St. Peter Choral Society concerts slated

ST. PETER — The Saint Peter Choral Society’s concert of songs of Leonard Bernstein and Rodgers & Hammerstein is coming up on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Peter High School Auditorium, and on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. in Springfield at the Springfield High School Theatre.

Tickets are $10 at the door, but may be purchased in advance for $8 at Swedish Kontur in St. Peter, Randy’s Family Drug in Sleepy Eye, at the Springfield Market and The Springfield Advance Press. Students are admitted free of charge.

The concert is hosted by the Springfield Community Theatre. Season Ticket holders to the SCT will be admitted free of charge to this concert.

The concert, directed by Annette Meeks and Sara McKay, will be accompanied by pianist Bonnie Jorgensen with Michael Jorgensen as the featured guest soloist.

Director Annette Meeks noted “After last year’s challenging performance of the Mozart Requiem with orchestra at Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Ulm, we decided that our members and our audience needed to have a change from the major religious works we generally undertake. This year we are celebrating two significant anniversaries in American music : the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein and the 75th anniversary of the first collaboration of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Our concert will feature songs from some of their most famous musical theater productions: Bernstein’s West Side Story, Candide and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma , The King and I, State Fair, South Pacific and their last collaboration , The Sound of Music. ”

The Saint Peter Choral Society, now in its 39th season, is made up of forty members from ten communities in southern Minnesota. The choir has received annual support from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, the Schmidt Foundation, Thrivent Financial, Nicollet County Bank, and many friends.