Join Us May 13 and May 15 for a Celebration in Song!

The Susquehanna Chorale is concluding its 40th Anniversary Legacy season in May with two live performances of their spring program entitled A Celebration in Song!

Performances are on Friday, May 13, 2022 at 8 p.m. at the Derry Presbyterian Church, Hershey; and Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 4 p.m. at the High Center, Messiah University, Mechanicsburg. Tickets for both may be purchased through the Messiah University Box Office, and audience members are invited to a reception following each performance.

“Celebrate with us as we commemorate our legacy: 40 years of enriching lives through song,” said Artistic Director and Conductor Linda Tedford. “Experience our joy as we come together with renewed excitement for singing to an audience in live performance.”

The Susquehanna Chorale is a nationally acclaimed adult chamber ensemble of 37 auditioned singers. Since its founding by Tedford in 1981, the group has been praised for its “ethereal blend,” “unparalleled tone,” and strong emotional connection to the music.

The May concerts will feature songs that have delighted its listeners for four decades, including sacred motets, early American hymns, love songs, and African American spirituals. There are songs that reflect heartfelt faith, common experiences, and powerful emotions. Concert repertoire includes signature Chorale favorites like Schubert’s Holy, Holy, Holy and Bruckner’s Locus Iste; Philip Stopford’s poignant Do Not Be Afraid; two classic early American folk hymns, Down to the River to Pray and No Time; and Java Jive, made famous by Manhattan Transfer. The concert will conclude with Rollo Dilworth’s Shine the Heavenly Light, and a special performance of Shenandoah as the Susquehanna Chorale is joined by several alumni.

The Susquehanna Chorale is a recipient of Chorus America’s most prestigious award, the Margaret Hillis Achievement Award for Choral Excellence. Conductor Tedford was honored by the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania with the Elaine Brown Award for lifelong commitment to excellence and leadership in the choral art. In 2013, she received Theatre Harrisburg’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts in the Capital Region. The Chorale is funded in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

40th Anniversary Celebration!

Welcome home to the sounds of the Susquehanna Chorale! Our 2021-22 season feels truly extraordinary to me as we celebrate 40 years of choral artistry. Our concerts will feature many favorites from past years, interspersed with selections that are new to us, including the world premiere of Dan Forrest’s Let the Stable Still Astonish, composed in honor of our 40th anniversary.

In addition, we celebrate a return to live, concert-hall performances! We were grateful for the opportunity to present our music safely through virtual and outdoor concerts, but nothing can replace the energy that flows between the choir and the audience in a live, acoustic space. Nothing viewed on a screen replicates the feeling of anticipation in the hushed pause just before the Chorale’s first note is sung, or the exhilaration of witnessing three generations of voices come together in the Youth Choral Festival.

When I consider the Chorale today, I see the image of a beautiful tree, one that has grown and flourished through many seasons. Planted by the seed of my young and hopeful imagination 40 years ago, it took root and grew well beyond my dreams and expectations. Multiplying and dividing like a tree’s branches, the Chorale expanded from 11 singers to the current 39, and from one choir to five, including our Educational Outreach choirs. It has put down deep roots, so that our audience is larger, and its reach now extends far beyond central Pennsylvania. With your support, “our tree” will continue to thrive well into the future.

To mark our 40th anniversary, we are releasing Legacy, a new set of previously unreleased recordings from live performances. Legacy is quintessential Susquehanna Chorale — gorgeous music that evokes memories and has great meaning to both singers and audiences alike. Many of these pieces will be featured in this season’s concerts. Click here to pre-order your copy!

Together, the Legacy recordings and concert programming celebrate the relationship between our audiences and the hundreds of singers who have been a part of the Chorale family. Through the voice of every singer in our organization, we remain deeply committed to artistic excellence and sharing the beauty and inspiration of choral music with others.

Please join us as we joyfully celebrate 40 years of enriching life through song, live and in concert, together!

- Linda L. Tedford; Artistic Director, Founder, and Conductor

Susquehanna Chorale Alumni are invited to join us at our Legacy: A Candlelight Christmas concerts on December 17,18, 19, and/or at our spring concerts, Legacy: A Season to Celebrate! on May 13 and 15. Former singers are invited to sing “Silent Night.” Our May concerts will feature sacred and secular music from our past, and former singers are invited to sing “Shenandoah.”

Please contact Molly Masser, our Administrator, (sc@susquehannachorale.org) and let her know if you plan to attend, or if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you!

Now Available! 40th Anniversary CD

To mark our 40th anniversary, we are releasing Legacy, a new set of previously unreleased recordings from live performances. Legacy is quintessential Susquehanna Chorale — gorgeous music that evokes memories and has great meaning to both singers and audiences alike. Many of these pieces will be featured in this season’s concerts.

Click here for more information and to pre-order your copy!