Versatile soloists join chorale’s season finale

Published 11:54 am Thursday, June 5, 2008

From jazzy Broadway tunes to the baroque masterpieces of Handel, the Everett Chorale promises the final concert of its 42nd season will uplift, inspire and even get toes tapping.

The 70-voice choral ensemble will perform Saturday and Sunday with guest soloist Kathryn Weld and organist Kim Croft under the direction of Lee Mathews.

The concert will feature traditional sacred music, “Hallelujah, Amen” by Handel, and a selection of contemporary 20th century compositions called “A Vincent Youmans Medley.”

“He composed with those early 1920s and 1930s musical comedies,” Mathews said of Youmans. “His name is not as well known as some, but the songs are really terrific pieces, and once the audience hears the tunes, they will recognize those melodies.”

Soloist Weld will be featured throughout the concert. She has previously performed with the chorale for the popular “Rivers” and “A Night at the Opera” concerts.

The concert will end with an arrangement of popular African-American spirituals by composer John Rutter, who has conducted the Everett Chorale at Carnegie Hall in New York.

“We feel a certain prejudice with John Rutter” because of the Carnegie Hall connection, Mathews said.

Weld’s versatile voice will highlight the Rutter portion of the concert. She is currently alto soloist at St. James Cathedral in Seattle and is on the voice faculty and affiliate artist at Western Washington University and the Cornish College of the Arts. She was among a group of singers selected to perform for the pope and the Dalai Lama during their recent visits to the United States.

“She is terrific,” Mathews said. “She’s a great singer and very expressive.”

The suite of Rutter selections includes well known favorites such as “Steal Away,” “I Got a Robe,” “Deep River,” “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

“‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ is so lively and ends on such a hallelujah note … it raises the hair on the back of your neck,” Mathews said.

Chorale accompanist and concert organist Croft holds music degrees from Brigham Young and New York universities and is completing an advanced degree in music librarianship at the University of Washington. He is organist at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Everett.

All of the sacred pieces will feature Croft, Mathews said.

“He is well qualified and a terrific organist,” Mathews said. “He’ll use an electric organ, but it’s amazing what they have done with modern technology and electronics.”

Reporter Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com