Anniversary concert will highlight Mendelssohn, Brahms and original work

BLAIRSTOWN — The Water Gap Singers, under the direction of John Arnedt, will present a free concert to mark its 25th anniversary on Sunday, May 17, at 4 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Blairstown. The concert will be comprised of a variety of selections and excerpts from works that the group has performed over the years. The music will cover all of the musical ages, from pre-Renaissance through the 21st century, said concert organizers. Included will be pieces by John Dowland, John Wilbye, William Billings, Randall Thompson, G.F. Handel, J.S. Bach and Johannes Brahms. Also being performed are two contemporary pieces, including “Anima Christi,” written by Harry Gunther in 1956. Gunther was the father of Blairstown resident and First Presbyterian Church of Blairstown music director and organist, Alphons Gunther. The younger Gunther arranged his father’s motet for chorus and has dedicated it to The Water Gap Singers. There will also be a performance of a composition by Director John Arnedt entitled, “Beloved.” This work was originally written as a vocal solo for a friend’s wedding in 1958, then arranged for chorus in 1966 and rearranged in 1992 as an instrumental piece entitled, “Pastoral.” A highlight of the concert will be an excerpt from Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” with solo work by Margaret Morokutti and Wendy Bedenko, sopranos and Marjorie Miller, Christine Kopec-Koppinger and Elizabeth Topolski, altos. Three selections from Brahms’s “Liebeslieder Waltzes” will be performed with Kathleen Decker and Gayle Jones providing the piano four-hands accompaniment. Kathleen Decker, the group’s accompanist for almost 25 years, will again be the accompanist on piano and organ for the concert. Donations will be accepted at the door. For more information call 908-362-6743.