Enriching Lives Through Song

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Enriching lives through song

Susquehanna Chorale Returns to Mt. Gretna on Aug. 20

Mechanicsburg, PA (July 25, 2017) - The critically acclaimed Susquehanna Chorale will perform “Music for a Summer’s Evening” at Mt. Gretna’s open-air Tabernacle on Sunday, Aug. 20, at 7:00 p.m. The Chorale’s Founder and Artistic Director, Linda L. Tedford, will conduct the Chorale in its appearance as part of Mt. Gretna’s Summer at the Tabernacle concert series.

“This is our 25th year of performing at Mt. Gretna,” Ms. Tedfordsaid. “We always look forward to singing in the Tabernacle, and to performing for the wonderful Gretna audience. An open-air concert on a warm summer night makes for a very special experience.”

Repertoire for the concert will present the varied faces and sources of joy, hope, and enthusiasm for life as presented by some of the Chorale’s favorite British and American composers.

Admission is without charge; a free-will offering to support the Tabernacle’s summer series will be collected. The Tabernacle is located at Third Street and Glossbrenner Avenue, Mt. Gretna (the Campmeeting side of Mt. Gretna).

The centerpiece of the first part of the program is Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, a setting of a poem by Christopher Smart. Leading up to this are selections of praise and assurance from the Renaissance (Tallis’s If Ye Love Me and Byrd’s Sing Joyfully) to pieces from the 21st century (Anglea’s Jubilate Deo and Stopford’s Do Not Be Afraid).

Repertoire for the second half of the concert describes life’s experiences, offering comfort (There Will Be Rest), and a setting of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s expression of love (How Do I Love Thee).

Two early American folksongs, Simple Gifts and No Time, are followed by Aaron Copland’s “The Promise of Living,” (The Tender Land), whose message permeates the program.

The program will conclude with three arrangements by Robert Page: Sondheim’s “Our Time” (Merrily We Roll Along) and “No One Has Ever Loved Me” (Passion), and his most beloved arrangement of Bernstein’s “Make our Garden Grow” (Candide).

For more information call 717-533-7859 or visit susquehannachorale.org. For parking information, see “Directions” at

The Susquehanna Chorale is a 35-voice chamber choir whose singers are chosen by audition. Founded in 1981, and ensemble-in-residence at Messiah College since 2009, the Chorale is a winner of the prestigious Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence. In 2011 Ms. Tedford received the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Elaine Brown Award for lifelong commitment to excellence and leadership in the choral art. She is also one of two recipients of Theater Harrisburg’s 2013 Art Awards for distinguished service to the arts in the capital region.The Chorale is funded, in part, by the Cultural Enrichment Fund, the capital region’s united arts fund.

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