Spiritual Americana Concert Features Instrumentalists, Vocalists

BEL AIR, MD — Talented musicians, both young and seasoned, will come together for a celebratory concert May 2.

The Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra consists of hobbyist adult musicians from all walks of life who meet once a week to play music together, then perform at concerts in the community, said Amanda Mashack with the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra. Musicians live in Harford, Baltimore and Cecil counties, as well as in Baltimore City and southern Pennsylvania.

"The repertoire for this concert features all American composers in celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary. They include legends like George Gershwin and Aaron Copland, as well as several modern composers. This concert is a large and collaborative concert because of the choral work," Mashack told Patch.

On Saturday, the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra will perform its Spiritual Americana concert at 7:30 p.m. as the fourth and final concert in their 49th season. The concert will be held at Bel Air High School, located at 100 Heighe Street under the direction of Maestro Sheldon Bair.

The concert will begin with Brian Folus guest conducting Maryland composer Michael Fili’s The Old Line (Concert Fanfare for Brass and Percussion) in honor of the state's anniversary and the 250th anniversary of the United States.

"The SSO performs a substantial amount of new or neglected music, and it is important that the SSO is not just a museum of sorts, but a living, breathing art form in and of itself," Mashack said.

After two additional songs and an intermission, the concert will include a community choir featuring members of the Bel Air Community Chorus, Bel Air United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, Havre de Grace High School Chamber Singers and Edgewood High School Chamber Choir. They will sing Zion’s Walls by Aaron Copland while being accompanied by the orchestra's brass and woodwind sections.

Then, the choir, orchestra and baritone soloist Kellen Johnson will perform a medley of spirituals entitled There’s a Stirrin’ in the Water by Ohio composers Jesse Ayers and Charles Myricks, Jr. The concert will finish with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue performed by pianist Washington Garcia, a Peabody graduate and returning SSO guest artist.

Including the youth in the symphony's concert carves out a special opportunity for the kids.

"Adding some talented side-by-side students to the orchestra makes them learn more challenging repertoire – repertoire they won’t play in their school orchestras or even in the Harford Youth Orchestra. They also add to the orchestra’s sound and give the orchestra, and their stand partners, a glimpse into what young musicians are doing today. They bring a youthfulness and newness to the music," Mashack said.

"Moreover, these students are the musicians, and music lovers, of the future. They might continue to play in university, but playing with the SSO gives them insight as to what is available all over our country and in many other countries throughout the world. They get to sit alongside brilliant community members – scientists, educators, small-business owners, etc. – who play music for fun. Some of the youth see themselves in the same situation in the future, and their instruments don’t go into closets after high school," Mashack continued.

The goal of the symphony is to whisk people away from the heaviness or drudgery of everyday life and transport them somewhere else, both for the audience and musicians alike.

"We hope the audience is moved emotionally at each of our concerts. We hope to impact the lives of the musicians and audience so that they come away with a renewed interest in the arts and what the arts can do for them, their friends and their community," Mashack told Patch.