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Choral Artists of Sarasota Presents
“Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight”
and Joseph Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass” on March 10
Joseph Holt
Choral Artists of Sarasota
Florence Price
Choral Artists of Sarasota’s
45th season continues with
“Abraham Lincoln Walks at
Midnight,” based on a poem
by Vachel Lindsay and composed
by Florence Price, the first African
American woman to have her music performed
by a major symphony orchestra.
The program also features Joseph Haydn’s
“Lord Nelson Mass” (also known as “Mass
in a Time of Anxiety”), which is recognized
as one of his greatest compositions.
Featured soloists for both works are singers
in Choral Artists: Lily Wohl, soprano;
Krista Laskowski, mezzo-soprano; Stephanie
Jabre, alto; Zachery Stockman, tenor;
and Jesse Martin, bass.
“We paired these two works as a reflection
of our own time,” says Joseph Holt, artistic
director and conductor. “Both were composed
during times of anxiety and unease.
Haydn’s ‘Mass’ was composed towards the
end of the 18th century when Napoleon
was ransacking the continent. The work is
composed in the turbulent key of d minor
and it is arguably Haydn’s greatest composition.
The Florence Price work is the
musical setting of a poem written at the
outset of World War I by Vachel Lindsay.
Abraham Lincoln emerges from his grave
and wanders the streets of Springfield, Illinois
– very concerned about the state of
affairs in the world of 1914.”
Holt further explains that “both works offer
dramatic passages of anxiety and upheaval
yet contain moments of consolation
and ultimate peace. We live in a time
of anxiousness and concern about the
future and yet yearn for a sense of peace
and calm – very much the tenor of these
compositions from a different era.”
Composer Florence Price, the first African
American female composer to gain national
status in the 20th century, was also
the first Black woman to have her work
premiered by a U.S. orchestra—the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra. When Price
died in 1953, the bulk of her music was excluded
from study and performance due
to a lack of widespread publication, and a
bias towards white, European traditionalism.
In 2009, a substantial amount of her
compositions was discovered in a trunk at
Price’s abandoned composing retreat in
St. Anne, Illinois, which has given rise to
a renewed interest in and appreciation of
her work. Her legacy continues to unfold.
More Information:
The concert is Sunday, March 10, at 7
p.m., at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee
Ridge Road, Sarasota. For more information
and to purchase tickets, visit www.
ChoralArtistsSarasota.org or call 941-
387-4900.
Coming up at
Choral Artists of Sarasota:
• Considering Matthew Shepard: Featuring
Craig Hella Johnson’s “Considering
Matthew Shepard,” a modern-day “Passion”
(modeled after the great “Passions”
of J.S. Bach) that tells the story of Matthew
Shepard, a gay American student at
the University of Wyoming who was beaten,
tortured, and left to die near Laramie
on the night of October 6, 1998. In partnership
with Embracing Our Differences,
Project Pride, ALSO Youth, and the First
Congregational Church UCC, this beautiful
musical story transcends tragedy.
Sunday, April 14, 7 p.m., at Church of the
Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota.
• Memorial Day Concert: United We
Stand: The Choral Artists teams with
the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble to
perform a moving tribute to those in the
armed forces who have made the ultimate
sacrifice. This concert is also the kick-off
for the group’s tour to France to participate
in the 80th anniversary of D-Day in
Normandy. Sunday, May 26, 4 p.m., at
Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple
Avenue, Sarasota.
• D-Day Commemoration Journey:
June 3-11. Choral Artists of Sarasota has
been invited by Historic Programs, which
partners with the Department of Defense,
Office of Commemorations, to be the principal
choral ensemble for the 80th D-Day
anniversary commemorations in France in
June. In addition to participating in commemoration
ceremonies at the cemeteries
in Normandy and Brittany, the group will
perform a concert in the town square at
Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy and also
at L’église de la Madeleine in Paris. Choral
Artists is inviting the public to join them on
this journey. For more information, contact
info@ChoralArtististsSarasota.org.
About the Choral Artists of Sarasota
The Choral Artists of Sarasota, entering
its 45th season, features 32 professional
singers and eight apprentice singers.
The group celebrates the rich, artistic expressiveness
of choral music through innovative
repertoire, inspired performances
and stimulating educational outreach.
Under the artistic direction of Dr. Joseph
Holt, Choral Artists of Sarasota performs
a repertoire spanning four centuries, and
includes symphonic choral works, intimate
madrigals, folk songs, close-harmony
jazz, and Broadway show music.
The ensemble also specializes in premiere
performances of lesser-known choral
works—particularly music by living American
composers. Choral Artists of Sarasota
has performed premieres by René Clausen,
Dick Hyman, Robert Levin, Gwyneth
Walker and James Grant. As part of the
organization’s educational outreach, eight
young singers from area schools, colleges
and universities, ages 16 to 22, are invited
to join the group each year.
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14 WEST COAST WOMAN MARCH 2024