The Springfield Choral Society will hold a two-day musical festival on March 21-22 called “Songs for the Unsung.” Director of the Springfield Choral Society Jacobsen Woollen and Vice President of the Sangamon County Historical Society Linda Schneider spoke to Community Voices about the festival which will incorporate lesser known stories of women in Springfield’s history. For ticket information visit: https://www.springfieldchoralsociety.org/
Provided by the Springfield Choral Society, the events of the two-day festival are broken down below:
Songs for the Unsung: Springfield Heroines
Friday, March 21, 7:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church
The small ensembles of the Springfield Choral Society join forces with actors from the Sangamon Historical Society, interweaving life-narratives of significant Springfield women with thematically-related works by female composers. Featuring music of Carole King, Meredith Monk, Hildegard von Bingen, Elaine Hagenberg, Barbara Strozzi, Dolly Parton, Moira Smiley, Chen Yi, and Dua Lipa.
Songs for the Unsung: Susan Lawrence Dana and the Fight for Women's Rights (Musical Tours of the Dana-Thomas House)
Saturday, March 22, 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m., Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site
This hour-long event will begin with a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright home, focusing on the extensive Women's Rights campaigning of its builder Susan Lawrence Dana. The tour will be intermingled with musical selections performed by SCS singers from the three "musicians' balconies" in the home, and will culminate in a seated performance of "A Great Lady Lived Here," adapted by Kevin Purcell and performed by Leigh Steiner.
Songs for the Unsung: Festival Concert
Saturday, March 22, 7:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church
The full Springfield Choral Society joins with an ensemble of instrumentalists to present the spectacular Dixit Dominus of Marianna Martines, a friend of Mozart's who is finally also being recognized as his peer. Works by Ysaye Barnwell, Kim Baryluk, Andrea Ramsay, Clara Schumann, and Ethel Smyth round out this rousing program.
