The Lehigh Valley Chorale will be joined for its 10th anniversary concert by the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra.<\/p>\n
Lehigh Valley Chorale presents its \u201c10th Anniversary Concert: The Road Home,\u201d 2 p.m., 7 p.m. May 9, Miller Symphony Hall, Allentown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 10th anniversary concert celebrates where we came from and where the Chorale is going,\u201d says Nicholas Sienkiewicz, Lehigh Valley Chorale Artist Director and Conductor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted a title that not only recognized our past but also looked towards the future,\u201d Sienkiewicz says.<\/p>\n
The concert comprises two segments. The first segment includes selections with accompaniment by the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. The second segment includes a cappella works with piano and rhythm section.<\/p>\n
The orchestra is featured in George Frideric Handel\u2019s \u201cZadok the Priest,\u201d composed in 1727 for the coronation of King George II.<\/p>\n
Says Sienkiewicz, \u201cSome of the pieces selected for this concert were favorites of our founding Artistic Director Edward Milisits (1953-2022), which includes this coronation anthem.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my favorites of this concert is \u2018All of Us,\u2019 which comes from the fusion oratorio \u2018Considering Matthew Shepard\u2019 by composer Craig Hella Johnson,\u201d Sienkiewicz says.<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s oratorio was created in response to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, 21, which was determined to be a hate crime. The movement is characterized by a Southern gospel feel and \u201casks the audience to consider being kind, compassionate and open. It is the best way to move forward when times are difficult,\u201d says Sienkiewicz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWay Over in Beulah Lan\u2019\u201d by American composer Stacey Gibbs is an African-American spiritual about a journey from oppression to liberation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also present our first commissioned work, \u2018The Forest Aways Sings,\u2019 by composer and conductor Dominick DiOrio. The piece is like a bedrock of the Lehigh Valley Chorale in that everyone can and should sing,\u201d Sienkiewicz says.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the quotes from Ed Milisits was \u2018If only the best birds in the forest would sing then the forest would be a very quiet place.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe text of our commissioned work relates \u2018If only the best singers raise their voice, the world would actually be a very sad place, a very quiet place.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe piece is about leaning into choir and community and recognizing that everyone\u2019s voice deserves to be heard,\u201d says Sienkiewicz.<\/p>\n
Additional concert selections are by composers Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Stephen Sondheim, Christopher Tin and Charles Albert Tindley.<\/p>\n
Says Sienkiewicz, \u201cIn addition to the great music, we have a special 10th anniversary video which includes interviews with members of our chorus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis concert is about rejoicing. Between the classical and contemporary selections, these are pieces that are well-known and that bring a lot of joy or connection or nostalgia for folks,\u201d Sienkiewicz says.<\/p>\n
The Lehigh Valley Chorale is a non-auditioned community choir of 175 members.<\/p>\n
Sienkiewicz is Music Director for the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra 2025-2026 season.<\/p>\n
\u201c10th Anniversary Concert: The Road Home,\u201d Lehigh Valley Chorale, 2 p.m., 7 p.m. May 9, Miller Symphony Hall, 23 N. Sixth St., Allentown. Tickets: at the box office; 610-432-6715; https:\/\/millersymphonyhall.org\/events\/<\/p>\n
\u201cClassical View\u201d is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOLehigh Valley Chorale<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTONicholas Sienkiewicz, Lehigh Valley Chorale Artist Director and Conductor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Lehigh Valley Chorale will be joined for its 10th anniversary concert by the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-187033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}