Youth choir & orchestra performing at FBC

The Charles Wesley Singers and the Youth Orchestra of the Academy of St. Cecilia from Damascus, Maryland will make a stop here in Ballston Spa on their way to Canada. They will preform here at the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa on June 23 @ 6:30 PM.

The major work for the choir and orchestra will be John Rutter’s arrangement of spirituals called Feel the Spirit. Written in 2001 and premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York, the seven movement work is for mezzo soprano soloist, chorus and orchestra. The seven spirituals include Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, Steal Away, I Got a Robe, Sometimes I Feel like A Motherless Child, Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, Deep River, and When the Saints Go Marching In. The collection is made up of quite a variety of styles and moods, but most compelling and exciting to sing.

The Charles Wesley Singers (CWS) choir is a cornerstone of the youth ministries at Damascus UMC, singing at the 8:15 a.m. service every Sunday of the year except when they are on tour or retreat.  Begun in 1988, CWS has a long history of touring both in the United States and abroad.  Stays in Oregon, California, the Midwest, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alaska, New England, Chicago, Texas, Minnesota, and New York, as well as visits to Canada, England, Scotland and Wales, and a tour to northern Germany in 1996, have been part of the choir’s experience over the last 24 years.