“Grown on Long Island” does not refer to potatoes. Rather, it describes the next concert of the Choral Society of the Hamptons, which will take place Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the Avram Fine Art Theater at Stony Brook University’s Southampton campus.
Made up entirely of works by Long Island composers, the program, which has been curated by Judith Clurman, the choral society’s resident conductor, celebrates the spirit of Long Island, the 80th anniversary of the choral society, and the 250th anniversary of America.
The program will open with the world premiere of “I Hear America Singing,” a new composition by Annie Pasqua of Dix Hills, set to the poetry of Walt Whitman (West Hills). A highlight of Long Island’s musical legacy follows with “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel (Hicksville), presented in a new choral arrangement by Doug Katsaros (Manhasset).
Also on the program is music by Douglas Moore (Cutchogue), who composed the opera “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” and selections by Stephen Schwartz (Roslyn Heights), including the New York premiere of “Bloom,” in a new arrangement by Ryan Nowlin, and “When You Believe” from “The Prince of Egypt.” John Williams of Floral Park will be represented by “Double Trouble” from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and a cello performance from “Schindler’s List.”
The concert will conclude with selections from the “Washington Women” cycle, co-created by Clurman (Hicksville) and David Chase, giving voice to such figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, and Shirley Chisholm.
Clurman is an Emmy and Grammy-nominated musician, the musical director of Essential Voices USA, and a member of the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. She served as director of choral activities at the Juilliard School for 18 years, as vocal specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts/Columbia University Institute of Classical Music, and as co-director for the Harvard University Leonard Bernstein Festival.
Accompanying the choristers will be Shane Schag, a music director, pianist, and educator, and Coleman Itzkoff, a cellist cited by The New Yorker for his “flawless technique and keen musicality.”
Tickets are $45, $85 for preferred seating, $10 for students.
