Arts & Entertainment
Oxford Civic Chorus Performs Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’ May 11
The spring half of the 2014-2015 Oxford Civic Chorus season features a great masterwork in collaboration with the Germantown Community Chorus and the Germantown Symphony Orchestra.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah, an oratorio in English, uses Biblical episodes to produce dramatic scenes, among the most notable being the resurrection of a dead youth, the bringing of rain to parched Israel through Elijah’s prayers and the bodily ascension of Elijah on a fiery chariot into heaven.
Oxford Civic Chorus under the direction of Brooke Worthy, and Germantown Community Chorus under the direction of Catherine Feazell worked on the challenging music independent of each other throughout the spring semester. They will join together for the performance under the direction of Dr. Ronald Vernon, Professor of Music Emeritus at the University of Mississippi and Germantown Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor. Guest soloists for the event are Jennifer Robinson, Angela Horn-Barrett, Jos Milton, and Bradley Robinson. Coincidentally this concert marks the swan-song performance for both chorus directors. Both Worthy and Feazell will be exploring other opportunities this fall and the chorus members wish them well.
The OCC members are very excited to collaborate with their neighbors to the north.
Ann Haris, OCC president, said, “The music this semester is very difficult but gorgeous, and we get to perform it twice! We are so honored to get this opportunity to sing with the Germantown Community Chorus and Symphony Orchestra.”
Harris refers to the additional performance May 9 at the Germantown Performing Arts Center.
The concert, titled “Mendelssohn’s Elijah,” will be at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 11, at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Mississippi campus. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students. They are available for purchase through the UM Box office. Tickets will also be sold at the door on the evening of the performance.
The Oxford Civic Chorus, founded in 1998, is an excellent group of musicians from the Oxford and North Mississippi area. The chorus presents two major concerts per year and participates in a variety of community events year-round. New singers are invited to join in August or January when auditions are held. Rehearsals are on Monday evenings from 7 p.m. to 8:30 pm, August to May. For more information about the Oxford Civic Chorus, visit the group’s website.
