Almost without warning, it seems the local choral season is beginning. A couple of local colleges have choral stuff going on here, a couple of college choirs will come to the area for church concerts, and there are a number of events both choral and not choral tied to local choral singers and directors that we’re going to include today.
There’s activity in Redlands today and tomorrow that involves one of our local choral friends, the first concert in the 35th season of the Inland Master Chorale, “A Lighter Side of Masses – Jazz, Gospel, Latin Folk,” with music by Chilcott, Ray and Ramirez. The Master Chorale sings at 8 p.m. tonight, and 3 p.m. tomorrow. Or you could stay in our area for a non-choral event tomorrow, at the Rock of the Foothills Lutheran Church in La Verne, where Dr. Sae Wan Wang will present a concert on their new Johannus organ at 4 p.m. Sunday, the 19th. News of this comes to us from a couple of local chorale singers, who tell us it’s free and there’s a reception following.
Friday the 24th offers the first college choruses of the season, with the first of two Mount San Antonio College Choral Concerts, at 7:30 p.m. The next day you could go to the second of these concerts at Mount SAC, also at 7:30 in the evening, or you could travel to West Los Angeles to hear Jouyssance, an early music ensemble with local singer connections, present ‘Mostly Monteverdi,’ at 8 p.m. Your second chance for the Jouyssance concert will be in Pasadena at 4 p.m. the next day, on the 26th.
One week later we’ll be featuring ‘home teams and visitors,’ with college choirs all in concert at the same hour on Sunday the 2nd of November. In La Verne, the ULV Chamber Singers and ULV Barbershop Singers will offer ‘Songs of Remembrance’ at the University of La Verne at 6 p.m. Simultaneously, two of the oft traveling ensembles from California Baptist University will be singing at different local churches. Crosspoint Church in Chino will host the CBU University Choir and Orchestra at 6 p.m., while the CBU women’s ensemble, New Song, will present a 6 p.m. concert at Trinity United Methodist Church of Pomona. Donations made at this latter concert will go to ‘Imagine No Malaria,’ a campaign to eradicate this scourge on humanity.
The news here for the rest of November isn’t particularly choral, but has definite choral connections. Not only does the Repertory Opera Company of Pomona offer opportunities for chorus members to throw off their choral restraints, but the company has been particularly willing to be a good neighbor to local chorales in mutual promotion. The ROC production of Verdi’s Falstaff runs from the 8th to the 22nd of November in Pomona. You might spot some well traveled local chorale members in the ROC chorus, if you look for them.
Finally, the Southland Symphony Orchestra will present ‘Mozart and More,’ with music of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, at 4 p.m. on 23 November. Dr. Mann, the conductor of the SSO, wears many hats, such as professor, concert violist, pastor, and choir director at Bethel UCC in Ontario, that last bringing her organization to here, along with her willingness to be a part of the greater musical community.