Gualala Arts Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961
The Mendonoma Chamber Chorus will perform Songs for a Summer Day on August 2nd at 4 pm in the Gualala Arts Center Jacob Foyer. The group enters its fifth year together with an eclectic program of a capella works spanning several continents and centuries, from 16th century madrigals to modern arrangements. Join us for a program of summer music about poets and lovers, rivers and fireflies, wilderness and flowers. The group will be joined, again, by professional mezzo-soprano Jennifer Beattie.
The Mendonoma Chamber Chorus began in 2010 with informal music sessions under the direction of choral director Michael Bierbaum. The members soon realized that sharing their music through performance would make the efforts more meaningful and more focused. This led to a first outdoor presentation at Art in the Redwoods in 2011, followed by a series of semiannual performances under the Local Eyes series at Gualala Arts. These have been well attended and much enjoyed for the excellent acoustics of the Gualala Arts foyer and for the diverse high-quality music chosen in the programs. Current sustaining members of the group are Marjie van Gunten, Linda Eastman, Jane Schuler-Repp, Pat Wilson, and music director Roland Stoughton. Aspiring singers who enjoy classical music and can read music fairly well are encouraged to contact the group via Marjie at (707) 785-3408.
Joining the chorus again for this performance will be a special guest, the professional mezzo-soprano Jennifer Beattie, who has sung with us for the past two years. Based in Philadelphia, PA, Beattie has been a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Opera Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the National Chorale at Carnegie Hall, and has given recitals around the U. S. and Europe. She holds a Master’s Degree in Voice from the Manhattan School of Music, and has premiered many pieces written specifically for her by prominent composers.