Comments from the delighted audience:

"It was a beautiful concert! Would gladly have listened to another hour of those gorgeous voices and the well-chosen repertoire." 

"Exquisite program...I just closed my eyes in some passages to let myself soar through these passionate renditions. The soloists were spectacular, and Chris Shepard is just sublime. This is my second Concora-based experience...it is easy to fall in love with such an ensemble!”

“The Festival Chorus's renditions gave me goose bumps!”

CONCORA Summer Festival 2017:
Exploring the Great Choral Masterworks
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Bethany Covenant Church, Berlin CT

The 2017 CONCORA Summer Festival, the 19th in the series culminated in a public concert on Saturday, August 5, at 4:00pm, when the Festival Choir presented the repertoire they had perfected during a week of rehearsals.

Did you miss the concert? Or were you there and would like to get goose bumps all over again? The Festival concert was recorded; CDs of this "souvenir" recording are available for just $15. Information and an order form may be found on the Contact page at this website, or contact the CONCORA office. And visit CONCORA's Facebook page to see photos from the Festival rehearsals and concert.

Come sing with us! To receive earliest news about the 2018 Summer Festival, please join our mailing list. The 2018 Summer Festival will be the 20th edition; this is sure to be a special event!
In its review of CONCORA's performance of this program in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 23, the Worcester Telegram described the experience as “Stunning... intoxicating... enthralling... beguiling... soaring.”

Festive Bach Cantatas!
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Immanuel Congregational Church, Hartford CT

CONCORA has long been renowned for its masterful and moving performances of choral music by Johann Sebastian Bach. In 2017, the ensemble presented three glorious choral cantatas with professional choir and soloists, and members of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra:

Wir Danken dir, Gott, BWV29
Singet dem Herrn ein Neues Lied, BWV190
Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV191.
A member of the audience commented, "“We so enjoyed the concert! The Requiem was beautiful and the madrigals lovely. The new ’Ah, Sunflower’ was terrific - I even pictured large fields of sunflowers and a huge single one raising its head to the sun. I was impressed by how many women composers were represented. The concert was a respite ... Thank you so much - a real treat!"

Making the Old New
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Trinity College Chapel, Hartford CT

CONCORA again performed to a capacity audience in Trinity College Chapel, with a program of Renaissance choral music paired with newer music inspired by the originals. Motets and madrigals by Renaissance “top forty” composers such as Morley, Vecchi, and Tallis contrasted with and complemented choral music by renowned contemporary composers William Hawley, Eric Whitacre, and Martin Sedek, whose "Ah, Sunflower" suspended time and brought the golden glow of midsummer to a dark and drippy mid-winter afternoon. The concert featured Eleanor Daley’s haunting Requiem, perfectly suited to this remarkable space. The performance by soprano soloist Jennifer Ferrand-Kelly was mesmerizing and memorable.
Those who attended this concert responded warmly:

"We enjoyed the unique and engaging way that this concert was conceived and executed. It was nothing short of inspiring!"

"Magnificent from beginning to end."

"Loved the settings and the small groups performing. A truly memorable experience!"

Art & Music
Sunday, February 12, 2017
The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford CT

A blizzard did not prevent a sold-out audience from reveling in an afternoon of art-inspired choral music. To celebrate the recent beautiful renovation of the Wadsworth Atheneum, CONCORA presented a program at the museum with repertoire inspired by the artwork itself. Small ensembles sand in the various galleries, with music related to the artworks in each room. The concert featured the premiere of a commissioned choral work by Connecticut composer  Ellen Gilson Voth, inspired by the monumental painting Mount Etna from Taormina by Hartford-born Frederic Church. The event concluded with a concert by the full choir in the stunning Morgan Great Hall.
Connecticut Magazine recommended "Christmas with CONCORA" as a top pick for "Holiday Music Performances to Get You in the Spirit of the Season!"

Christmas with CONCORA:
Favorite Christmas Carols
Saturday, December 10, 2016
First Lutheran Church, New Britain CT

In the half century since Oxford University Press released the first volume of its popular sets of Carols for Choirs, these sparkling Christmas carol settings have become essential to the choral holiday repertoire. CONCORA presented a sleigh-full of these immortal a cappella carol arrangements by Sir David Willcocks, John Rutter, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and others. And in keeping with the “Christmas with CONCORA” tradition, the audience sang along with CONCORA in a number of beloved Christmas carols.
A member of the audience was inspired to write, “What a treat to sit and be bathed in glorious sound. The young voices were so fresh and clear and the ensemble sound quite breathtaking. The variety of musical offerings was a delight to the listener and perfectly suited to that grand space.”

Extraordinary Shakespeare
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Saint Thomas the Apostle Church
West Hartford CT

Continuing a long tradition of inclusion and outreach, CONCORA joined several extraordinary Connecticut high school choirs to present a program of choral settings of texts by William Shakespeare, marking the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.

CONCORA welcomed choirs from:
Glastonbury High School-- Ethan Nash, Conductor
Greenwich High School-- Patrick Taylor, Conductor
Guilford High School-- Kevin Buno, Conductor
Hall High School, West Hartford-- Lorri Cetto, Conductor
Manchester High School-- Ed Tyler, Conductor