![\"houston-vespers-ii\"](\"http:\/\/2.schillermeet.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/houston-vespers-ii.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Houston Schiller Institute Community Chorus, with Maestro Dorceal\u00a0Duckens, our great pianist Joshua, and newly added string players, made beautiful music unto Heaven\u00a0during our May 5th concert at the\u00a0Riverside United Methodist Church, 3rd Ward, Houston. Ironically, the lights in the church sanctuary were not working the day of the concert; thus,\u00a0creating a dramatic setting as the sun set through the church’s gorgeous stained glass windows. With wonderful acoustics in the church, and the evening sun filling the sanctuary, the concert made a big impact on the audience. The “Mozart Effect” on the\u00a050+ attendees in audience was palpable.<\/p>\n
While the church was not full, those in attendance\u00a0reflected a broad outreach of our organizing around the city.\u00a0We had a number of pastors, several members of the Ebony Opera Guild, members of our director’s church, Chinese contacts of the Schiller Institute, and a few members\u00a0of the Riverside Church. Many attending knew Maestro Duckens only as a great singer and were amazed to discover he is also a great conductor! Also in attendance was the vocal coach from another local opera company, as well as the Choir Master from a local\u00a0church.\u00a0 A couple drove over an hour after they\u00a0had seen\u00a0the concert advertised on an online blog. Before the\u00a0concert, while speaking to a member of the chorus, the couple was very\u00a0curious about the connection between Schiller the poet, economics, politics, and music but as they were leaving, they shook the member’s hand and promised they were going to look up Schiller when they got home.\u00a0 One of the directors from a homeless center was amazed. He had\u00a0never heard Mozart performed before and had no idea\u00a0about his role in the American Revolution. Another woman,\u00a0employed by\u00a0the church, told a member of the chorus she used to be a\u00a0singer\u00a0until she\u00a0developed nodes on her vocal chords and could\u00a0no longer sing the high soprano notes. Imagine her fascination when she learned we sing at the C=256 pitch to preserve the human voice and\u00a0instruments! During the performance she was observed singing softly with every Spiritual. Another attendee, who has followed the work of the Schiller Institute and chorus member Kesha Rogers’ campaigns for congress, told a member afterwards\u00a0that this concert had “healed him” since he had just suffered the loss of a child two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
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Worth noting is the impact the Mozart Solemn Vespers\u00a0<\/em>on this audience, many of whom knew the Spirituals well. One of the “church ladies” remarked to a chorus member, “you guys were full\u00a0of the Spirit\u2014even the Mozart was like that!” In observing the ladies during the concert, he noted how they looked at each other\u00a0in amazement during the intense contrapuntal sections. One turned to two others and mouthed, “I want to clap” after the\u00a0Laudate Dominum<\/em>, but held herself back, as did the rest of the\u00a0audience, until we had completed the entire work.\u00a0 Following the\u00a0event, we had a small reception where several of the attendees joined us for discussion; people were just beaming with joy.<\/p>\n Several people inquired about joining our chorus. This was certainly on a higher level than anything that we have done before. We truly unified and\u00a0brought the community together from all walks of life around beautiful bel-canto music that moved the mind and soul. We were\u00a0so happy to be joining our friends there in NY <\/a><\/strong>as both choruses sang in harmony together in different space times.<\/p>\n