by Bea Peterson
In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it was wonderful to take some time to relax and be soothed by outstanding music. Susan Harwood, Will Hayes and J. Nixon McMillan performed at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church last year and returned again Sunday evening, December 16, for another concert.
Hayes performed pieces by Bach and Massenet. With two of his students, Chame Blackburn and Siena Blackburn, Hayes also performed “Quem Pastores Laudavere” (Shepherds left their flocks a-straying), a 14th century German Carol, “Coventry Carol Pastorale” by Archangelo Corelli and “Still, Still, Still.”
Harwood, accompanied by McMillan sang Bach’s “Sleepers, Wake!,” “Creator of the Stars of Night,” “O Little One Sweet” and “Rejoice Greatly” from Handel’s Messiah, accompanied by Hayes and McMillan. The three also performed together on a Czech carol and concluded the program with “O Holy Night.”
Mid-program the audience joined the musicians to sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Refreshments and a time to visit with the performers followed.