New Choral Society Season Finale

The New Choral Society’s 16th season will come to a close with a concert featuring 20th century classics Belshazzar’s Feast by William Walton and Leonard Bernstein’s iconic Chichester Psalms. The two performances will be held at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church on Saturday, May 15 at 8 PM and Sunday, May 16 at 3 PM. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the website at www.newchoralsociety.org or by calling the office at (914) 725-1678.

Baritone soloist Matthew Burns is featured in the Walton work, a dramatic, oratorio and one of the most celebrated and popular works in English choral music. The story told is of the Jews in exile in Babylon, under the King Belshazzar. When King Belshazzar commits sacrilege by using sacred Jewish vessels to praise his heathen gods, he is miraculously killed; his kingdom falls and the Jews are freed. The music is exciting, expressive and full of dramatic moments. The work was originally performed at the renowned Leeds Music Festival in England on October 8, 1931.

Leonard Bernstein was commissioned to write a work for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals Festival to be held at Chichester Cathedral in England. The resulting work, The Chichester Psalms takes texts from Psalms 2, 3, 100, 108, 131 and 133, as well as the words of David as heard in the 23rd Psalm (Psalm of David). The work is written for chorus and boy soprano or counter-tenor and is performed in Hebrew.

Tickets for the concert are available at $25 for Preferred Seating, $20 for General Admission and a discounted General Admission ticket for seniors and students is available for $15. For more information, please call 914-725-1678 or visit www.newchoralsociety.org.