The Athens Choral Festival has drawn singers and musicians from nine states to perform a summer concert this Saturday.
A group of over 50 singers and musicians will perform Elijah, an English-language piece by 19th century German composer Felix Mendelssohn on Saturday. Athens conductor Joseph Napoli says he has long admired the piece, which tells the story of the Prophet Elijah.
“Mendelssohn actually wrote the performance in English for a performance in Birmingham, England,” says Napoli. “The next year he went back and wrote it in German.”
Jeremy Galyon performs across the country and will sing the solo part of Elijah. He says that Mendelssohn’s inspiration from the Bible stands out to him the most: “I really appreciated that he excerpted some quotes and makes them into bigger arias for the soloist," he says. "But maybe more than that the choir plays several different characters in the piece.”
Singers and musicians include community members and professors from the University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music.
The Athens Choral Festival will take place this Saturday at the UGA Performing Arts Center at 8 pm.
