Copper Hill Choir Holding Spring Concert

04/05/2021

The Montana Tech Copper Hill Choir concert, A Return To Life, will be held on Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 3:00 pm, in-person at Aldersgate United Methodist Church as well as virtually. The virtual concert can be viewed via YouTube here.

Similar to the previous semester’s concert, A Return to Life, is also a brief five pieces loosely arranged in a story arc of the progression of 2021 thus far. However, this concert also contains the addition of solo performances by Joshua Ritchie, Sheridan Spicher, and Austin Seyer. 

The five choral pieces begin with “Vichnaya Pamyat,” composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir for the award-winning HBO miniseries Chernobyl. The title and only words of the piece translate to “Eternal Memory” in Church Slavonic, and in this concert is dedicated to the lives lost to the pandemic this last year.

The next three pieces, “Birthday Suit,” “Mind of Rocks,” and “Axolotl,” are by composer/songwriter Cosmo Sheldrake, arranged for chorus by Fred Crase. Sheldrake’s lyrical style is filled with classic English absurdity as well as deep reverence of nature. These pieces were selected to reflect the absurdity we thought we had left behind at the passing of the new year and provide a bit of humor in these often overly serious times.

The concert's final piece is “Tree of Life” by renowned composer and conductor Mack Wilberg. This piece was selected to be performed in spring of 2020 but not happen. Though written for a much larger ensemble, it is made much more pointed and intimate in its performance by the eight students of the Copper Hill Choir. The long and beautiful repetitions of the word “alleluia” throughout the piece are in praise of the earth, and of life itself. The title of the piece is the inspiration for the concert's title and represents the slow return of normalcy.

The concert is free. A donation to the Aldersgate United Methodist Church for their time and hospitality is suggested. For more information, please contact aldersgate@bresnan.net or Fred Crase at fcrase@mtech.edu.