MADISON — The Philharmonic Chorus of Madison will perform free concerts on Wednesday, April 29, 7 p.m., at Oakwood West; Friday, May 1, 7:30 p.m., at Monona United Methodist Church; and Sunday, May 3, 2 p.m., at Bethany United Methodist Church.
The chorus, under the direction of Patrick Gorman, will perform Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning with soloist Shannon O’Brien-Kaszuba.
Considered the Dean of American Music, Copland composed the choral work in 1947, setting 38 verses from the Book of Genesis.
Gorman described the biblical setting as demanding, yet beautiful in its simplicity, and O’Brien-Kaszuba’s solo performance as extraordinary.“There’s no commentary, no pomp about it,” Gorman said. “It’s just an a cappella setting of a very long text, and I think he portrays it in such a way that it’s dramatic, it’s beautiful. He uses a lot of the imagery, and really, you can tell he’s made sense of the text in his own mind.”
Added Gorman, “It’s not often performed because it’s just so hard to find a soloist in a choir that can do it. But we’ve got Shannon and a nice chorus, so it works.”
At the final concert, the chorus will award Madison area high school students scholarships to the University of Wisconsin-Madison summer music clinic.