PORT TOWNSEND — The Summertime Singers will perform concerts at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Both performances will be at Grace Lutheran Church, 1120 Walker St. in Port Townsend.
Admission is by a suggested donation of $20, but the organizers said no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Proceeds will benefit the church.
The Summertime Singers was formed in 2011 to provide a group for vocalists who didn’t wish to take a summer vacation from singing.
During most of the year, members of the group perform with RainShadow Chorale, Wild Rose Chorale, Port Townsend Community Chorus, Threshold Choir and various church choirs.
This year, the chorus includes 23 performers. Eight have been with the Singers since its inception, 10 have sung with the group in past years and five are new to the chorus.
The group sings a variety of music. This concert will focus on the theme “All Nature Sings.”
The program features “The Heavens Are Telling” from Haydn’s Creation, Schubert’s “Mass in G,” D. 167, the “Four Pastorales” by Cecil Effinger, songs from Morten Lauridsen’s “Chansons des Roses” and Shawn Kirchner’s arrangement of “Easy on the Earth.”
The chorus is directed by founding member Colleen Johnson.
The concert includes guest soloist Nancy Reis playing the oboe for the “Four Pastorales.”
Reis, of Sequim, performs with the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra.
“We are extremely fortunate to have such talented people in this town to come together and invest their voices and emotional energy to create beautiful music,” Johnson said. “All eight soloists are from within the choir, and pianist Helen Lauritzen brings her high level of musicianship in support of the musical selections.
“All of the pieces celebrate nature,” Johnson added. “The ‘Credo’ from the Schubert Mass and the Effinger Pastorales are truly special examples of the ways composers illuminate the texts, painting pictures with music.”
