Petersburgh Baptist Church Hosts Annual Easter Cantata
By Amy Modesti
Sunday afternoon April 14 was a special day at the Petersburgh Baptist Church. The Taconic Valley Community Chorus joined together to sing songs of worship as part of its Easter Cantata, “O Glorious Day!” The Chorus also performed the cantata at Berlin’s Heart Theatre on Saturday to a full house.
This year’s cantata was shorter than some previous concerts held at the church. It featured eight songs, two hymns, and an opening prelude performed on piano by Kendra Roberts. As part of the cantata, an opening prayer was spoken by the proctor before the prelude and the opening hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” were performed.
The choir opened with “Behold Our God,” a beautiful song that is performed each year at the cantata. The choir added some new songs this year, including “The Yearning” featuring Dan LaMontagne on tambourine, “Hosanna to the King,” an upbeat jungle-style tune featuring LaMontagne and Matina Patsos on bongos, and the choir’s a cappella version of “Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me),” among others.
A scary moment occurred when the choir finished singing both the Gethsemane Hymn and Our Lord Endured the Cross. Bassist, Steve Hodges, became overheated while standing on the stage rafters. Hodges began to walk down the rafters, however, he tripped on a water bottle, causing him to collapse. The choir stopped singing and members of the choir came over to assist Hodges, bringing him downstairs for further evaluation. Once the cantata was over, Rensselaer County Sheriffs and an ambulance were on the scene. Hodges was okay but was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. A member of the choir said a prayer for Hodges before continuing the cantata.
The Taconic Valley Community Chorus closed out the cantata with two final songs, “Rescuer (Good News)” and the hymn, Crown Him With Many Crowns.” “Rescuer (Good News)” featured additional foot stomping by the choir and featured a great solo sung by soprano, Clari Derosia. The patrons rose from their pews to sing along with the choir on “Crown Him With Many Crowns,” to conclude the 2019 Petersburgh Baptist Church Easter Cantata.