The Lexington Chamber Chorale has been in rehearsal since late August. The concert date is 5:00 PM Sunday, October 12 (click here for details and tickets).

I feed a bit guilty — the toughest piece of repertoire on the program is mine! Luckily, it’s short (a bit over 4 minutes), but there are a few things that add to it’s being difficult: high overall singing range, tonal centers that wander a bit (hey, it’s a Jeff Jones original!), some rhythmic oddities (see above), and two demanding solo parts (a shoutout to Virginia Parker Bowles and Scott Hiner, who are fabulous!). Nevertheless, Dr. Anderson is putting the singers through their paces, and we’re getting it done. We’ll be ready Oct. 12. It’ll be wonderful, if I do say so myself!

This is a commissioned work — my first. Donations to cover the cost of the commission came courtesy of the family and friends of Beth Drake. Her husband, Greg Drake, was an LCC board member for years (chair for two of them). He passed earlier this year, and wife Beth coordinated an effort to have a new work written and performed in Greg’s honor for the opening concert of the LCC 35th season. (Not incidentally, this is Dr. Anderson’s last concert season as the LCC Music Director. Being as he has approved and performed two premieres of mine, I owe him a lot!)

There are lots of other wonderful works on the program, including some with historical significance for the ensemble. Past members of the chorale have been invited to join in for a few of them, and many will be there. You should come!

Here’s the project page with details on the work itself.