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'Of Coronations and Weddings'
Royal ceremony music to benefit Valley Concert Chorale

Were you not invited to Prince William and Kate's royal wedding last year? And you can't make the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration this year either?

Get a taste of these regal events at Valley Concert Chorale's March 10 benefit event titled "Of Coronations and Weddings," being presented at the First Presbyterian Church in Livermore.

"This event is no ordinary choral concert," said event chairperson Bobby Jensen. "Since we are singing music from royal weddings, including Hubert Parry's 'I Was Glad,' the processional that Prince William and Kate chose for their wedding, we wanted to give our audience, rather our 'wedding guests,' the experience of being at a real wedding."

The first half of the program will be held in the church, which will be decorated to suggest a wedding, and guests will be ushered to their seats. The "wedding party" will sing with the rest of the chorale.

This portion of the program will also feature a new commission by John Rutter, "This is the Day," and Parry's "Jerusalem," a long-time British favorite.

"Since Parry is one of Prince Charles' favorite composers, we thought it fitting that we sing his music," said Chorale Artistic Director John Emory Bush.

In recognition of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation, being celebrated this June as Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, the coronation portion of the choral program will feature Handel's "Zadok the Priest," which has been sung at every royal coronation since that of King George II in 1727.

Guests are invited to a reception in the Fellowship Hall after the first half of the choral program.

"The reception will feature tasty treats that are normally found at a wedding reception including wedding cake, finger sandwiches and other goodies," Jensen said. "Guests will be seated at tables and entertained by the chorale with music by the Beatles and Elton John, who also performed at royal weddings and coronations."

There will also be drawings and bidding for items, including weekend getaways, dinners, art and a basket of authentic coronation jubilee items imported from Great Britain.

Many of the chorale women will don wedding hats or "fascinators," the type of elaborate hair accessories worn at the recent royal wedding. Female guests are encouraged to join in the fun and wear hats, too, and there will be a Best Hat prize awarded during the reception.

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