PEACH WEEKENDER | MUSIC

Life of choirmaster honored with Evensong

11/22/2017
BY WAYNE F. ANTHONY
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
  • Lasch-Brittany-1-Photo-Toby-Oft-jpg

    Brittany Lasch will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday as part of the BGSU's Faculty Artist Series.

    TOBY OFT

  • A traditional Anglican Choral Evensong will be celebrated this weekend honoring the memory of James R. Metzler. Metzler served as organist and choirmaster at historic Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Toledo for a 24-year tenure from 1972-1998.

    After leaving Toledo, Metzler held similar positions at the Episcopal cathedrals in Little Rock and Grand Rapids, Mich.

    The choir for the memorial will be the Canterbury Singers USA, the ensemble which Metzler organized and directed for over two dozen residencies at numerous English cathedrals. Organist for the service is Michael Gartz, one of Metzler’s former students and accompanist for the ensemble during its British tours.

    Anthems for the service will be drawn from the choir’s repertoire and include Howard Hanson’s “How Excellent is Thy Name,” Gilbert Martin’s arrangement of Isaac Watts’ “When I Survey,” and Harold Friedell’s “Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether.”

    The free Evensong service begins at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Timothy Episcopal Church, 871 East Boundary St., Perrysburg. After the service, a reception will be held in the parish hall. More information can be found at saint-timothy.net.

    ■ The Ballet Theatre of Toledo presents Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Valentine Theatre, 400 N. Superior St. Tickets are $25-$50 and available at 419-242-2787 or valentinetheatre.com. Special pricing is available for military families.

    ■ The University Choral Society performs a free holiday program, Joyous Sounds: A Yuletide Celebration, featuring the BGSU Graduate Brass Quintet and organist Michael Gartz at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First United Methodist Church, 1526 E. Wooster St., Bowling Green.

    ■ Soprano Janet Brehm Ziegler performs a faculty recital featuring French arts songs and German Lieder. Also on the program is the world premier of a new song cycle Dark Love by Toledo composer Wayne F. Anthony. The concert begins 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Owens Community College Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 30335 Oregon Rd., Perrysburg. More information at 567-661-7081 or owens.edu/arts.

    ■ The Second annual Accent on the Arts! concert series welcomes the Cincinnati-based Slippery Creek Bluegrass Band in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Mainstage Theatre of the Owens Community College Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 30335 Oregon Rd., Perrysburg. More information is available at 567-661-7081 or owens.edu/arts.

    ■ Praecepta, the student chapter of the Society of Composers Inc. at BGSU’s college of musical arts, will give a performance at 8 p.m. Sunday. The Graduate String Quartet performs a recital at 8 p.m. Monday. Trombonist Brittany Lasch gives a Faculty Artist Series performance at 8 p.m. Wednesday. All concerts are free in Bryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center, on the campus of BGSU.

    ■ The University of Toledo Latin Jazz Ensemble is in concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Vocalstra Jazz Ensemble performs at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Both concerts are at the University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts, 1910 West Rocket Drive; parking in Lot 12. More information is available at 419-530-2448 or utoledo.edu.

    ■ The Toledo Polish-American Concert Band presents a free fall-winter concert. The program offers marches, light classics, seasonal selections, a polka or two, and an audience sing-along. Also appearing are Toledo’s “Three Polish Tenors,” (Eric Hite, Robert McMahon, and Jim Rutkowki), and the Woodward High School Choral Ensemble. The concert begins at 2 p.m. Sunday at Woodward High School Auditorium, 701 E. Central Ave.

    ■ Owens’ Voices Choir presents its fall concert at 2 p.m. Monday at the Owens Community College Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 30335 Oregon Rd., Perrysburg. More information is available at 567-661-7081 or owens.edu/arts.

    ■ WGTE-FM, 91 offers a bounty of Thanksgiving music with Cantus men’s vocal ensemble in a broadcast concert 11 a.m. Thursday. Valerie Kahler and Steve Seel offer an hour of classical music devoted to the holiday at 8 p.m.

    ■ The Phoenixphest Gala presents a Champagne reception and concert featuring the Lincoln Piano Trio, artists in residence for this year’s festival. The reception begins at 7 p.m. followed by the concert 8 p.m. Saturday; tickets are $25-$50.

    Songslam: a slam-style composition competition for new art songs composed by area musicians begins at 8 p.m. Tuesday; tickets are $5-$10.

    Pianist Louis Nagel completes the third lecture recital of his series comparing the works for Haydn and Mozart at 3 p.m. Wednesday; tickets are $15. 

    All three events happen at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor. Tickets and more information are available at 734-769-2999 or kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

    Send news of music items at least two weeks in advance to classics@theblade.com.