May 18 Saturday
Celebrate five centuries of music by Black composers, as the Choral Society of Pensacola concludes its season with Lift Every Voice. Artistic Director Peter Steenblik and Treble Ensemble Director Isabelle Peterson will lead the 110-voice chorus, accompanied by organist and pianist Hyunjoo Kim, with soprano Allanda Small as guest soloist.
The program features primarily sacred works, including • a sixteenth-century setting of a Lenten prayer by the first Black composer known to have his work published,• a nineteenth-century “Ave Maria” by a composer recognized for his blending of Black folk idioms with European concert music styles,• a twenty-first century setting of the 23rd Psalm by a singer whose best-known song hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, and• “Amen,” an excerpt from the opera Omar, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music, based on the autobiography of an enslaved Muslim man who lived in nineteenth-century Charleston, SC.*
About half of the seventeen selections on the program are drawn from Marques L.A. Garrett’s groundbreaking collection The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers, published in 2023. But through his immersion in the increasing number of available works by Black composers, Dr. Steenblik has rounded out the program with a rich variety of pieces from other sources, and the Choral Society invites audiences to enjoy the results of his exploration.
May 20 Monday
The Pensacola Bay Concert Band presents their next performance on Monday, May 20th, 2024 at 7:30pm at the University of West Florida Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Pkwy Bldg. 82, Pensacola, FL 32514.
Our “Inaugural Conductor’s Choice Concert…With a Touch of Symphony” will feature music selected by our nine Co-Conductors, and we will welcome guest conductors Tyler Arcari (Tate High School and Troy University graduate) and Dr. Steven Sudduth (University of West Florida interim director of bands and music education). Our feature soloist for the evening will be Dale Riegle, Principal Trumpet of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.
Free admission, but please bring non-perishable food items that will be donated to Manna Food Pantries.
The Pensacola Bay Concert Band is a 110-piece 501(c)3 non-profit community band for adults. Founded in 2014, the PBCB provides a place for adults, regardless of ability, to play in an enjoyable, non-competitive ensemble, without tryouts or membership fees. You can find out more on our website, pbcband.org.