Music in the air
April 21, 2015 -- For the first time in ten years, I missed an Island Jazz performance. On Sunday afternoon, I opted instead to attend the Fort Myers Mastersingers performance on Sanibel, at the Community Church. The music was thrilling and beautiful. It was performed by the full Mastersingers chorus, including its chamber chorus and the regular chorus. A chamber orchestra from the Naples Philharmonic accompanied them; this group consisted of two flutes, two violins, a viola, a cello and a bass. The program included Shubert’s Mass in G, Lewandowski’s Hallelujah (Psalm 150), the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah, the Kyrie from Verdi’s Requiem, Bach’s Gloria in Excelsis, a spiritual called Ride On, King Jesus, and a modern piece called Gloria that was written by a chorus member, Jason Bahr. Jason wasn’t present because he was in New York City, where another one of his works was being performed. He is a professor of music at Florida Gulf Coast ...