Music For The Fun Of It

SOUTHBURY — Femina Melodia and the Femina Melodia Drummers will present “For the Fun of it” on Sunday, May 20. The 6 pm performance will be at B’nai Israel Synagogue, 444 Main Street North.

Femina Melodia is a women’s a cappella singing group which was formed in 2001 by Jan Gregory, who currently directs the group from the Renaissance Center in Bennett Square, Southbury. The group is composed of 20 singers, who sing in up to six parts depending on the scope of each piece. They sing together on a weekly basis and offer two concerts each year for a variety of audiences in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and as fund raisers for a number of local groups (including the Southbury Needy Fund, area church projects, and Danbury Senior Center).

Every concert by Femina Melodia is a celebration, and this will be no different. This concert’s program promises music that is fun to listen to and fun to sing. The concert will include a 15th Century Gloria, complete with sackbuts; a Japanese firefly round; the up-tempo Georgia Sea Island song “Yonder Come Day”; “Down to the River to Pray” from the movie score of O Brother Where Art Thou?; an a cappella arrangement by director Jan Gregory of “Stars and Stripes Forever”; and commissioned compositions by local composers Julie Clark and Linda Goodman.

“Carrots, Hotdogs and Salsa” is one of the two pieces that will be played by The Femina Melodia Drummers.

When the group performed the concert for the residents at Pomperaug Woods in early May, the audience joined in with clapping and foot tapping. “It was really a good time,” said one of the audience members.

Admission at the door is $10 for adults or $5 for seniors and students. For more information about Femina Melodia or their concert, call the Renaissance Center at 267-7672.