Spring is here and the Sierra Master Chorale is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to sing together again.  Meanwhile, on Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 2pm, InConcert Sierra will present the final virtual concert of their 2020-21 Third Sunday season featuring an online screening of the May 2018 performance of the Sierra Master Chorale and Orchestra. 

2018 file photo

This virtual concert presents the final spring performance for the SMC’s former music director and conductor, Ken Hardin.  The program includes favorites of both Hardin and the choir and explores a variety of ways composers have considered the timeless texts of the ‘mass’ throughout history, such as a “Kyrie” by Anton Bruckner, “Gloria” by Franz Schubert, “Sanctus” by Gabriel Fauré, “Credo” by Joseph Haydn, and the “Cum Sanctu Spiritu” by Antonio Vivaldi.

The program also includes famed choral works of great composers, such as Johannes Brahms’ “Schicksalslied,” Frederic Handel’s exciting “Zadok the Priest,” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ruins of Athens.” The program concludes with Leonard Bernstein’s showstopper, “Make Our Garden Grow” from “Candide.”

“The music was challenging and absolutely beautiful,” said Hardin. “The choir sang with inspiration. Although it is disappointing that we can’t enjoy live concerts together, it has been a treat to revisit our archived past performances.  I get a little nostalgic but reliving treasured memories has been a pleasure.”

Hardin is the artistic director of InConcert Sierra; however, his choral baton was handed to the new SMC Music Director and Conductor Alison Skinner as of January 2019.  Unfortunately, Skinner only conducted the SMC’s May 2019 and December 2019 concerts before the pandemic brought everything to a halt.  Skinner, the SMC members, and the orchestra are all anxious to return to singing together and performing this fall – fingers crossed.

The concert may be viewed online at www.inconcertsierra.org or on the InConcert Sierra YouTube channel.  All the 2020-21 InConcert Sierra virtual concerts are free of charge.

InConcert Sierra will begin its Third Sunday series, for the 2021-22 season, with live concerts beginning on September 19, 2021. The nonprofit organization, whose tagline is “Classical Music to Rock Your World,” will be celebrating its 75th anniversary season.