Save the date for our Fall 2023 MUUsic Weekend!
Although it’s still a while away, it’s never too early to save the dates for our very exciting Fall Music Weekend which this year is titled “Prayers for Peace – concerts in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.” The kick-off event will be Friday evening November 17th 7:30-9:30pm at our church. This concert will feature a variety of music by Ukrainian composers, sung by the UUCB Choir, UB Choir, Mriya Ukrainian Women’s Choir, and St. Nicholas Church Choir and will be open to the public. Come out to learn about Ukrainian culture through music, stories, and food! There will be a repeat performance of the concert at UB on Saturday November 18th, as well as a very special Music Sunday on November 19th with a sermon about the history of the War in Ukraine and how we can support the Ukrainian’s fight for freedom.
On May 5th 2023 the UUCB Choir, staff, and guest musicians from around the country presented Henry Purcell’s baroque opera Dido and Aeneas for our first ever MUUsic Weekend.
This expansion of our traditional Music Sundays began with a full operatic performance on Friday, May 5th at 7:30pm (with pre-show talk at 7pm) and was followed by a presentation of choral excerpts from the opera on Sunday May 7th at our usual service time. The Friday evening performance was open to the public on a pay-what-you-will basis. If you missed it, you can now watch a recording of the event on our YouTube channel below:
Dido and Aeneas tells the story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, as first told in Virgil’s epic The Aeneid. The widowed and exiled queen is master of her own domain until the widowed and exiled hero Aeneas arrives on her queendom’s shores. Through the meddling of the gods, the two rulers’ fates are bound together, only to then be forced violently apart with horrific consequences for Dido. The opera is known for its tragic ending, but this mythic tale is also full of humor and insight into what it means to be human. Its hour-long duration is crammed full of stunning singing from both the soloists and Greek-style chorus. Our production also featured period string and keyboard instruments as would have been used in the opera’s original productions in the 1680s.
STAY TUNED FOR INFORMATION ABOUT OUR MUUSIC WEEKENDS COMING UP IN THE 2023-2024 SEASON!