With Help From Some Friends

With Help From Some Friends Choral Society Prepares Bach Concert, Noting Support From Organization

The Rockbridge Choral Society is gearing up for its first concert of 2026, featuring the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, which will be performed by the Rockbridge Chamber Singers with chamber soloists and orchestra.

The Bach concert, entitled “Magnificence,” is set to take place on Sunday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m. in the Lexington Presbyterian Church. The performance will include Bach’s “Magnificat” and two of his most admired church cantatas.

Artistic director William McCorkle said the concert is made possible by the Friends of the Rockbridge Choral Society, which for more than 25 years has generated support for annual productions.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary year of the Rockbridge Chorus,” Mc-Corkle said, “we acknowledge with gratitude that for over half of this time, the Friends of the RCS have empowered and lifted our artistic endeavors to undertake major works of the choral literature, often including orchestra and professional soloists.”

Formed in 1999, the Friends organization came into being with the express purpose of raising funds to support the work of the chorus, McCorkle said. “And what that translates to, is having enough money available for us to reach beyond where we had been before in terms of the scope and the quality of the performances we were able to mount. An important benefit has been the development of long-ranging artistic and personal relationships with guest musicians from around the commonwealth and beyond, who have chosen to become valued and ongoing colleagues in our music-making.”

The RCS repertoire resulting from the beneficence of the Friends group includes many of choral music’s greatest works, the Passions and “B Minor Mass” of J.S. Bach, “Messiah” and other oratorios and anthems of Handel, Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” Honegger’s “King David,” Poulenc’s “Gloria,” the requiems of Fauré and Duruflé, works of Schubert, Brahms, Vaughan Williams, Britten, and Rutter, as well as programs of opera, American music, and “Pops” repertoire.

Daniel Brinson sang and played organ and piano with the RCS from 2002 to 2012, when he lived in Lexington. Now living in Charlottesville, Brinson continues as a guest when he can.

“Of course they [the Friends] help financially, but I think that support also inspires many volunteers to take ownership, working together to envision and create opportunities,” he said. “I keep going back because so many of those people have become very good friends and have supported me in my musical life.”

Associate conductor Scott Williamson, who is known throughout the area as a solo tenor, said a unique aspect of the RCS is how accessible and affordable the concerts are to the community, without sacrificing the quality of the performances.

He noted that the Friends’ support helps the RCS to keep ticket prices low and still afford experienced freelance soloists. He said their generosity is a big reason why musicians from big cities like Washington, D.C., come down to be a part of the RCS.

“We all travel and do these gigs and sing these pieces that we love and get paid to do, but singers who come here want to come back,” Williamson said. “For soloists like me, we had the chance to sing really important works here that you would not expect to be homegrown.”

Robin Matthews, who moved to the area in 2020 said she felt immediately welcomed to the choir and has been surprised by how high the music comprehension skills are in such a small community.

“One of the things I noticed about Rockbridge is they have a lot of amazing music readers, people who can sight read music,” Matthews said. “That’s pretty rare. It’s unusual to have a small community choir that can pick up really complicated music and perform it very well.”

Williamson said the group’s collaboration and rich friendships with guest soloists and instrumentalists over the past 25 years are what makes the RCS special.

Christine Fairfield, a music professor at Washington and Lee University and the executive director of the Oratorio Society of Virginia, agreed. She is a frequent soprano soloist for the choir.

“I have quite a few friends that I stay in touch with outside of the choir,” Fairfield said. “I look forward to seeing them at rehearsals. It’s just been such a meaningful part of my community and my musical life.”

Also a professor at W&L, Jessica LaPrice said the leaders of RCS bring experience and excitement to the choir.

“William McCorkle and Scott Williamson are so knowledgeable and passionate about bringing high quality choral music to Rockbridge County,” she said. “I was delighted to find such a large group of enthusiastic and talented musicians in such a small town.”

Brinson said that McCorkle’s belief in and care for the group has allowed the RCS to thrive for so many years. - The Feb. 8 Bach performance will feature a chamber orchestra composed of outstanding musicians from the community, from around the state, and beyond.

Soloists will include mezzosoprano Barbara Hollinshead, a bright light in the music scene of Washington, D.C., who has sung frequently with the Rockbridge Chorus since 2003; sopranos Christine Fairfield and Asherah Capellaro; tenors Williamson and Adam Williams; and baritone Charles Blueweiss.

Leading the instrumental ensemble will be longtime collaborators violinist Risa Browder and cellist John Moran, baroque music specialists in the Washington- Baltimore area, and trumpeter Chris Magee from Lynchburg, whose association with the chorus goes back to 2001.

Said McCorkle, “This is a program of festive, exciting music, befitting our celebratory spirit this year. The ‘Magnificat,’ one of Bach’s best-known and beloved choral works, and the vibrant Cantata 34, ‘O ewiges Feuer,’ feature chorus and soloists with a full ensemble of strings, flutes and oboes, plus the festive presence of trumpets and timpani. Complementing these two choral works will be Bach’s dazzling Cantata 51, ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen,’ featuring soprano Fairfield and trumpeter Magee.”

Tickets are available online for $15 per person or $40 for the entire immediate family. Tickets will also be available at the door for $20 per person, $45 for a family. Tickets for students will be made available free of charge.

“I’m so excited to get to sing the Bach “Magnificat” with our slate of professional soloists and chamber orchestra, none of which would be possible without the Friends of the Rockbridge Choral Society and such great support from the local community,” LaPrice said. “I really hope folks take the time to come to see it.”