Throughout the 17 days of Spoleto Festival USA, the festival’s in-house chorus and orchestra will each perform works showcasing their individual talents. On May 29, the two ensembles will join together for a night of musical history.
Their joint performance of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor – which premiered in 1783, the same year the British monarchy formally recognized the independence of the 13 colonies – features more than 125 musicians in a reflection on independence and the value of expression.
This particular expression comes together on a very compressed schedule, according to Amanda Quist, music director of the 40-member chorus made up of students and professional singers.
“The amount of rehearsal we have for these performances is really quite short – we have about five days to put the whole thing together,” said Quist, who will also conduct the performance. “But the level of these singers and players is so strong and they come prepared, so it is possible to do.”
Shane Thomas, a tenor in the Spoleto chorus for the past seven years, knows just how quickly the show is rehearsed and assembled . For him, the quick turnaround and eagerness to jump right are his favorite parts.
“I don’t know if there’s anywhere else in the world where 40 people from across the nation come together and go, ‘OK, in less than a week we’re going to give a really great performance,’” Thomas said.
The Mass in C Minor was inspired by Mozart’s search for professional freedom and likely also served as a gift for his wife, a renowned soprano. It reflects on freedom and the value of art, especially when human expression was often constrained.
Soprano soloist Chelsea Helm will be featured in the performance, along with a vocal duet, trio and quartet. The Mass also features several orchestral voices, including the violin, oboe and horn.
Timothy Myers, music director of the Spoleto orchestra, said the collaboration between the chorus and orchestra is a longstanding Spoleto tradition. “It’s a format that the audience really likes,” he said.
Between the two groups, more than 1,100 performers auditioned for the approximately 140 spots. Most of those selected make up the orchestra, which is playing its own set of concerts, including “Appalachian Spring and American Classics” on May 31. The selections in that program all speak to the American theme.
“While it is an international stage, we are bringing artists and acts from all over the world,” Myers said. “But it’s deeply rooted in the community here.”
Quist, who will become the director of choral activities at the University of Notre Dame this fall, chose the title of a later choral concert, “Storytelling Through American Composers,” to reflect America’s 250th anniversary , since the works are all rooted in American stories.
“There’s good and there’s bad,” she said. “There’s struggle, survival and endurance. Just trying to capture some of the stories that make us what we are today.” Quist said “Storytelling,” which will be performed June 5 and 6, has moments of “simple, straightforward beauty.”
As for the Mass in C Minor, Myers said attendees will experience the future of classical music right in front of their eyes. “When you combine the talent and energy of these programs,” he said, “you get something that you don’t find elsewhere.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO:
Tickets for “Appalachian Spring and American Classics” are available for May 31 at 3 and 5 p.m. Tickets for “Storytelling Through American Composers” are available for June 5 at 5:30 p.m. and June 6 at 4:30 p.m.
Both concerts will be held at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 405 King St..
Madelyn Taylor is an arts journalism and communications graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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