There may not be any royal family members to attend. But Cayuga County will be treated this weekend to a music program along Route 90 fit for kings and queens.
Photo provided
Wells College music professor Crawford R. Thoburn, seated, will be conducting students (from left) Marshall Anderson, Justin Zehr, Mary Gooding and Jillian Kline in Sunday's performance of Mozart's “The Coronation Mass.”
Wells College music professor Crawford R. Thoburn, seated, will be conducting students (from left) Marshall Anderson, Justin Zehr, Mary Gooding and Jillian Kline in Sunday's performance of Mozart's “The Coronation Mass.”
The Wells College Concert Choir will perform its annual spring concert Sunday. The program features pieces from various styles and time periods, but the main attraction will be Mozart's “Mass in C Major.”
The event will be the first of two classical concerts to take place Sunday. Later in the evening, Union Springs High School will host the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet for a more intimate musical experience.
Also known as the “Coronation Mass,” the famous Mozart choral work the Wells Choir will perform is known for its pageantry and offers festive fanfare and lots of energy. The piece was performed at the coronations of two separate Austrian emperors, according to Wells choir director Crawford Thoburn.
The concept of a coronation had deep religious connotations at the time, which could also have inspired the music.
“We're not completely sure what the original purpose of the writing was,” said Thoburn, a music professor at Wells College. “I thought it was a very good introduction for this combined group to sing a major work by Mozart.”
The spring concert will also wrap up the first year that the full Wells College choir will perform as a mixed-voice ensemble. Since the school went co-ed in 2005, the choir has been adding male voices. For many years, the concert choir was all women, and Thoburn would combine the group with a choir from an all-men's college for large concerts, he said.
“We used to have to put a concert together in one weekend, because the men and women had rehearsed separately,” Thoburn said. “But this was the first year we had enough men to really combine the whole group with the women.”
The choir features more than 30 singers and will be accompanied by a full chamber orchestra. The men's group and women's group will each perform pieces before combining for the finale, Thoburn said.
At Union Springs High School, the Syracuse brass quintet will kick off the Frontenac Museum's music festival for the second straight year. The festival features a new performance once a month through September, and this year will include bluegrass, folk, barber shop and more.
The quintet performs a combination of classical chamber pieces and American marches, said Patricia Deller, chair of the museum's festival committee.
“They not only play music that is very accessible, but they also explain it,” Deller said of the brass quintet. “The classical music is familiar, and you can't help but love those wonderful Sousa marches.”
Deller added that she received comments last year on the museum's acoustics.
“It is wonderful for brass. They just get a wonderfully rich sound,” Deller said. “There is nothing like live music performed by really talented professionals.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
If you go
What: Wells Concert Choir's “Music for a Royal Occasion”
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, May 11
Where: Sommer Center, Smith Hall, Wells College, Aurora
Cost: Free
What: Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, May 11
Where: Union Springs High School, 239 Cayuga St., Union Springs
Cost: $5 at the door, $4 for members, $3 for students
The event will be the first of two classical concerts to take place Sunday. Later in the evening, Union Springs High School will host the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet for a more intimate musical experience.
Also known as the “Coronation Mass,” the famous Mozart choral work the Wells Choir will perform is known for its pageantry and offers festive fanfare and lots of energy. The piece was performed at the coronations of two separate Austrian emperors, according to Wells choir director Crawford Thoburn.
The concept of a coronation had deep religious connotations at the time, which could also have inspired the music.
“We're not completely sure what the original purpose of the writing was,” said Thoburn, a music professor at Wells College. “I thought it was a very good introduction for this combined group to sing a major work by Mozart.”
The spring concert will also wrap up the first year that the full Wells College choir will perform as a mixed-voice ensemble. Since the school went co-ed in 2005, the choir has been adding male voices. For many years, the concert choir was all women, and Thoburn would combine the group with a choir from an all-men's college for large concerts, he said.
“We used to have to put a concert together in one weekend, because the men and women had rehearsed separately,” Thoburn said. “But this was the first year we had enough men to really combine the whole group with the women.”
The choir features more than 30 singers and will be accompanied by a full chamber orchestra. The men's group and women's group will each perform pieces before combining for the finale, Thoburn said.
At Union Springs High School, the Syracuse brass quintet will kick off the Frontenac Museum's music festival for the second straight year. The festival features a new performance once a month through September, and this year will include bluegrass, folk, barber shop and more.
The quintet performs a combination of classical chamber pieces and American marches, said Patricia Deller, chair of the museum's festival committee.
“They not only play music that is very accessible, but they also explain it,” Deller said of the brass quintet. “The classical music is familiar, and you can't help but love those wonderful Sousa marches.”
Deller added that she received comments last year on the museum's acoustics.
“It is wonderful for brass. They just get a wonderfully rich sound,” Deller said. “There is nothing like live music performed by really talented professionals.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
If you go
What: Wells Concert Choir's “Music for a Royal Occasion”
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, May 11
Where: Sommer Center, Smith Hall, Wells College, Aurora
Cost: Free
What: Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, May 11
Where: Union Springs High School, 239 Cayuga St., Union Springs
Cost: $5 at the door, $4 for members, $3 for students
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