Director's Welcome

Welcome to Masterworks 30th anniversary season! Our three-decade dedication to choral excellence has brought us to this moment—an entire season of celebration. We are proud of our accomplishments and thankful for the generous support of patrons who have sustained us over the years. We hope you will join us as we celebrate the imperative place that vocal music plays in our personal lives and in our community.

Kahlil Gibran said, "Music is the language of the spirit." I whole-heartedly agree. As performers, we have all felt the power of music to lift us up, to express the inexpressible, to make us laugh and to console us when needed. It is this whole experience that draws us to learn and share our music. Therefore, the theme of our season-opening concert in October, "Love, Lament, Laughter and Light," could easily be the theme for our 30-year history.

As MCE celebrates its 30th year, the Washington Center will be celebrating its own 25th anniversary. October's concert will reprise two songs MCE performed at the Washington Center 25 years ago, when MCE was the very first act to take the stage on the Center's very first opening night. The songs are "Fanfare for a Festival" and "Consecrate the Place and Day"

Looking ahead to the rest of our 2010-2011 concert season, you will see we have our traditional family favorite Christmas concert in December and the exhilarating Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival in March. April features the world premiere of Wingspan, a new work commissioned to highlight the 30th anniversary season. Our June concert and season finale celebrates songs from Your Hit Parade, a precursor to the modern top-40.

And Masterworks continues to show its support for community organizations through our Spotlight program. Please take a moment to read in the brochure about this special program and the four groups we have chosen to honor this season.

I hope you continue to enjoy "the language of the spirit" with Masterworks, as we celebrate in song this season.

Sincerely,

Gary Witley
Artistic Director and Conductor