For centuries music and drama have been performed together. Within the last century, the most popular partnering of this sort has come in the form of musicals and movies. It is in recognition of the brilliant music composed for these two venues that Valley Harmony has put together their eighth annual community concert, titled “Broadway to Hollywood,” to be performed Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Newark Valley United Church of Christ located at 32 Main St. in Newark Valley.
The song choices could hardly overlook numbers from Les Miserables, and this concert will include two: “I Dream a Dream” and “Do You Hear the People Sing?” Two numbers from West Side Story will also be included: “Maria” and “One Hand, One Heart.” A rarer find is the movingly beautiful “You Walk with Me” from The Full Monty. All of these, of course, were also featured in the film version of these musicals.
Some of the film music will include “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz and Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” which was featured in the 1967 film The Graduate? These are just a sampling of the music that Valley Harmony will sing that evening.
This year’s guest soloist Christina Salasny (of Binghamton), returning for the seventh year in a row, will sing several songs along with Valley Harmony, in addition to a solo from Jesus Christ Superstar and the duet, “Sun and Moon” from Miss Siagon, to be sung with Valley Harmony baritone Randy Kerr.
But the concert offers a special bonus this year. Two Newark Valley High School seniors, Sullivan Harris and Noah McMullin (both of Richford) will delight the audience with their animated rendition of “We Can Do It” from The Producers.
Returning piano soloist Aric Phinney (Endicott) is performing a couple of movie theme songs, one of which is “Do You Know Where You’re Going To?” from Mahogany. Organist Eric Machan Howd (Ithaca) will perform “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music, and both Phinney and Howd will accompany Laurie Holdridge (Johnson City) playing clarinet and saxophone on several pieces, one of which is “When I Fall in Love” from Sleepless in Seattle.
Valley Harmony was founded by George Lohmann of Berkshire. He sings with Randy Kerr (Newark Valley) and Mike Sheldon (Berkshire), plus its two newest members, J. Ladd Yost (Nichols) and Stephen Crowle (Endwell). This all male quartet / quintet has done many engagements throughout the Southern Tier since their founding in 2007, including church services and church and secular events in Newark Valley, Berkshire, Richford, Waverly, Owego, Apalachin, Endicott, Vestal, Candor, Ithaca, Greene, Binghamton and Athens, Pa. Their repertoire consists of all sorts of a cappella music. Besides show tunes, they enjoy singing folk songs, spirituals, barbershop, pop, rock, sacred, and even classical music.
Concert proceeds benefit outreach programming at the Newark Valley United Church of Christ. A free will offering will be taken.
