Region – On Saturday, April 1, at 7 p.m., the Master Singers of Worcester will present “Around the World in Forty Years,” a concert at Mechanics Hall of Worcester celebrating the 40th anniversary of the chorus with a diverse array of music from around the globe. Led by Malcolm Halliday in his final Worcester concert with the Master Singers before his retirement as artistic director, this concert will also feature the Salisbury Singers, the Worcester Children’s Chorus, the WPI Orchestra, and the Shrewsbury Ringers, Senior Choir and Vocal Interns of the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury.
Music on the program will feature two world premieres: Malcolm Halliday’s cantata “Ode to Clara Barton’s Portrait,” dedicated to the Worcester Women’s History Project, and to be sung to her portrait hanging in the Civil War era hall, as well as Stephan Barnicle’s setting of Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem “The Bells” with the chorus accompanied by the well-known local hand bell choir, the Shrewsbury Ringers. The librettist for the Clara Barton cantata is Michael Paladini. Scored for two choruses, organ and piano, the work will also feature the actress Lynne McKenney Lydick, well-known to area audiences for her portrayal of historic woman of central Massachusetts, including Clara Barton.
Other works on the program will include the Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s “The Luminous Night of the Soul,” the Canadian Ruth Watson Henderson’s “Voices of Earth” conducted by Salisbury Singers’ Director Michelle Graveline, the New Englander Gwyneth Walker’s “Chords of Love” and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, with Malcolm Halliday as piano soloist. Tickets may be ordered through the Mechanics Hall box office or purchased online by visiting the Master Singers website at www.mswma.org.