SEQUIM — The music is about hope. So Tyrone Beatty didn’t hesitate. After two years quiet, the Peninsula Singers, with violist Beatty, will present an open rehearsal and two concerts this weekend at the Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church, 925 N. Sequim Ave.
The music ranges from Handel, Mozart, Duruflé and Beethoven to Giuseppe Verdi and Andrew Lloyd Webber — with no tickets sold and donations accepted. Audience members are asked to wear masks during the 75-minute performance. “Tyrone will play the hauntingly beautiful viola solos from John Williams’ ‘Schindler’s List,’” noted choral director Jerome Wright, who expressed relief in returning to the stage with the 20-member choir after “a long, dry spell.”
These concerts, which share the theme “How Can I Keep from Singing?” begin with the public rehearsal at 7 p.m. Friday. Then come the 2 p.m. matinees both Saturday and Sunday. All feature Beatty, pianist Mark Johnson — who sings bass in the a cappella pieces — and the new small ensemble, Encore, with conductor Vern Sanders. “We have a really wonderful program planned. The first segment is in memoriam to those who have died of COVID, former [choir] members who have died in the last several years, and those who have died in Ukraine,” Wright said.
Then Encore will sing Stanley M. Hoffman’s “Grant Us Peace,” a prayer written by the Central Association of Rabbis — “it is gorgeous,” Wright said.
“We were going to give a spring concert called ‘The Magic of Musicals’ two years ago. We are adding a bit from that to this program — the Rodgers and Hammerstein segment of ‘the concert that never was,’” he added.
The performances will close with an arrangement by Wright’s friend and colleague Karen P. Thomas, conductor of the Seattle Pro Musica choral ensemble. Beatty, for his part, said the “Schindler’s List” music and movie provide reminders of love, hope and the necessity of helping others. Those actions “are really needed now more than ever,” he said. “That is what I my keep in mind always. It is what drives me in life and when I’m playing. I’m honored to be able to play such a beautiful piece with such a wonderful group of human beings and friends,” Beatty added. “That is what I look forward to most.” ________ Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Copied and pasted from an article in the Peninsula Daily News.
