Preparation for the Chorale's spring concert Come Join the Dance has been ongoing for weeks. Not only have the singers been rehearsing, but a few miles to our southeast, the junior dancers of the Salt Creek Ballet have been plying their craft, under the able direction of Emily Moser. This group of talented young women will dance to three of the Chorale's pieces this coming weekend.
As I stood conducting the Chorale in rehearsal earlier this week, my back to the dancers, I could hear their synchronized steps resounding on the hardwood behind me. And it struck me once again: there is great joy in artistic collaboration! There we were—two distinct groups working in two different mediums. Our stock in trade is the world of sounds—notes, words, dynamics. Their tools are beautifully crafted movements. There is something special about bringing those two worlds together, in what can only be called artistic synergy, each enjoying the fruits of the other's labors. And then, together, offering those labors to an audience. I found myself thinking, "We really need to do this more often."
I hope you'll be there to enjoy it! The junior dancers of the Salt Creek Ballet will join the Chorale in Copland's Stomp Your Foot (from The Tender Land), John Ferguson's delightful setting of Lord of the Dance, and the rollicking Gilbert and Sullivan finale from The Gondoliers. And along the way, there's plenty more music to make you want to Come Join the Dance! Won't you? Concerts are this Friday, May 9 at 7:30 and Saturday, May 10 at 3:00. Both concerts are at College Church in Wheaton. Tickets are available at this website, or at the door.
Greg Wheatley
Music Director, Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Chorale