Director Linda Tedford Click on image to download print-quality version
	Concertmaster John Eaken Click on image to download print-quality version
	Cellist Nancy Baun Click on image to download print-quality version

About the program

When Ralph Vaughan Williams was asked by the Huddersfield Choral Society to write a piece in celebration of their centennial in 1937, he produced an eloquent plea for peace in “Dona Nobis Pacem.” At the time, the prospect of renewed war in Europe was all too real.  Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem” heavily features texts from the poetry of Walt Whitman and the scriptures to challenge listeners to face the heartache of war and cry out for peace.  Audiences are easily touched with the dramatic and soulful melodies throughout the six movements of the piece.  The Choral Arts Society will perform the piece in English.

About the guest artists

Founding members of the Eaken Trio, John Eaken and Nancy Baun, will reunite for a performance of Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Greensleeves."  Eaken, violinist and concertmaster of the performance, is currently a member of the Eaken Piano Trio, a Grammy Award-nominated trio that performs extensively in the United States and Europe.  Eaken is a graduate of Messiah College.  Baun, cellist and past faculty member at Messiah College, currently performs with the Ravel Trio.  Benjamin Leiby, graduate of Messiah College and assistant organist for the Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, will provide piano accompaniment.  

Featured soloists for "Dona Nobis Pacem" include Sasha Piastro, voice faculty member at Susquehanna University and Lycoming College, and Jeryl Metzler, a Lancaster-based baritone soloist frequently appearing with local symphonies and choirs. 

About the director

Director Linda Tedford is Messiah College’s director of choral activities and conductor of the Messiah College Concert Choir, Men’s Ensemble and Chamber Singers.  Tedford is the founder and conductor of the Susquehanna Chorale, the Susquehanna Youth Chorale and the Susquehanna Children’s Chorale, based in Hershey, Pa.  She holds a master’s degree in conducting from Temple University, where she studied with renowned conductor Robert Page.  She also studied with contemporary musicians Gregg Smith, Dale Warland and the late Robert Shaw.

About the Messiah College Choral Arts Society

The choir, made up of 70 members from Messiah College and the greater Harrisburg community, was founded by Messiah music professor Earl “Prof” Miller in 1946.  It was originally called the Alumni Oratorio Society. Later, the name was changed to the Grantham Oratorio Society to emphasize the community in which they participated.  Earl Miller directed the choir for 22 years, followed by Messiah professors Ronald Sider, who led the group for 28 years, and Ronald Miller, the 1997 interim director. In 1998, the choir was renamed the Messiah College Choral Arts Society to reflect the group’s rich heritage with the college.

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