The “Singing and Living in Harmony” theme of the concerts speaks to the important role that music plays in our own personal life and in our connections with others.   The concert opens with one of the timeless songs written by one of the earliest woman composers – Hildegard von Bingen (1098 – 1179) a German Benedictine nun for whom our guest artist string quartet is named.  Hildegard was tremendously influential in a number of fields ranging from music to science and theology.  Bella Voce will join with the strings to perform two beautiful pieces by one of our favorite composers, Ola Gjeilo – Days of Beauty and The Rose.  One of the highlighted pieces in this concert is Rosephanye Powell’s evocative setting of these transformative words by Langston Hughes, “To sit and dream… all you who are dreamers, too.  Help me make our world anew.  I reach out my hands to you.”  Hughes’ poem calls us to dream of a better world where peace, equality and justice prevail.   Powell’s piece is paired with Gwyneth Walker’s Let The Life I’ve Lived Speak for Me – a reflective piece that closes with “Let the love I’ve tried to share, and the burdens I’ve struggled to bear, and all this life of joy and care, speak for me.”  Also featured are two stirring pieces by Elaine Hagenberg, a new rising star in the world of music composition.  You Do Not Walk Alone is an ethereal setting of a traditional Irish blessing which includes “May you always remember when the shadows fall, that you do not walk alone.”  And the concert closes with Hagenberg’s uplifting and dramatic Measure Me Sky – a song about grasping our limitless potential with our “wings for the flight!” In keeping with the theme of this concert “Singing and Living in Harmony,” Bella Voce has invited the choir students at Stowe Middle High School to sing with us for our Stowe concert on Sunday May 19th at 4:00 p.m.  The students will perform two selections of their own and then Bella Voce will join them to sing a stirring arrangement of the Early American Folk Song “Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal” to end the first half of the concert.  In the second half, the students will join with Bella Voce to sing a dynamic Gospel song “The Storm is Passing Over”. Bella Voce values having the opportunity to share with these young people our love of singing beautiful and inspiring pieces.  We want them to know that singing can be a life-long activity full of meaningful and personally rewarding musical experiences.   We also appreciate having the opportunity to offer our support to music educators here in Vermont and beyond.