“Northern Lights” is the title of the concert to be given by The Civic Chorale, at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 23 at St. John's Episcopal Church, Johnson City, Tennessee. Donations in any amount are gratefully accepted at the door; $10.00 is suggested. The title indicates a follow-up to last October's successful “Northern Lights” concert. The repertoire draws on the very rich choral heritage of the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. This region of northern Europe has sustained a centuries-old tradition of choral singing, and that has in turn, inspired composers to write distinctive and challenging music for choral singing. The sacred music of the first half begins with a motet by Swedish baroque composer Johann Helmich Roman, a contemporaryt of J. S. Bach, and is followed by two different settings of the “Ave Maris Stella” text – one by Otto Olsson, a contemporary of Johannes Brahms, and the other by Trond Kverno, written in the late 20th century. There are two scriptural motets in quite different styles by Norwegian Knut Nystedt, and a setting by Swedish composer Egil Hovland of a portion of the opening of the Gospel according to St. John. The Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia were oppressed for several decades under Soviet rule. It was partly through choral singing that they kept alive their traditions and cultural identity. Estonian composer Veljo Tormis was active then and now in writing choral music that some have described as a cross between Carl Orff and Claude Debussy. The Chorale presents his “Autumn Landscapes,” a suite of seven short evocative movements. Swedish composer Lars Eric Larsson was prolific in writing for many musical media, from full orchestra, to chamber music, to unaccompanied choral music. From his set “Three Quotations” the Chorale sings “A Dog Known as Ego,” a neo-baroque setting of a short text by Friedrich Nietsche. In the late romantic and impressionist era, many composers wrote lush tone poems, both for instruments and for voices. The program continues with a pair from this period: Finnish composer Toivo Kuula's “At Sunrise,” followed by Swedish composer Hugo Alfven's “Evening.” After a setting of three Gotlandish folk songs arranged by Lars Edlund, the concert concludes with “Domardansen” a joyful village folk-song and dance arranged in “boogie-woogie” style by Swedish jazz composer Bengt Hallberg. The Civic Chorale was founded in 1973 by Robert LaPella with a small group of invited singers and Jane LaPella as the gifted accompanist. Over the years, the group has grown to become the region’s premiere independent auditioned volunteer chorus. In addition to singing the standard choral repertoire from Gregorian chant to modern compositions, the Chorale has presented numerous world and regional premieres and frequently collaborated with other music organizations in the region, including the Symphony of the Mountains, the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra, and the East Tennessee Children’s Choir. Since 1998, the Chorale has been led by conductor David Hendricksen. Accompanists are Lisa Runner, piano, and David Runner, organ. For additional information, visit the Chorale web site at www.thecivicchorale.org or contact the conductor by phone at 423-638-0409 or by email at conductordavid@embarqmail.com