Dr. Micah Hunter directs the Glacier Symphony Chorale in "Pillars and Portraits."
The Glacier Symphony and Chorale celebrates the season with the return of its annual Spring Festival, with two concerts delivered May 14-20 and May 28-June 3 in a digital format.
Like many performing arts organizations in this past year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Glacier Symphony and Chorale season of concerts was impacted with a departure from live performances. The coming of spring to Northwest Montana also brings the GSC Spring Festival, and although the Board of the Glacier Symphony and Chorale has not yet cleared the way for live performances, the show will go on!
“Last year we had to cancel the Spring Festival completely because of the pandemic. We had hoped that by this time this year, once again our musicians and singers would have the opportunity to perform for a live audience,” says Music Director and Conductor John Zoltek. “But nevertheless we are excited to give both our chorale singers and symphony musicians the chance to perform in a concert hall, and our audiences the opportunity to enjoy this variety of great music in the comfort of their own home.”
He notes that live performances will resume this summer with the annual pops concert at Rebecca Farms, so “stay tuned!”
Besides going digital, the Spring Festival will also be configured a bit differently this year. Instead of a combined performance of the symphony and chorale, each entity of GSC will have its own concert taping, presented online in two separate weeks beginning mid-May, giving patrons plenty of time to enjoy the performances.
Performing at the First Presbyterian Church in Whitefish will be the Glacier Chorale under the direction of Dr. Micah Hunter. The program, called “Pillars and Portraits,” features three chamber choirs drawn from the membership of the Glacier Chorale. Audiences will hear choral music ranging from the 16th century to the present day.
“The Chorale will present musical ‘portraits’ of human experience – some intimate and some universal – framed by ‘pillars’ of historically significant texts and composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn,” explains Dr. Hunter. The Chorale concert may be viewed from May 14-20.
The Glacier Symphony Orchestra takes its turn on the stage at Flathead High School Auditorium May 28-June 3. In a program titled “Carmen, Masques and Malambo,” the orchestra will embark on a lush musical journey through time and place with works by Bizet, Fauré, Debussy and Ravel, including the suite arrangement of the beloved music of Bizet’s opera, “Carmen.”
Grammy-nominated, Seattle-based Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila’s rousing and rhythmic Malambo for bassoon and strings will delight audiences in its West Coast premiere, featuring local favorite, principal bassoonist, Alicia McLean-Brischli, as soloist.
Digital tickets are available now for the Spring Festival by calling the box office at 406-407-7000 and on the website. Tickets may be purchased singly, or as a package with both the chorale and symphony concerts included.
“There’s something for every music lover on these two programs,” says Maestro Zoltek, who invites music lovers to “share our celebration of Montana Spring with friends and