Acadia Choral Society Presents Together Toward the Light
BAR HARBOR—Following a powerful performance at the University of Maine’s Collins Center for the Arts, Acadia Choral Society has announced two December concerts in Sullivan and Bar Harbor. The chorus will perform at Sumner Memorial High School on Friday, December 5 at 7 PM, and at St.
Saviour’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, December 6 at 4 PM.
Earlier this month, ACS joined the UMaine University Singers, Maine Gay Men’s Chorus, and UMaine Collegiate Chorale in a collaborative performance of Considering Matthew Shepard. The partnership set the tone for a season centered on connection, community, and shared artistry.
The December ACS program, Together Toward the Light, traces an emotional arc from quiet introspection to communal joy. It opens with Elaine Hagenberg’s “The Music of Stillness,” a reflection on winter’s contemplative solitude. The program also features a luminous arrangement of Paul Simon’s “The Sound of Silence,” the heartfelt “All of Us” from Considering Matthew Shepard, and a selection of holiday choral works.
That theme of togetherness reflects the spirit of the ensemble itself. “There is a quality to choral music that transcends the ordinary in our lives and has enormous power to awaken in us that which has no spoken words,” said Pamela J. Smith, an ACS member since 1994.
Listeners often share in that feeling. ACS president Nancy Roberts said, “The audience can be transported to a place of peacefulness and inspiration or uplifted and energized in pure joy.”
The ensemble’s December 5 concert, its first performance in Sullivan, will include a nonperishable food drive benefiting the Schoodic Food Pantry. The December 6 concert in Bar Harbor will collect food donations for the Bar Harbor Food Pantry.
Tickets are $20 and available at the door or online at acadiachoralsociety.org/tickets.
Founded in 1959, Acadia Choral Society provides a professional-level experience that inspires and delights musicians and audiences alike. Artistic Director Rebecca DeWan is the Libra Assistant Professor of Choral and General Music Education at the University of Maine and conductor of the Collegiate Chorale. She holds degrees from the University of Southern Maine and a Ph.D. in Music Education from Michigan State University. She is deeply invested in using music to build community.
Accompanist Julia Morris-Myers is an internationally experienced pianist, organist, and choral musician with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Baylor University. She is committed to the role of music in bridging divides.
For more information, visit acadiachoralsociety.org.