SEQUIM — With six-plus decades directing choirs of various ages and denominations, Jerome Wright has a plethora of pieces to pick from for his Peninsula Singers.
That’s a very good thing, the longtime conductor/musical director said.
“I can program in a very open way, and I prefer to do that,” Wright said last week, just prior to a Peninsula Singers rehearsal.
“There are a variety of pieces,” he said about “A Season of Gratitude,” the group’s upcoming fall concert.
“I’m like a kid in a candy store.”
Concert attendees can expect plenty of “fun” pieces — and more than a few surprises — at the concerts, set for 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church, 925. N. Sequim Ave.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted at the door.
The fall concert, Wright noted, gets its title from being just two weeks away from Thanksgiving.
Accompanied by Mark Johnson throughout, the Peninsula Singers open the concert with a chorale titled “Nun Danket Alle Gott” (Now Thank We All Our God), a work by Johann Crueger in both German and English, followed by “Give thanks and Glorify His Name” by Lloyd Larson.
“It’s something traditional to something more upbeat,” Wright said.
Those are followed by Captain Kidd’s “God Is Seen,” arranged by Alice Park.
This song, Wright noted, honors God in all nature.
The Christmas portion of the concert opens with “Est ist ein’ Ros’ entsprungen” (Lo, How a Rose e’er Blooming), what Wright calls an “elegant” arrangement by John Rutter, followed by “Sure On This Shining Night” by Morten Andersen, based on the poem by James Agee.
The program’s major work is Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Christmas Carols,” featuring popular local contralto Vicki Helwick, who lends her considerable soloing talent to this piece.
“She sounds very nice on this,” Wright said with a grin.
Also included in the concerts are “Feast of Lights,” a commemoration of Hanukkah, and “Jessye’s Carol” (This Christmastide), a piece originally written by Donald Fraser for American opera singer and recitalist Jessye Norman.
The concert finale — “A Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas” by Craig Courtney — features singers exploring the 12 days through the styles of various composers over different musical periods, from Gregorian Chant to martial music.
The audience, Wright said, will enjoy guessing which composer is being spoofed.
“It’s going to be very fun.”
For more about the Peninsula Singers group, visit facebook.com/groups/58743 394346.
