The Oakland Girls Choir of Pittsburgh School for the Choral Arts presents “An American Portrait” at Church of the Ascension, 4729 Ellsworth Ave, in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, on Saturday, May 18 AT 7:30 PM.    Tickets are $5 children and $10 adults, and are available at showclix.com

 

The concert will feature composers and poets from the US and Canada. Concentio (formerly Tour Choir) and Chamber Choir will be featured.  Harmonia (formerly Training Choir II) will also be performing.

 

Two Pittsburgh premiers, “An American Te Deum” by Z. Randall Stroope and “South Dakota Shadows Suite” by Jackson Berkey will be performed by Concentio and Chamber Choirs, respectively. Both major works are orchestrated for strings and piano. Additional works include three traditional American Hymns by Aaron Copland, selections from Randall Thompson’s “Frostiana,” with poetry by Robert Frost, Eric Whitacre’s hauntingly beautiful “Seal Lullaby,” Jocelyn Hagan’s “Joy” (text by Sarah Teasdale), and a set of African American spirituals arranged by Mark Foster and Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory.

 

Harmonia will perform a repertoire from a variety of American cultures including Shaker, African American and Appalachian.

 

The eighty voice ensemble is comprised of four choirs grouped by age and skill level. In addition to a Tour Choir (now Concentio) and Chamber Choir (members from within Concentio)  for girls in grades 7 through 12, there is a choral school with separate Training Choirs I and II(now Melodia  and Harmonia) for grades 1 through 3 and grades 4 through 6.

 

Auditions for the choirs will be held on June 1 and July 20, beginning at 10 am at Church of the Ascension.  20 minute auditions slots are available between 10 AM and 2 PM.

 

The Oakland Girls Choir was established in 2005 to provide an opportunity for girls of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to experience the joy of singing in community through a comprehensive choral training program. Singers come to the Choir from cities and townships throughout the Greater Pittsburgh region. Choristers are grouped into ensembles by age and skill level.  Learn more at pghchoralarts.org

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