Sure-to-be-heavenly classical and contemporary choral music is on the program when the Indialantic Chamber Singers present their annual fall concert “The Heavens Are Telling,” this Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Vero Beach. Works by classical composers Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as Randall Thompson, Eric Whitacre and John Rutter will be performed, under the baton of interim artistic director Beth Green. The group’s founder and director emeritus David Vogeding will accompany on the pipe organ during two of the classical pieces. The concert centerpiece is Franz Josef Haydn’s “The Heavens Are Telling,” from his enduring oratorio “The Creation.” According to BBC Music Magazine, during the 1791 Handel Festival in London’s Westminster Abbey, Haydn was overwhelmed by the “monumental sublimity of the choruses” in Handel’s “Messiah,” an experience that set him on the path to his own masterpiece, “The Creation, ” the greatest triumph of his career. The “Hallelujah” from Beethoven’s dramatic oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives”; the quiet and introspective “Alleluia” composed by Randall Thompson during WWII; and “Lux Aurumque” (light and gold), a Christmas piece by Eric Whitacre, based on a Latin poem of the same name, are juxtaposed with energetic spirituals to complete the program. Chamber Singers president and bass Tony Spadafora says, “It is impossible to hear this in performance and not be moved. I believe each audience member will find a musical selection that resonates with (him or her) personally.” The concert is free and begins at 7:30 p.m.
Did you know that the Sebastian River area is home to a number of quite exceptional artists? Or that the Sebastian River Art Club is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month? Founded in 1937, the Sebastian River Art Club will launch its ninth decade with an art show and reception this Saturday, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the Sebastian River Art Club Art Center, 1245 Main St. in Sebastian. If this will be your first time there, expect to be quite pleasantly surprised at the artistic range and talent that can be found in North Indian River County. There will be an exhibition of recent works by member artists, who will be present and ready to chat with you. Refreshments and free raffles of artworks are also on the afternoon’s menu. You might just discover the perfect holiday gift or, even the exactly right painting to go on that bare, problem wall. It’s definitely happened to me. The center’s regular hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays and most Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This Friday and Saturday you can put a little “oom-pah-pah” in your fun at Riverside Theatre’s frighteningly popular Howl at the Moon and Live in the Loop Oktoberfest Nights. Howl is an often rowdy, always fun experience featuring dueling pianos and excellent musicians. This week it’ll be a battle of the sexes, as Rhoda Johnson and Howl regular Ken Gustafson face off across a pair of blazing 88s, with the audience calling most of the musical shots. This duke-out takes place in the Waxlax stage, and you can pick general, table or VIP seating (you get some food with this choice). Show times are 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Arrive early, you’ll get to enjoy the free, pre-Howl outside music “Live in the Loop.” This week it’s Bob Houston’s Oktoberfest Band Friday and the classic rock music of The Jacks Band Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. both nights. And you absolutely never need to go hungry: there’s an alfresco grill and bar set up at Live in the Loop the entire time, this month serving Oktoberfest-appropriate foodstuffs.
