Ireland Tour Update - July, 2022

This summer, the Susquehanna Chorale enjoyed a successful concert tour of Ireland!

The Chorale performed at Kylemore Abbey on July 13.

The group shared planned excursions to Dublin, the ancient monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise, the wild Connemara Region, the historic Kylemore Abbey (home to the Irish order of Benedictine nuns), the Aran Islands, and the Cliffs of Moher. The tour concluded with stops in Killarney and an excursion around the Ring of Kerry (Iveragh Peninsula).

Performances included recitals at Kylemore Abbey and St. Nicholas Collegiate Church in Galway on July 13, Saint Mary’s Church of the Sloes in Killarney on July 16, and St. Joseph’s Parish Church in Dublin on July 18.

The Susquehanna Chorale participated in summer performances at Glory to Ukraine, a benefit concert in the Harrisburg area, and the Mt. Gretna summer music series on August 21.

Susquehanna Chorale to Sing at Ukraine Benefit Concert

MECHANICSBURG (July 28) – The Susquehanna Chorale, Linda L. Tedford,

Conductor, will be featured performers at a benefit concert for the U.S. – Ukraine Foundation (USUF) on Sunday, August 14, at 3:00 PM. Profits from the event will be donated to the USUF.

According to https://usukraine.org, the U.S. – Ukraine Foundation is a strategic “do tank” headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a permanent presence working on the ground in Ukraine since 1991.

The concert, Glory to Ukraine, will be held at the Sunoco Performance

Theater at Whitaker Center, 222 Market St, Harrisburg, PA. The program will also include a number of well-known solo musicians from central Pennsylvania, including Peter Sirotin, principal violinist of the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.

Local musicians will be joined by the Russian cellist Igor Zubkovsky, a tenured member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and a Ukrainian cellist, Tetyana Pyatovolenko, who came to the United States for music study at Messiah University. She went on to receive her Master of Arts in Cello Performance from Penn State University.

Tickets for the benefit performance may be purchased online for $40; VIP concert tickets are available for $100. For more information about the benefit concert, visit https://ukrainebenefitconcert.com.

A Letter From Linda

The excitement of our 40th anniversary, culminating in our Ireland tour and performance with Chanticleer, continues to inspire us as we enter another decade of “enriching lives through song!”

This is a time to come together and celebrate what is good in our lives. With so much uncertainty in the world, we need to be reminded of the beauty around and within us. This is what choral music is all about! Singers gather to rehearse, hone their craft, and present a beautiful work of art for the pleasure and inspiration of others. I believe that choral music does this so well, with texts that can inspire us, move us, amuse us, and cause us to reflect, sung by people who care deeply about communicating with you, our audience.

This season we are offering our audiences experiences that inspire us, bring us joy, and give us songs for the journey of life.

Join us in November and be inspired by our young singers. Their energy and talent will lift your spirits and give you hope for the future. In December, celebrate the joy of the Christmas season with the majesty of our procession, John Rutter’s exuberant Gloria, and traditional carols accompanied by organ, brass, and percussion. Our spring concerts will guide you as we sing “Songs for the Journey.” We will present pieces from the Renaissance through the 21st century, some reflective and some that will definitely make you want to do some toe-tapping!

Few things match the transcendent power of a live choral concert to bring people together in harmony. Come with us and experience the inspiration of our Youth Choral Festival, the joy of the Christmas concerts, and finally, the “Songs for the Journey.”

Season tickets have just gone on sale through the Messiah University Box Office. Why not reserve your seats for our 2022-2023 season today? Your commitment to sharing these unique and wonderful experiences with us would be a great personal encouragement to me. I look forward to seeing you and sharing my passion for this marvelous art!

Linda Tedford Artistic Director, Founder, and Conductor

[Editor’s note: Susquehanna Chorale season tickets can only be purchased via our season brochure mailer or by calling the Messiah University Box Office at 717-691-6036, option 1. Individual tickets may be purchased online at a substantial savings over at-the-door pricing.]