FHS Vocalist Performs with CCSU and CONCORA

At the South Church in New Britain on February 10th, a celebration of the music of Moses Hogan commemorating the legacy of the composer. The concert called, "Feel the Spirit" was a celebration in song created by CONCORA, Connecticut Choral Artists conducted by Artistic Director, Chris Shepard and Guest Conductor, Dr. Gaylon Robinson, CCSU.

“Moses Hogan took the spiritual into a new era in the 1990s in particular,” said Shepard of the featured arranger of CONCORA’s selected songs for performance. “He died sadly at the age of 45. It’s a retrospective concert on the 20th anniversary of his death.” Robinson said that when Shepard introduced the idea of collaborating in a concert featuring Hogan’s work, he jumped at the idea" and it is a great way for college students to share musical artistry with professional musicians.

The music festival performance included students from college as well as high school students from across Connecticut. Theo Mancini, a Farmington High School junior was selected as one of nine choral students from across the state. He is a junior in the Chamber Singers and Madrigal Singers at FHS. Theo is also a lead in the high school musical, The Wizard of Oz this year. He loves to attend Laurel Music Camp in the summers and plans on majoring in music education in college. Theo says that this was an "amazing opportunity to sing under the direction of conductors Chris Shepard and Gaylon Robinson" as they are two giants in the choral community of Connecticut.

To view future CONCORA performances visit: https://www.concora.org/