Southern Delaware Chorale's spring concert set April 26 in Rehoboth

The Southern Delaware Chorale will present its spring concert “Rejoice, Rejoice!” at 4 p.m., Sunday, April 26, at Epworth United Methodist Church, Rehoboth. The concert will feature four major sacred choral works in styles from classical to contemporary.

The first half of the program presents Joseph Haydn’s Mass No. 9 in B-flat Major, more commonly referred to as the Heiligmesse. Haydn wrote the six-movement work in 1796, just as he was returning to England. The primarily choral mass features six soloists throughout the work. The second half of the program consists of three works including Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Charles Villiers Stanford’s The Lord is My Shepherd, and Gwyneth Walker’s Eternal Brightness suite.

The chorale will perform under Artistic Director Joseph Shortall, who joined the organization this past September. In addition to conducting the SDC, Shortall serves as the assistant director for the Maryland State Boychoir and the vocal music director for Eastern Technical High School. The Chorale will be joined by renowned organist Paul Fleckenstein, who has accompanied the group several times over the last decade. Fleckenstein is the organist and choirmaster at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington.

Founded in 1986, the chorale’s mission is to provide community members the opportunity to improve musicianship skills and share high quality choral literature in a variety of venues in Sussex County. SDC is a community- and member-supported, non-profit organization, partially funded by Delaware Division of the Arts grants.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $8 for students, and can also be purchased at the door. Epworth UMC is at 19285 Holland Glade Road, Rehoboth Beach.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call 302-260-7022 or go to www.southerndelawarechorale.org.