Concert on May 1 will celebrate Hillel's 50th anniversary at Middlebury

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-The Middlebury College Orchestra, College-Community Chorus, and Middlebury College Chamber Singers will perform together at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 1, for a concert in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Middlebury College chapter of Hillel. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Mead Chapel on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route 125).

Jeff Rehbach, who is the conductor of the chamber singers, will conduct the concert, which will feature Ernest Bloch’s “Sacred Service.” Composed in the early 1930s, the work is notable for its rich orchestral color, chanted solo lines, and soaring choruses. Rabbi Robert Freedman of the Israel Congregation of Manchester will sing the cantorial solos. With its text drawn from Hebrew scriptures incorporated in the Union Prayer Book, “Sacred Service” has been described by some as among the top-10 sacred works ever composed for chorus and orchestra. The program will offer several other pieces, including organ music presented by George Matthew Jr. and Aaron Copland’s “Simple Gifts” for chorus. Troy Peters, conductor of the Middlebury College Orchestra, will conduct Copland’s “Prairie Journal” for orchestra.

Contact Jeff Rehbach, conductor of the Hillel anniversary concert, for more information at rehbach@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5811.

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