Blue Ridge Singers to perform spring concert, premiere “Run, Shenandoah”

Eunice Myers (left) and Bébhinn Egger, both longtime members of the Blue Ridge Singers, sing during a past performance. /Photo courtesy of BRS. 

FRONT ROYAL – The Blue Ridge Singers, a local community chamber choir, will perform the concert “Dreams in Song” Friday, April 21 at the Front Royal Presbyterian Church.  The concert will feature the world premiere of the piece “Run, Shenandoah” performed in the program.

The choir, based in Warren County, will present three concerts, “Dreams in Song,” that will include an original song, “Run, Shenandoah,” that was written and composed by area resident Barbara Frank.  Glenn Caluda, professor emeritus at Shenandoah University, arranged it into a four-part choral piece.

The group will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 21 at the Front Royal Presbyterian Church in Front Royal; 4 p.m., April 23 in Winchester at the Opequon Presbyterian Church and 7:30 p.m. April 25 in Manassas at the All Saints Catholic Church.  Admission is free, but a $10 donation is suggested.

Artistic Director Jeffrey Alban said choir members have rehearsed each Tuesday evening since Jan. 3. The 36 singers in the group, who are divided by singing range into soprano, alto, tenor and base, range from teenagers to senior citizens.

The concert, Alban said, evolved after discovering a work of Eric Barnum based on William Butler Yeats’ poem “The White Birds,” where the focus is on the word “dream.”

Alban said Ms. Frank contacted him and asked if he would be interested in performing Caluda’s arrangement of her poem “Run, Shenandoah.”

He said that after reading the poem, which he described as “lovely and sentimental” he felt the piece would be a natural fit for the spring program.

The choir was formed in 2009; it performs from a chamber choir repertoire with concerts during Christmas and in the spring.  For more information, view the website at http://www.blueridgesingers.com.