Lenawee Community Chorus to share the joy of music during 56th annual Spring Concert

Brad Heineman, The Daily Telegram
·3 min read
Soprano and tenor ensemble members of the Lenawee Community Chorus are pictured singing during the community chorus' holiday concert held Dec. 17, 2023, at Adrian College's Herrick Chapel.
Soprano and tenor ensemble members of the Lenawee Community Chorus are pictured singing during the community chorus' holiday concert held Dec. 17, 2023, at Adrian College's Herrick Chapel.

ADRIAN — “And Joy is Everywhere” is the title of the Lenawee Community Chorus’ 56th annual Spring Concert it is presenting starting at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at Adrian College’s Herrick Chapel.

Tickets for this weekend’s concert are $15 for adults. There is no cost for students and children to attend. Tickets can be purchased at the door prior to the concert, or they can be bought online by visiting lenaweecommunitychorus.com.

In planning this concert, artistic director and conductor Brad Pierson — who became the community chorus’ new conductor and artistic director in the fall of 2023 — said he chose modern works by living composers that, “celebrate joy in the awesome and the ordinary and everywhere in between." Drawing from lyrics in these songs, Pierson adds that joy is “In the known and unknown; in fretful feelings and when we are weary; in falling stars; in love; at night and at the dawn of a new day; in fighting evil; in music; in life: Joy is everywhere.”

Brad Pierson became the Lenawee Community Chorus’ new conductor and artistic director in the fall of 2023.
Brad Pierson became the Lenawee Community Chorus’ new conductor and artistic director in the fall of 2023.

Pierson also is the founder and director of whateverandeveramen, a project based vocal ensemble hailing from Toledo. He has served on the faculty at University of Toledo and Western Illinois University, earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, his Master of Music from California State University-Los Angeles, and his Doctor of Music Arts from the University of Washington.

Pianist Isaac Marshall Cox also became the chorus’ accompanist in the fall of 2023, a news release from the Lenawee Community Chorus said.

Cox recently finished his master's degree in piano performance with a focus in collaborative piano at the University of Toledo. He is currently working as an adjunct professor of music at Adrian College and is the music director at the First Presbyterian Church of Adrian. Cox has a long history of performing in the southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio area.

A musical adaptation of “The Road Not Taken,” a piece based on Robert Frost’s poem of the same name is among the selections concertgoers will hear on Sunday. The musical adaptation of this poem was created with special permission from the Estate of Robert Frost, “who has granted very few composers the liberty to create music based on Frost's poem,” the community chorus said.

Alto and bass ensemble members of the Lenawee Community Chorus are pictured singing during the community chorus' holiday concert held Dec. 17, 2023, at Adrian College's Herrick Chapel.
Alto and bass ensemble members of the Lenawee Community Chorus are pictured singing during the community chorus' holiday concert held Dec. 17, 2023, at Adrian College's Herrick Chapel.

“Robert Frost wrote a famous poem about two roads that diverged in a wood, and how he took the one less traveled. The most well-known choral setting of this poem was composed by Randall Thompson, but our concert features a newer setting by Z. Randall Stroope,” added chorus bass Ross Koning. “The underlying music has hints of Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite.’ Perhaps this reminds us, as with the Phoenix, there could be inspiration in unconventional pathways to joy, particularly after disappointment or loss.”

The Lenawee Community Chorus, at 56 years strong, is Michigan’s oldest continually operating ensemble of its type: a no-audition group comprised of local individuals of all musical abilities “who just love to come together and make music.”

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Rehearsals are held at Father Williams Hall on the campus of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Adrian, 415 Ormsby St., on Wednesday evenings from September through April. Chorus members focus of leaning new literature, improving vocal skills, sharing a love of vocal music and welcoming new members during the rehearsals, which are scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m.

“We come together to put in hard work every week at rehearsals. We are individuals with different backgrounds and musical experience challenging ourselves to improve our skills, become better vocalists, while sharing the joy of music with chorus members and the community as a whole,” said chorus soprano Nicole Schall-Plotner.

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: www.twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee Community Chorus to share the joy of music during Spring Concert