\u201cBetween glory and sadness, beauty and pain\u201d is just one of many ways people have described Leonard Cohen\u2019s song \u201cHallelujah.\u201d With the recent death of this world famous Canadian poet, musician and songwriter, Valley Harmony decided to offer up their ninth annual Community Concert as a tribute to Cohen.<\/p>\n
With no surprise, the concert is titled \u201cHallelujah\u201d and will be performed Saturday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at Newark Valley\u2019s United Church of Christ located at 32 South Main St. in Newark Valley, N.Y. <\/p>\n
Cohen\u2019s enigmatic song has inspired the search for other \u201cHallelujahs.\u201d With no difficulty finding enough of them, the hard task was selecting just a few for the concert. <\/p>\n
Randall Thompson\u2019s \u201cAlleluia\u201d was an easy choice with two very new and spirited numbers, Craig Courtney\u2019s \u201cUkrainian Alleluia\u201d (2007) and Donald Moore\u2019s \u201cAlleluia Madrigal (2015),\u201d filling out that portion of the program.<\/p>\n
Rather than focusing on the \u201csadness\u201d and \u201cpain,\u201d Valley Harmony chose to go the \u201cglory\u201d and \u201cbeauty\u201d route. They call one set \u201cHappy Together\u201d and feature the song with the same title made famous in 1967 by the Turtles. <\/p>\n
Also from that same era comes \u201cHooked on a Feeling,\u201d popularized by B. J. Thomas in 1968. This set is completed with two very modern songs, Jason Mraz\u2019 \u201cI\u2019m Yours\u201d (2008) and \u201cAll of Me\u201d (2013), made popular by John Legend.<\/p>\n
The other sets are also upbeat – joyous even. \u201cLife Is Good\u201d includes \u201cYou Raise Me Up\u201d and \u201cO-re-mi,\u201d a Nigerian \u201chighlife\u201d song, while \u201cRejoice\u201d includes Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo\u2019s \u201cUbi Caritas\u201d and American composer Williametta Spencer\u2019s \u201cAt the Round Earth\u2019s Imagined Corner,\u201d a setting of John Donne\u2019s Holy Sonnet.<\/p>\n
Of special note is \u201cFyrir mig, Jes\u00fa, \u00feoldir \u00fe\u00fa\u201d (For Me, Jesus, You Withstood) by Icelandic composer Sigur\u00f0ur S\u00e6varsson. Valley Harmony founder, George Lohmann, discovered this haunting piece while visiting Reykjavik in 2014, where he met the composer. When Lohmann told S\u00e6varsson how much he admired his work, the composer sent him the piece without cost. After Valley Harmony struggled with the Icelandic, Lohmann translated it into English so it would be ready for this concert.<\/p>\n
Three special guest performers will join Valley Harmony for this concert. Soprano Christina Taylor (Binghamton) will add Mozart\u2019s \u201cAlleluja\u201d to the mix, along with two show tunes, \u201cIf I Were a Bell\u201d from Guys and Dolls<\/i> and \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone\u201d from Carousel<\/i>.\u201d Laurie Holdridge (Johnson City) will offer a variety of woodwind performances, including the \u201cHallelujah\u201d chorus from the Messiah<\/i> and Kenny G\u2019s \u201cThe Champion\u2019s Theme.\u201d Aric Phinney (Endicott) will accompany both Taylor and Holdridge on piano, along with playing two solo performances, \u201cCome Thou Fount\u201d and Beethoven\u2019s \u201cJoyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valley Harmony includes Mike Sheldon (Berkshire) singing tenor, George Lohmann (Berkshire) singing bass, and Randy Kerr (Newark Valley) and J. Ladd Yost (Nichols) alternating baritone and tenor. This all male quartet has done countless 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, Spencer, Ithaca, Greene, Binghamton and Athens, Pa. Their repertoire consists of all sorts of a cappella music. They enjoy singing folk songs, spirituals, barbershop, pop, rock, show tunes, sacred, and even classical music. <\/p>\n
Concert proceeds benefit outreach programming at the Newark Valley United Church of Christ. A free will offering will be taken. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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