By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Choirs from four downtown Washington churches will come together Sunday afternoon for their annual choral concert.
The performance begins at 4 p.m., with seating beginning at 3:30 p.m.
“We usually have a packed house, so come early,” advised Beth Clark, organist/music director at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and one of the concert’s directors.
Joining Clark in organizing the event are Greg Barmer, minister of music at First Baptist Church; Mike Morgan, organist/music director at First Presbyterian Church; and Shirley Kuhn, organist/music director at First United Methodist Church. Along with directing the concert, Barmer and Clark will play piano and Morgan will play the organ.
The concert has been presented informally for nearly a decade, according to Barmer, and it has received a good response from the community.
“Last year, it was cold, windy and raining, but they still came,” he said.
“This is the fourth year we’ve done it consecutively, so it’s become an ongoing event,” Morgan added.
An estimated 80 choir members will take part in the concert, and they range in age from their 20s to their 80s, Clark said. The choir members have responded well to the project.
“Part of it is the fellowship with other churches, and the concert gives our choir members the opportunity to sing in a larger group,” Clark said. “Some choirs may not have enough members to do certain anthems. The choir members are always anxious to know what we’re going to do and when we’re going to do it.”
The individual choirs have been preparing for the concert for about a month, Clark said, but they gathered as a group for the first time Wednesday night for a run-through at First Baptist Church. Other rehearsals are scheduled prior to Sunday’s performance.
Joining the choirs for the concert will be guest soloist Charlene Broadway, a public-school music teacher from Clayton, and Market Street Brass, led by Edward Bach.
The program will present a variety of music, including African-American spirituals, gospel and traditional sacred anthems, Clark said.
“It’s a nice mix,” she said.
Among the music to be performed are “God So Loved the World,” “Thy Will Be Done,” “Great, Great Morning,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and “The Love Divine, All Love Excelling.”
The concert is sponsored by the Roberson-Bagwell Endowment Fund, administered through First Christian Church, Clark said.