An Afternoon with the Choral masters –
April 2024
“A Picture Paints A Thousand Words…”
“An Afternoon with the Choral Masters” (Works By: Haydn, Mozart, & Vivaldi)
This was the official inaugural performance of the GNCA, along with the Wausau Symphony & Band, which took place in the late afternoon of Palm Sunday on March 24th of 2024, in the beautiful and sonorous sanctuary of the Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church on the west side of the city of Wausau, Wisconsin. This performance’s main pillars featured a Chorus of “The Heavens Are Telling”, from the Oratorio, “The Creation” by Classical composer Franz Josef Haydn, a magnificent Marian antiphon in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s, “Regina Coeli” (K. 276), and a 12-movement pinnacle of choral and symphonic mastery of the traditional mass ordinary in the “Gloria” (RV 589) by Baroque composer, Antonio Vivaldi. The performance also featured selections from a wide spectrum of cultural diversity and language ranging from the driving traditional Hebrew in Julius Chajes’s transcription of “Song of Galilee”, to the swinging Bemba language in the traditional Zambian folk song of “Bonse Aba”, arranged by Victor C. Johnson. The Wausau Symphony & Band, led by Daniel Larson, featured a trio of dances by German composer, Michael Praetorius, from Terpsichore, a compendium of orchestral music from 1612. The performance closed with the GNCA staple of a traditional moving spiritual and field song in, “Soon-ah Will Be Done”, by William Dawson. This balanced performance featured not only the members of GNCA and the WS&B, but talented soloists and instrumentalists, ranging from the Wisconsin Rapids, Wausau, and Owen-Withee areas. We were graced with the accompaniment talents of organist/pianist, George Felty, and percussionist/music educator, Ryan Gutsch. This performance was also an opportunity to witness masterful leadership from conductors; Professor William Day Emeritus and WS&B Leader, Daniel Larson, as well as the first for GNCA chairman, Brian Zell.