An evening of classical music unfolded before an enthusiastic audience at St. Thomas Reformed Church on Sunday. The fifth annual production, titled “Do You Hear What I Hear,” featured an orchestra of strings, brass, woodwinds, and piano led by music educator, composer, and conductor Gilchrist Sprauve.
Reformed Church Pastor Nate Deward opened the concert with welcoming remarks and sent everyone home with wishes for a blessed holiday season.
Audience members showered the artists with Bravos and standing ovations.
The concert began with a song by the V.I. Children’s Christmas Choir; close to two dozen performers dressed in their holiday best, singing The Sounds of His Love by Don Marsh featuring contralto Leah Trotman. Trotman then appeared as a solo artist with a selection composed by G.F. Handel.
With that, the first part of the concert began; a symphony orchestra made up of V.I. artists and members of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra set the mood with Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 3 by Ottorino Respighi.
Steel pan artist Le’ Roi Simmonds performed a piece by Mozart backed up by the orchestra of violins, viola, contrabass, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, french horns, trumpet, flute and trombone.
A choir from City Seventh-day Adventist Church, led by Stephen Adams, performed a song called The Holy City. Then, the composer exchanged his stance before the orchestra — baton in hand — for a seat at the piano to accompany soprano Angelica Sastre Rivera singing O Holy Night.
Intermission gave music lovers a chance to raise their voices as well with sing-alongs of well-known Christmas carols.
Vocalists Robert Chalwell and Jeannete Rhymer opened the second half of the show with versions of Do You Hear What I Hear and In A Cave by Harold B. Franklin. The children’s choir returned with a Caribbean favorite — Calypso Noel.
The night concluded with soloists joining the children for the finale, From a Distance by Julie Gold.
