Music Should Be So Beautiful

Saturday, May 4, 8:00pm | Monday, May 6, 7:30pm

Virginia Somerville Sutton Theatre 4100 Well Spring Dr, Greensboro

When hearts are moved, so too are minds…

Beauty is in the eye or ear of the beholder or so philosophers would have you believe. Truly though, the heart discerns beauty. Those moments in music, regardless of style, when hearts are moved, so then, are minds also moved. The vibrant words of poets such as William Shakespeare, Charles Anthony Sylvestri, Harriet Monroe, and Robert Burns inspired some composers on this evening’s program to new heights of musical expression. Others achieved these musical peaks by exploring popular, jazz, blues, and folk idioms. All will move your heart.

Ralph Vaughan Williams honors British conductor Sir Henry Woods with “Serenade To Music” with text taken from Act V of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. The lighthearted madrigal, “As Vesta Was From Latmos Hill Descending” by Thomas Weelkes references Vesta the Roman goddess of hearth and home and Diana the goddess of the hunt to honor Queen Elizabeth I often referred to as Oriana.  Eric Whitacre’s “Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine” employs madrigal techniques such as text painting, multi-part form, text driven imitation, and more, allowing the audience to feel da Vinci’s first imagined flight.

Warm, rich and compelling harmonies with enticing melodies best describe several other works. The story of Ruth with text by Thomas Hood inspired Eric Barnum’s “Sweetheart of the Sun.” The vivid and picturesque setting of Harriet Monroe’s poem “The Blue Ridge” is brought to life by Elaine Hagenberg. And the poet gives voice to a daughter promised in marriage to a land owner by her father but her heart is ever given to another in Hagenberg’s setting of “The Gallant Weaver.” The best in popular and folk also appear on tonight’s stage with arrangements like Michelle Weir’s bluesy “Muddy Water,” “I’ll Be On My Way,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” and more that are sure to have you clapping, stomping, and smiling all the way home.

Join us at the gracious Virginia Somerville Sutton Theatre for the moving and entertaining conclusion to our 41st season of beautiful singing!

Season Sponsors

Support for our 2023-2024 Season provided by

The Choral Arts Collective is a non-profit resident organization of the Greensboro Cultural Center, made possible by a significant in-kind contribution from Creative Greensboro, the City of Greensboro’s office for arts & culture.