Oratorio Society of Queens celebrates Leonard Bernstein’s 100th Birthday

The Island Now
OSQ in Concert

The Oratorio Society of Queens performs Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, selections from West Side Story, “Make Our Garden Grow” the finale from Bernstein’s Candide, as well as Americana favorites on Sunday, May, 20 at 4:00 pm in the Queensborough Performing Arts Center in Bayside.

OSQ will perform with its 125-plus member chorus under the direction of Maestro David Close featuring soloists and guest artist Jerry Korobow with OSQ’s orchestra, the Orchestral Arts Ensemble of Queens.

This year 2018, marks the 100th birthday of American composer, conductor and pianist, Leonard Bernstein, one of the most gifted and brilliant musicians ever to have graced the American musical scene.

The Chichester Psalms was commissioned by the Southern Cathedrals Festival at Chichester Cathedral and composed in 1965, is a setting of psalms celebrating joy, offering reassurance in a troubled world and underlining the beautiful theme of humanity living together in unity.

The work’s rhythmic verve and melodic beauty are Bernstein at his best…truly music for our time!

The West Side Story Choral Suite offers a sampling of Bernstein’s most beloved music from his enduringly popular musical of 1957 including “Tonight,” “Maria,” and “Somewhere.”

The musical, based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” updates the star-crossed lovers’ lives to the realities of Manhattan’s west side during the 1950s.

Voltaire, an 18th century French philosopher who wrote the book on which Bernstein’s opera, Candide, is based, asks us to “Make our garden grow.”

Growing our garden is a metaphor for the flowering of mankind itself, and we celebrate just that with this glorious song.

Selections from the best of the American Choral Experience are featured with beloved African-American Spirituals including “Ride the Chariot” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The African-American experience of slavery is reflected in the texts of the spirituals offering the hope of deliverance from bondage through the use of religious symbols.

Heaven becomes a metaphor for release from slavery and ‘riding the chariot in the morning’ might mean escape at dawn.

Jerry Korobow, singer, composer and guitarist, is featured playing his original compositions including his very popular “Grandma Song.”

An engaging and humorous raconteur, he will give you entertaining insights into how life’s experiences impact a composer’s work and result in the creation of a new song!

Queensborough Performing Arts Center is located in Queensborough Community College at 222-05 56th Ave. in Bayside.

Parking is free on the main lot next to the theater, which offers easy-access entry.

Pre-Concert Tickets are $35; $30 for seniors (62+) and students with ID; $10 for children (12 and under) accompanied by an adult.

Tickets on the day of the concert will be $40 at the box office; $10 for children (12 and under) accompanied by an adult. For additional information, please call the Oratorio Society of Queens at 718.279.3006 or visit www.QueensOratorio.org

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