GUILFORD — Friends of Music at Guilford (FOMAG)'s traditional season finale on Saturday, June 13, is a three-part event dubbed “A Cappella à la Carte.”
Set at Guilford Community Church, just off Route 5 near Interstate 91, the evening includes a short meeting, a potluck dinner, and a 7:30 p.m. concert of vocal music. Each optional segment is open to the general public; admission to the concert is by donation.
The FOMAG Annual Membership Meeting at 6 p.m. is typically short and entertaining, about 30 minutes, and offers a summary of the year, a look ahead to next season - in this case, it will be the organization's 50th Anniversary Season featuring some special elements - and election of the board of trustees.
The ensuing Community Potluck, from about 6:30 to 7:30, is open to all who contribute to the meal. Entrées, appetizers, salads, side dishes, and desserts are welcome; the desserts are put aside for a post-concert reception.
The A Cappella Concert at 7:30 features two ensembles this year, the Guilford Chamber Singers and Singcrony.
Under Tom Baehr's direction for a third season, the Chamber Singers include: sopranos Megan Baehr, Amy Cann, Christina Gibbons, and Evelyn McLean; altos Jeanne Austin, Beth McKinney, Caryl Richardson, and Joy Wallens-Penford; tenors Paul Cooper, Hal Kuhns, Ruth Sessions, and Peter Tracy; and basses Orion Barber, Peter Nadolny, and Steve Squires.
They will share “A Nautical Journey,” a survey of several songs about the seafaring life that range from love lost (“Bright Smile”) or found (“The Dark-Eyed Sailor”) to coming home (“The Grey Funnel Line”) and even a sailor's fantastic yarn (“The Eddystone Light”), among others.
The four Vermont women who comprise Singcrony - Ruth Allard, Beth Kiendl, Andrea Matthews, and Carrie Walker - share a passion for close a cappella harmonies and syncopated rhythms.
Their repertoire features swing jazz arrangements popularized by the Andrews Sisters, the Boswell Sisters, and the Chordettes in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, interspersed with doo-wop, barbershop and classic pop selections.
Their concert set of Swing Jazz tunes includes the Ink Spots' 1940 hit “Java Jive,” arranged by Manhattan Transfer; the Gershwin brothers' 1930 jazz standard “I Got Rhythm”; and “Undecided,” recorded by Ella Fitzgerald in 1939 and arranged for four voices by Anna Patton.