Down East Singers Present “Jenks and Jazz”

Down East Singers will collaborate with young violinist Sage Kosky, double bassist Alyson Ciechomski and pianist Jennifer McIvor in a concert entitled “Heaven and Earth; Jenks and Jazz” on Friday, December 9, at 7:30 PM at St. Patrick’s Church, 380 Academy Hill Road, Newcastle; and Sunday, December 11 at 2 PM at the Rockport Opera House. Anthony Antolini will conduct.
The performances are a musical tribute to the late ragtime performer and composer Glenn Jenks and will feature his “Heaven and Earth Are Full of Thy Glory,” commissioned by Down East Singers in 2002 for the Rachmaninoff Choir’s concert tour of Russia. Also on the program are rhythmically jubilant works by Praetorius, Heinrich Schütz, John Joubert, Scott Joplin, and vocal jazz arrangements of “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Silent Night,” and “4,5, or 6 of My Favorite Things” by Nile Norton. The other featured work on the program is German composer Heinz Werner Zimmermann’s “Weihnacht Motetten,” – settings of Christmas biblical passages in jazz style, accompanied by string bass. Luxuriant harmonies are heard in Hugo Distler’s “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” and Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria.” Vocal soloists include Joe Lugosch, Dustin Batley, Emma Hallundbæk, and Kathryn Armstrong.
Admission to the St. Patrick’s Church performance on December 9 is by suggested donation of $20; no tickets are required.