Sing!

Of all the events of the Festival, the most fun might end up being the giant Sing-in led by the marvelous choral conductor Craig Jessop and accompanied by Bonnie Goodliffe.  Have you ever sung in a 300-voice choir? It’s the sonic equivalent of driving a racecar with a 300-horsepower engine. It purrs when you want it to, it revs up just loud enough to scare the neighbors, but when you want to set it free, it roars.

For the Sing-in, attendees to this free event will sit in vocal sections–soprano alto, tenor, bass–and be given scores to use and then keep. The gift of thousands of dollars’ of printed music has been made possible by generous donors to the Festival.

Last week, Craig sent Claudia Bushman (the event organizer) and me his working set list. Wow! It’s an amazing group of works new and familiar, from the very first hymnal to music whose ink is still wet on the page. In addition to reading through the music, Craig has a few surprises up his sleeves. Best to keep them secret, for now.

Glen Nelson