By day he records choirs from around the world. By night he leads Orcas Island’s own 65-voice vocal group.
And he’s brought the two together for a big spring concert.
On Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, the Orcas Choral Society will present its spring concert at Orcas Center under the baton of its new director Roger Sherman.
Entitled “You Can Sing That At My Funeral,” the program consists of music and texts by American voices that explore the topics of sleep, dreaming, death and immortality. The choir will be accompanied by Terri Triplett on piano and Martin Lund on clarinet.
Sherman’s company Gothic Catalogue records organ and choir music from across the globe and produces CDs. He also hosts a radio show called Organ Loft on King FM in Seattle.
“Over the years, I have come across some really interesting choral music,” Sherman said. “It’s kind of fun to take some of those pieces and to program them. Also, it’s wonderful music and the opportunity to hear it is somewhat rare.”
The music of the first half of the program was mostly written in the last 10 years. Sherman calls it “reflective.” It includes Eric Whitacre’s popular “Sleep,” Craig Hella Johnson’s setting of Emily Dickinson’s poem “Will There Really be a ‘Morning?’” and Howard Helvey’s ethereal “O Quam Gloriosum.” Two other works, “Dawn” and “In Dreams” are settings of texts by Robert Bode, director of the Choral Arts vocal ensemble in Seattle. The first half begins and ends with lullabies: Daniel Gawthrop”s “Sing me to Heaven” at the beginning and “Goodnight my Angel” at the end – a piece which is perhaps better known as “The Billy Joel Lullaby.”
The second half of the program begins with three rousing spirituals arranged by composer William Dawson, and concludes with two “Victorian Visions of the Apocalypse”: “The Holy City” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
“(Orcas audiences) can expect to hear things that are new,” Sherman said. “They haven’t heard anything like this before. They can also expect to be entertained. There are things here that are quite enjoyable to listen to and very, very beautiful.”
Sherman said the singers were “a little skeptical” at first because the theme seemed morose.
“They thought we’d be singing mournful, slow pieces that would put everyone to sleep … but then it began to make more sense to them,” he said.
Hear them sing
Under the leadership of new director Roger Sherman, the Choral Society presents a varied program of spirituals, lullabies and Victorian favorites, at 7:30 p.m. May 7 and 2 p.m. May 8 at the Orcas Center. Tickets are $15 adults, $5 students.
