SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – This spring, the Springfield Community Chorus is singing two concerts: the first on Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m., at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church Street in Bellows Falls, Vt.; the second on Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m., at the First Congregational Church, 77 Main Street in Springfield, Vt. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
This spring is full of new music and new voices for the chorus. Some new songs include “More Waters Rising,” a song that speaks to the ecological and social changes sweeping our world today. It was written by Saro Lynch-Thomason in 1986.
A tune newly adapted to choral music by Jeffery L. James is a traditional South African song, “Tshosholoza.” A choral adaptation of the song “Make Them Hear You,” from the musical “Ragtime,” was written by Stephen Flaherty in 1996. The concert ends with a lively “Dies Irae” from a requiem written by Michael John Trotta published in 2020.
Not only is the concert full of new music and new voices, the chorus has a new director, Emma Erwin. Erwin is a choral and instrument conductor, clarinetist, and vocalist based in Springfield, Vt. She holds a degree in music education from Keene State College, and has experience teaching and codirecting various choral festivals. She is a wonderful fit for our chorus as it moves forward.