West Village Chorale's 40th Anniversary Spring Gala Benefit
Barbara Dana in “The Belle of Amherst”
Thursday, April 12, 2012 :: 7:00 pm
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
On Thursday evening, April 12, 2012, Barbara Dana will offer her profoundly moving one-woman performance of The Belle of Amherst—William Luce's play on the life and works of Emily Dickinson—within the intimacy of Judson Memorial Church's Meeting Room, for the lucky friends and supporters of the West Village Chorale.
Besides being an accomplished actor—who made her New York City stage debut at the age of seventeen and has appeared in a wealth of Broadway and off-Broadway plays, in numerous films, and on television—Barbara is the author of several plays, books for children and young adults, and historical novels. Two of her books focus on Emily Dickinson: a novel, A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson, and Wider Than the Sky: Essays and Meditations on the Healing Power of Emily Dickinson.
Barbara's intense and sensitive stage evocation of Dickinson reflects her long study and deep appreciation of one of America's foremost poets. Her performances of The Belle of Amherst have garnered acclaim across the U.S. and Canada, including high praise from Julie Harris, who debuted and won a Tony for her own role in the 1976 Broadway version of the play.
The 40th Anniversary Gala will also include a book signing by Barbara, the usual pleasures of a WVC buffet, and the chance to win some marvelously tempting items in our silent auction!
So mark the date and come join us for an uplifting evening of celebration and fun!
Gala Benefit tickets are $100—we thank you for your support!
Our 40th Anniversary Season continues!
“In the Garden of the Imagination”
Saturday, May 19, 2012 :: 7:00 pm
Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
Be sure to mark your calendar for the second half of our 40th Anniversary season, as the Chorale explores what happens when fertile musical imaginations till the literary soil of some of our greatest and most creative writers. The results will be strange and wondrous fruits that will delight both the ear and the mind: an evocative, emotional, and thrilling close to this year of celebration.
Irving Fine, Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Three choral settings for chorus and piano
Some of the most charming choral music written in the 20th century
Michael Conley, This Bequest of Wings (Emily Dickinson)
Eight settings of Dickinson's poetry for soprano, chorus, string quartet, and piano
The world premiere of the complete cycle
Eric Whitacre, The City and the Sea (e. e. cummings)
Five choruses set to the words of e. e. cummings, for chorus and piano
The newest work from the internationally celebrated wunderkind of contemporary choral music
Tarik O'Regan, The Ecstasies Above (Edgar Allan Poe)
A setting of Poe's magnificent “Israfel,” for solo octet, chorus, and string quartet
Through his creative description of the angel, Israfel, and the heavens, Poe creates a virtuous image of the supernatural. Poe compares this heavenly vision to the harsh reality of human existence. Whilst the beauty of Israfel's voice and lyre can silence even the moon and the stars in the heavens, Poe suggests that if Israfel were placed in an earthly environment, he would not sing with such zest. From the Koranic source of the name for the protagonist, the story is refashioned by Poe into an homage of ecumenicity to an all-encompassing angel of music.