Mary Hopper, artistic director of the Hinsdale Chorale, is convinced we are “Better Together.” That’s why she chose that name for the group’s April 26-27 concerts at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 203 S. Kensington in La Grange.
“It’s timely to think that we’re supporting each other in our music-making in our fractured world,” Hopper explained.
She expanded that concept to embrace young singers.
“I think in this day and age, it’s important to support music in the public schools,” Hopper declared. “I have several public-school music teachers in the group and I said, ‘Why don’t we see if we can get them to bring some of their kids to sing with us?’”
The teachers agreed that it was a great idea.
The Saturday evening performance at 7 p.m. will feature the Westmont Junior High School Chorus conducted by Zach Troyer. The Sunday afternoon performance at 3 p.m. will feature SoliVocé from Komarek School District 94 in North Riverside, conducted by Philip W. Riegle.
The children’s choruses will join the Hinsdale Chorale in singing two traditional spirituals, “Yonder Come Day” and “Walk Together, Children.”
“Those are melodies that are easy to sing,” Hopper said.
The children’s choirs will also sing one chorus of the opening selection, “In Meeting We are Blessed” by Troy Robertson. It’s about holding on to each other, Hopper explained.
Each group will also sing two selections from their repertoire.
There are four choirs at Westmont Junior High School. Troyer will be bringing the 19-member Swing Choir to the Hinsdale Chorale Concert.
“We typically perform at Westmont High School. We give three primary concerts a year,” Troyer said. “But the Swing Choir has additional performances.” Recently, they did a Westmont tour, singing at elementary schools and a retirement community. They also participate in the Illinois Music Education Association’s annual Choir Junior Festival.
Troyer considers having his chorus perform with the Hinsdale Chorale “a wonderful opportunity and also a worthwhile challenge,” he said.
The Swing Choir will perform “Sing to Me,” based on a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in which she entreats, “Sing of the beauty and brightness of life.”
They will also sing “Run Away” by Stuart Chapman Hill.
“The title sounds a little scary perhaps,” Troyer admitted. “But I think it’s a great message.” It encourages people to take a chance.
Both pieces “definitely have a story to them,” Troyer said. “And they’re both relatable to junior high singers.”
There are 15 singers in SoliVocé, who were chosen by audition. “Most of these singers already had sung in one of our two open choirs that don’t have auditions,” Riegle said.
SoliVocé performs at two choir concerts each year at their school and also at a junior high choir festival at Riverside Brookfield High school, as well as at retirement homes.
Riegle has sung with the Hinsdale Chorale for five years and has directed SoliVocé for 12 years. “It’s cool to bridge two of my worlds,” he said.
At the Hinsdale Chorale concert, SoliVocé will perform a Macedonian folk song, “Shto Mi E Milo.” In the song, “A young girl is thinking about wanting to own her own shop in the city and be with the boy that she loves,” Riegel said.
They will also sing “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae. “It’s a jazzy pop number,” Riegel said.
He noted that the selections are “two different styles, two different a cappella traditions, which we usually strive for,” Riegel said.
Hopper has chosen a diverse program for the Chorale.
“I always try to do music that’s historical also, not just all contemporary things,” Hopper said. “So, we’re doing a couple of madrigals from the Renaissance era.” These are “Sing We and Chant It” by Thomas Morley, and “The Silver Swan” by Orlando Gibbons.”
The program will also include “Your Voices Tune,” from one of Handel’s oratorios, which praises harmony and love, Hopper explained.
Also in the program is “A Silence Haunts Me” by Jake Runestad.
“It’s a piece based on the Heiligenstadt Testament of Beethoven,” Hopper noted. “He considers suicide because he’s losing his hearing and he knows he’s gifted in making music. At the end, he says, ‘I hear a ringing. I hear bells.’”
The end of the work depicts Beethoven losing his hearing.
“The choir stops singing but still mouths the words,” Hopper said. “The pianist playing stops hitting the keys and I keep conducting in silence until the very end. It’s a very powerful piece.”
The chorus will also sing “Exsultate! Jubilate!” by Kyle Pederson.
“It’s a joyful piece,” Hopper said.
Also on the program is “Alleluia” by Ralph Manuel and “Your Hand and Mine” by Marques L. A. Garrett. The latter piece “is a text about the human touch,” Hopper said. “It fits our theme so well.”
The final selection will be “Music Keeps Us Here” by Sean Ivory.
Tickets to “Better Together” are $20; $15 for students and seniors. For reservations, call 312-510-1823 or visit hinsdalechorale.org.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.