Pilgrim Festival Chorus Launches 20th Anniversary With Auditions, Scituate High School Collaboration

Pilgrim Festival Chorus (PFC), one of the region's principal non-profit community choruses, invites singers to open auditions at two Welcome Nights on Monday, January 14 and Monday, January 21, at 6:30 pm. Music Directors William B. Richter and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly greet interested singers at Faith Community Church (formerly United Methodist Church), 29 Carver Road, Plymouth, to answer questions about PFC and audition attendees for vocal placement. Rehearsals for the spring season begin at 7 pm immediately following auditions.

In 2019, PFC launches its 20th season with two concerts with orchestra, one in its hometown of Plymouth, and a second performance at the new Scituate Center for Performing Arts. Spring repertoire includes Mozart's masterwork Requiem, one of the best-known choral pieces ever composed, and a setting of John Dryden's poem, Ode to Saint Cecilia, by Massachusetts composer Clifton J. Noble. The Ode was commissioned by the Assabet Valley Mastersingers in 1998 as a companion piece to Mozart's Requiem, a fitting companion for this concert series.

PFC's inaugural performance at the Scituate Center for Performing Arts features a collaboration with Scituate High School's Select Choir under the direction of four-decade educator and PFC Director William B. Richter. The Select Choir is an auditioned ensemble of nearly 60 high school singers who will spend their spring classes immersed in these works as part of their school curriculum. The partnership results in a performance featuring more than 140 multi-generational voices in Scituate, a landmark achievement for the Chorus, as well as an extraordinary learning opportunity for both the students and adult singers. The collaboration is supported in part by a grant from Scituate Cultural Council, in addition to funds contributed by several other regional Cultural Councils.

PFC is an auditioned choral group with about 80 active members representing all skill levels, dedicated to the performance of choral music in many genres. The group typically performs major concerts in the winter and spring each year. Pilgrim Festival Singers, a PFC offshoot ensemble, performs an annual summer concert of lighter music, and occasionally sings at local community events.

Rehearsals for the spring season are held on Monday nights from 7 to 9 pm. Performances will be held on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 pm at St. Bonaventure Parish, Plymouth, and Sunday, April 28 at 4 pm at the Scituate Performing Arts Center, Scituate. Tickets for the performances will be available at PFC's website after the new year.

For more information about membership and auditions, contact William Richter at 781-789-3343 or by email at director@pilgrimfestivalchorus.org. For more information about this season's schedule and repertoire, please visit the PFC website at pilgrimfestivalchorus.org, email info@pilgrimfestivalchorus.org, or follow Pilgrim Festival Chorus on Facebook.

Photo Courtesy, Pilgrim Festival Chorus