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Valley Concert Chorale 'Bugs Out' in spring concert
Performance to feature unique soprano solo with clarinet, piano

Just like the weather this spring, you'll get a little bit of everything when the Valley Concert Chorale presents its May concert, "Of Springtime Sounds -- Bugs and All," at Trinity Lutheran Church at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 12.

"Our spring concerts are always a bit on the lighter side of choral music," explained John Emory Bush, the chorale's artistic director and conductor. "With this performance, our audience will enjoy a variety of pieces ranging from madrigals, to Brahms and Rossini, drinking songs, love songs, and sounds of bugs -- a lot of bugs."

The chorale will perform a collection of songs by Charles Hoag called "Cicada Songs" that features clarinet and marimba accompaniment. Each song is set to poems with arrangements that mimic the sounds cicadas make during the summer months in many areas of the world.

"Each song in the collection has a unique rhythm coupled with melodies that create a sound that, if you've ever heard cicadas 'sing' in full voice, will sound like that of cicadas," Bush said. "The marimba paired with the clarinet adds to the rhythmic uniqueness of the piece and will be a treat for the audience."

A special portion of the program will feature VCC soprano Jumi Kim performing Schubert's "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen" (Shepherd on the Rock).

"It is very rare to hire a clarinet for a choral program," Bush said, "and so I chose this infrequently heard selection, which is real gem. It will be an audience pleaser and program highlight."

Kim will be accompanied by Phyllis Harding on clarinet and concert pianist Daniel Glover.

Additional choral pieces include Brahms' "Tafellied," a German drinking song; Thomas Morley's madrigal, "I Love, Alas, I Love Thee"; two operatic arrangements by Rossini featuring Glover at the piano; and, to add to the bug and critter collection, "The Spider and the Fly" and "The Owl and the Pussy Cat."

This year's spring concert begins an hour earlier than in past years, and guests are invited to a reception with refreshments in the Fellowship Hall immediately afterward.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door; high school and college students are $10. Call 866-4003 or visit www.valleyconcertchorale.org.

Trinity Lutheran Church is located at 1225 Hopyard Road in Pleasanton.

--Pleasanton Weekly staff