Tuesday concert will feature Haydn Mass, string quartet, holiday music

By Jennifer Moody

Albany Democrat-Herald

LEBANON - Members of the Lebanon Community Chorus say they're stepping up their game with new attire and an ambitious winter concert.

The chorus will perform Joseph Haydn's "Missa Tempore Belli," which is also known as "The Drum Mass," "Paukenmesse" and "Mass in Time of War," at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Lebanon, 3111 S. Main Road.

Directed by Kevin Wong, the Mass will feature solo vocal performances by soprano Evelyn Smith, alto Colleen Rydholm, tenor Pete Butler and bass Brent Dunnigan.

A professional string quartet will accompany the chorus as a way to enrich the performance, said Anne Johnson, vice president of the group.

The chorus will perform seasonal holiday music in the second half of the program.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students and $20 for a family, and are available from chorus members, at the door or at Stainthorp's Piano and Musical Goods, 796 Main St.

The concert represents the amateur chorus' most recent efforts to bring a new level of professionalism to their performances, Johnson said. Wong chose the Mass, she said, because it's an "extroverted" piece that is challenging yet accessible.

Johnson added: "This is an exciting choral piece for the chorus to be taking on."

Men will be clad in tuxedo shirts and bow ties, women, in floor-length black, she said. Section leaders are holding additional meetings before group rehearsals to develop and tighten their parts.

The chorus received its 501(c)(3) designation earlier this year. Members have begun a fundraising drive, asking residents to become "patrons" of the group to help pay for music, organizational licensing fees and the costs of concert venues. Johnson said $800 has been raised to date.

The group also is seeking corporate sponsors to help cover the cost of the string quartet.

Haydn composed the Mass in 1796, as Napoleon was marching on Vienna. Scholars are divided on whether he intended the work as a call to action or a prayer for peace. Musical elements speak to both possibilities.

Wong has directed the community chorus for three years and Lebanon High School choirs for six. He has a master's degree in music education from the University of Oregon and has sung with the University Singers, the city of Eugene Concert Choir, the Eugene Symphony Chorus, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorale and the Corvallis Repertory Singers.

For more information, contact Wong at (541) 451-8555, or see the website at http://lebanoncc.googlepages.com/home.