Music On The Hill Chorus Sings This Week

Jeremy Hetzler leaves work in New Haven, where he lives, gets in his car and drives 30-plus miles to twice a week, every week in July. He’s been doing it for eight years. 

He is not alone.  More than 50 others — from Branford, Stamford, Bridgeport, and other towns throughout the region — do the same. Their destination:  rehearsals for Music on the Hill’s Summer Chorus.

The Summer Chorus, founded and directed by Ellen Dickinson, draws experienced singers to prepare and perform a major choral work in July.  “Church choristers, and members of other ensembles who are off for the summer, enjoy it,” said Carol Bogard, a Wilton resident and 5-year Summer Chorus veteran. “It’s a chance to sing with a different group of people; for some, it’s a chance to perform with a larger group or to perform a longer work; and we all enjoy doing music with Ellen.” 

This year’s concert celebrates the chorus’s 10th anniversary and its first appearance in Wilton. Featured works are Dvorak’s Te Deum and Mass in D Major to be performed with 10-piece orchestra, organ, and soprano soloist Jennifer Barron of Weston. The concert is on Thursday, July 26 at 8 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 36 New Canaan Road, Wilton. The public is warmly invited; a $20 donation to Music on the Hill is suggested.

The Summer Chorus welcomes experienced singers to its ranks. While many return to the program each July, almost a quarter of this year’s group are new.  The chorus is one of several vocal and instrumental ensembles and workshops offered by Music on the Hill. More information may be found on their website:  www.musiconthehillct.org.