From a press release:

“Hope for Haiti: A Benefit Concert for its People” will be held on Saturday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC, 6 Methodist Hill. A free will offering will support the United Church of Christ’s Haitian Relief Fund.

The evening of spirituals, inspirational, traditional and contemporary music will feature performances by the Senior, Youth and Junior Choirs and the Grace Notes Bell Choir of The First Congregational Church in Essex, UCC; and the Senior Choir of The United Church of Chester.

Special guests include a professional a cappella group, Business As Usual. Comprised of five Drew University graduates, Business As Usual takes a variety of songs that audiences of all musical tastes know and love and performs them in their own unique style. All the music, from trumpet solos and guitar licks to booming bass and percussion, is produced only by the voices of Business As Usual. Members of the group include two Connecticut residents, tenor Scott Lewis of Essex and baritone Adam Rinaldi of Watertown. Other members are alto Melissa Carliello, tenor Jonathan Slezak and bass Joe DeVincenzo, all of New Jersey.

Performances by Connecticut musicians, composer/pianist, Lee Ann Olsen of Higganum; guitarists Taylor Bickford and Danny Minor of Essex and vocalists Veronica Lee of Old Lyme and Charles Della Rocco of Chester round out the program.

Music directors of the concert are Barry Asch of Old Saybrook,CT, Senior Choir Director of The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC; Shari Wilcox of Centerbrook, CT, Youth Choirs Director at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC; Cheryl Harger of Ivoryton, CT, Bell Choirs Director at the church; and Karli Gilbertson of Chester, CT, Senior Choir Director at The United Church of Chester.

In addition to serving as Senior Choir Director, Barry Asch is Music Director/Conductor and Co-founder of Cappella Cantorum. He has conducted critically-acclaimed concert tours with Capella, performing throughout Europe and in Canada. A graduate of the Hartt School of Music and The University of Hartford with a master of music education degree, Asch served as music department chairman at Valley Regional High School in Deep River, CT, where he taught for 31 years. During the summer of 2000, conductor Asch was part of the Conductors Master Class with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival and a participating conductor in the Dennis Keene Choral Festival at The Kent School in Connecticut. Asch received the Shoreline Arts Achievement Award in 2007 for a significant and on-going cultural contribution to the shoreline community.

Shari Wilcox is the Youth Choirs Director at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC. She teaches voice and piano, both as a member of the faculty at The Community Music School in Centerbrook, CT, and at her private studio. A mezzo-soprano, she has appeared in opera, musical theatre and as a guest soloist with regional orchestras. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor of music performance degree, she studied voice with both the late Mary Langdon of Mystic and Connie Bloomer, former choral director at Ledyard High School. She is a member of Con Brio, a 50-voice auditioned chorus.

Since 1999, Cheryl Harger has directed the bell choirs at The First Congregational Church in Essex, Connecticut, UCC, comprised of the Grace Notes, Rainbow Ringers and Cheerful Chimers. In addition to her position at the church, she is also a member of the Shoreline

Ringers, a community handbell choir, based in southeastern Connecticut. Cheryl performs with the Ringers at venues throughout Connecticut and appeared with the ensemble when the group played at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the annual “Joy For The Kids” concert in Hartford, sponsored by WFSB-TV.

Karli Gilbertson, Senior Choir Director at The United Church of Chester, is artist-in-residence and a member of the voice faculty at The Community Music School in Centerbrook, CT. A graduate in vocal performance of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Minnesota, she has studied voice with Doris Yarick-Cross, Susan Fischer-Clickner and Donna Pegors. As Resident Artist with the Connecticut Opera Company, Ms. Gilbertson has performed many leading roles at The Bushnell in Hartford.

For more information on the “Hope For Haiti” benefit concert, call The First Congregational Church office at (860) 767-8097.

ESSEX — “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Gian-Carlo Menotti will be performed at The First Congregational Church in Essex, UCC, 6 Methodist Hill, on Saturday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 13 at 10:00 a.m.

The first opera commissioned especially for television, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” was given its premiere by the NBC Television Opera Theatre in New York City on December 24, 1951. The first professional production was given on April 9, 1952 by the New York City Opera. In 1997, a film version was made in Spoleto, Italy, under the composer’s supervision.

The Church’s fully-staged production features local Connecticut residents in leading roles: Jeff Paine of Old Lyme is cast as Amahl; his mother is played by Veronica Lee of Old Lyme; Ron Paine of Old Lyme is King Kaspar; Henry Clapp of Stonington is King Melchior; and Ralph Ficker of Bethel is King Balthazar. First Congregational Church in Essex member and Ivoryton resident Bill Nelson is the Page. The Chorus is made up of many members of the Church’s congregation and choir.

The Church’s Youth Choir Director, Shari Wilcox of Centerbrook is the Director/Musical Director/Producer. Currently a teacher of voice and piano at the Community Music School and at her private studio, Ms. Wilcox, a mezzo-soprano, has appeared in opera, musical theater and as a guest soloist with regional orchestras. Some of her roles include The Mother in “Amahl and The Night Visitors,” Sharon McLonergan in “Finian’s Rainbow,” Ensign Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific,” Pitty-Sing in “The Mikado,” and Queen of the Fairies in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe,” for which she received a Eugene O’Neill Award. In addition, she has served as mezzo-soprano soloist with several symphony orchestras and performance ensembles.

A graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree, Ms. Wilcox studied voice with the late Mary Langdon of Mystic and Connie Bloomer, former Choral Director at Ledyard High School.

Ms. Wilcox notes that she has a long-standing connection to the opera, “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” She commented, “ In the 1970s, the Eugene O’Neill Theater produced a beautiful rendition of the opera, in which my father played King Balthazar and my voice instructor, Mary Langdon, played the Mother. As a child, I was mesmerized by this profoundly touching piece. We hope to recreate that emotion in this production in Essex.”

Other area residents involved in the performance are Assistant Director, Scott Weaver of Centerbrook and Choreographer Nicole Phaneuf of Moodus. Sue Sweeney of Deep River is the accompanist.

General admission tickets for the December 12 production of “Amahl and The Night Visitors” at 7:00 p.m. are $5.00. They may be reserved by calling the Church office at (860) 767-8097. On Sunday, December 13 at 10:00 a.m., the opera is preceded by a children’s Christmas Pageant. While there is no admission, a free-will offering is suggested. For more information, call the Church office at (860) 767-8097.

Links:
Essex Congregational Church