Concert Rescheduled—

NVCC Chorus & Orchestra To Present ‘Welcome All Wonders’ Holiday Concert

The Naugatuck Valley Community College Chorus will present “Welcome All Wonders,” a choral and brass concert of seasonal music, on Sunday, January 4, at 4 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown.

The program will open with an original composition titled “Fanfare and Prelude for Organ,” with Allen DeFerrari as accompanist. Additional selections include Richard Dirkson’s “Welcome All Wonders,” Randall Bass’ “Te Deum,” John Rutter’s “Christmas Lullaby” and John Carter’s “In Time of Softest Snow.” The chorus is directed by Stuart P. Gillespie.

A $10 suggested donation will be accepted at the door during performance at the college. For more information, contact the NVCC music department at 203-575-8039.

The concerts will be the last under the direction of conductor Stuart P. Gillespie, who is retiring after 26 years with the college. He and his wife, Carol Cassidy Gillespie, plan to move to the Maine coast.

During his tenure, the Bethlehem resident built up the NVCC choir from 15 students to nearly 80 students and community members from throughout the area. An accomplished composer of choral music and sea chanteys, Prof Gillespie has reworked an original choral piece for his final concert.

Under Prof Gillespie’s direction, the chorus has performed numerous times in Canada and throughout Europe. The chorus has also performed at Carnegie Hall at the invitation of the composer John Rutter, and was invited several times to participate in Kenny Rogers’ Christmas show at the Oakdale Theater.

In 1989, Prof Gillespie was named Choir Director of the Year by American Choral Directors Association/Connecticut chapter. The chorus is noted for its success in creating and maintaining and academic/community choir within a community college. In addition to the concerts at the college, the chorus has performed at churches in Waterbury, Watertown, Woodbury, Newtown, Naugatuck, Seymour and Cheshire.

The main entrance for Naugatuck Valley Community College is at 750 Chase Parkway in Waterbury; signs to the campus’s theater are posted.

Trinity Episcopal Church is the stone church at the corner of Church Hill Road and Main Street in Newtown. Access to its parking lot is from Church Hill Road.