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A Rich Tradition

 

 

This year's concert marks the 73rd year since the first Latvian Baptist choral concert in the US on March 5, 1950 in New York City.  This concert grew into an annual event, which involves singers from Latvian Baptist churches in the United States and Canada.

 

The primary mission of the local choirs is to serve in the musical programs of their respective churches. It is at this annual concert that they have an opportunity to participate in the performance of larger and more demanding works, largely from the classical sacred repertoire of Latvian and Latvian Baptist composers, but other sacred choral works as well.

 

The chamber choir, which performed for the first time in 1982 as a youth choir, explored a different avenue of sacred music - mainly that of contemporary Christian composers. This year the chamber choir will not perform separately. However, individual musicians, singers, and instrumentalists from within the Latvian Baptist community have always, and will continue to be a part of the yearly concert performance.

 

The choir is composed of singers from choirs and smaller ensembles from Boston, Quakertown, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Canada, with other individual singers from across the continent.

This Year's CONCERT

 

This year's concert event will take place at 3:00 PM ET on Sunday, April 30, 2023, at Bucks County Latvian Baptist Church, 1142 Apple Road, Quakertown, PA 18951 (The church is physically located in the village of Applebachsville, Haycock Township).

 

This year's concert will feature the concert choir performing Franz Schubert's German Mass (Deutsche Messe, D 872), works by Latvian composers Viktors Baštiks, Jānis Ezeriņš, Helmers Pavasars, and Arvīds Purvs, as well as selections by Gabriel Fauré, Tom Fettke, and Felix Mendelssohn.

 

The concert will also feature a meditation by the Rev. Dr. Uldis E. Ukstiņš, pastor of the host church and president of the Union of Latvian Baptists in America.

 

The concert will be followed by a banquet in the church fellowship hall. Banquet tickets are $15/person, and only available by advance purchase. Please contact Gatis Ķeris by email for banquet tickets: gatkeri (at) aol (dot) com no later than Friday, April 14.

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