The Quincy Symphony Chorus Performs “Music With Meaning”

The Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association’s 77th season continues with the choral production “Music with Meaning,” at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at Salem Church.

Dr. Phyllis Robertson directs the Symphony Chorus performance of carefully curated songs that resonate with the hearts and minds of the audience. Each piece has deep meaning to stir the audience to contemplate, celebrate, and commemorate.

The concert observes the 200th anniversary of Ode to Joy, Beethoven’s testament to the power of music to uplift the spirit and draw worshippers closer to the divine through joyful praise and adoration. The Salem Handbell choir accompanies the chorus in a glorius arrangement ofJoyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” which share’s Beethoven’s triumphant melody.

Composed in 2023, Kyle Pederson’s masterwork A Vision Unfolding elicits powerful declarations of a nation rooted in equality, freedom, and justice while seeking to build bridges of care and connection. The music articulates and explores what our country has stood for in its best moments. Movements include: Reach Down, Lord; Beat! Drums!; All of Me; Light Transforms the Darkness; and I Dream A World accompanied by violin, trumpet and snare drum.  The performance features the poetry of African American poet and spoken word artist Shanelle Gabriel read by members of the chorus.

Pederson (b. 1971) is a Minneapolis-based composer, lyricist, pianist, and educator.  He was awarded the American Prize in Choral Composition in 2019. His work has been commissioned and recorded by All State/Honors choirs, and youth, church, college, and professional choirs world-wide.  Kyle enjoys working at the intersection of the sacred and secular, and his lyrics and music invite the choir and audience to be agents of hope, grace, and compassion in the world.

Sponsored by Kohl Wholesale, Klingner & Associates, and STARadio/WTAD, this concert also includes a salute to the 80th Anniversary of D-Day with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy for women’s choir with trumpet accompaniment.  Other meaningful works include How Can I Keep From Singing, The Power of the Dream, and I Am But A Small Voice.

The Symphony Chorus includes singers from all walks of life in Quincy and the surrounding area. New singers are welcome to audition for the Christmas concert and the spring semester which features Broadway Hits from Hamilton, Newsies, Wicked, and Jersey Boys by calling the QSOA office.

Single concert tickets are available at the door, or in advance from Quincy HyVee stores, Sturhahn Jewelers, and the QSOA website for $18 for adults and $15 for seniors. Children 18 and under are admitted free to all concerts and are encouraged to attend.

All 77th season programs are made possible by the Knapheide Manufacturing Company, Quincy Recycle, and grants from the Tracy Family Foundation, the Anonymous Fund of the Community Foundation, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

In-depth information is available at www.qsoa.org or by calling 217-222-2856.