, New London, Elkins, Goshen, Sunapee, Sutton, Newbury, and Warner, ranging in age from 30 to 90. Half of the singers are putting in extra rehearsal time for these small-group performances.
Weekly rehearsals for this concert season began on Labor Day. Mass in Blue, by Will Todd, made its debut in 2003 and has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity due to its jazzy, bluesy style and intense emotion. The upcoming performance is a reprise by popular request. Artistic Director Alex Ager, who joined the Chorale as a singer in 2017 and became director in 2019, is leading the concert. Ager, a classically-trained musician with degrees in music education from Boston University and Plymouth State University, acknowledges the challenge of conducting in the blues and swing styles of Mass in Blue, adding, “I am not a jazz musician.” Ager also teaches music across K-12 grades for the Sunapee School District.
The Chorale will also perform at the “Christmas at the Fells Family Night” on Nov. 8 at The Fells in Newbury, beginning at 6 p.m., with Isa Rex again accompanying. Chorale members will sing carols and kid-friendly songs, inviting children to join in while decorating cookies and ornaments.
Tickets for the Nov. 23 concert go on sale Nov. 1 and are available online at kearsargechorale.org, as well as at Morgan Hill Bookstore and Tatewell Gallery in New London, or at the door. For those interested in joining the Chorale for the spring concert, contact kearsargechorale@gmail.com.
