Kind Reminder: A FESTIVAL OF GOSPEL MUSIC

The theme FREEDOM, expressed through the music of three contemporary composers, Duke Ellington, Rollo Dilworth, and Nicholas White, represents a new multi-media concert in the Canterbury Choral Society's 67th season
         FESTIVAL OF GOSPEL MUSIC, a celebration of spirituals, jazz and gospel music at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 1085 Fifth Avenue at 90th Street takes place next Friday May 17, 2019 at 7 pm.
        Coincidentally adding to this glorious evening is the first installation on the East Coast of Les Colombes (the Birds) by artist Michael Pendry, appropriately titled Freedom and Release. 

Jonathan de Vries, Artistic Director and Conductor

       At the podium, artistic director and conductor, Jonathan de Vries, has invited several choirs to participate in this multi-media event including The New Amsterdam Boys and Girls Choir, All Soul's Children's Choir, St. Hilda's and St. Hugh's Upper Division Choirs and the Choristers of the Church of the Heavenly Rest. 
      Musical selections include Rollo Dilworth's BOUND FOR GLORY,  which explores themes of redemption and salvation including movements, "This Train is Bound for Glory," and "City Called Heaven." This work was commissioned by Canterbury and was first performed at Carnegie Hall on November 18, 2017. The first movement, "This Train is Bound for Glory," celebrates the influences of African musical traditions on American folk tunes, European melodies, and the American African spiritual. The final movement in a metaphoric sense, the "train" refers to the Underground Railroad (a route of escape for runaway slaves) and "glory" refers to heaven.      

Soloist Janinah Burnett

 Of special note, the renowned soloist, JANINAH BURNETT, and celebrated Carlotta from the Phantom of the Opera, performs in the Canterbury Choral Society's final concert of the season. 
       It is significant to also mention that Canterbury's own, the celebrated piano soloist STEVEN GRAFF, will also perform in a jazz selection.
        A FESTIVAL of GOSPEL MUSIC also features selections from Duke Ellington's, Second Sacred Concert including "IT'S FREEDOM" and  "PRAISE GOD AND DANCE, " first performed at St. John the Divine, January 19, 1968.
       Nicholas White's "FULL FREEDOM," a piece for multiple choirs and instrumentalists,  written for the annual choral tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Kennedy Center (Washington DC) on January 13, 2002 features texts derived from the poems: "Peace" by Henry Vaughan,"The Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope, and "Fulfillment" by Ronald K. Orchard.

New Amsterdam Boys and Girls Choir

        TICKETS: $25 General Admission, $20 Seniors, $10 Students with ID.  Tickets also available via SMARTTIX.COM or at the door. 
     Do try to arrive early to acquire the best seats in the open seating in the Church of the Heavenly Rest. Polly is singing in the Canterbury chorus.  Don't forget to say "Hello" after the performance.
       Inquiries regarding this feature and Fan Mail may be sent to pollytalknyc@gmail.com.