Alice Parker Festival

Alice Parker, a renowned figure in choral music with a passion for melody, wrote many operas, song-cycles, cantatas, works for chorus and orchestra, choral suites, and original hymns. She also arranged spirituals, hymns, and folk songs, including French, Spanish, Hebrew, and Latino folk songs, many of which have become part of the repertoire of choirs around the world. A lifelong resident of Massachusetts, Parker had strong ties to the Valley, including being a Smith College alumna. She passed away at her home in Hawley on December 24, 2023 at the age of 98.

On February 22, 300+ singers from seven local choirs will fill the beautiful Abbey Chapel at Mount Holyoke College for an afternoon celebrating Alice Parker’s prolific body of work and her dedication to music, language, and the singing voice.

Pioneer Valley Symphony Chorus dir. Dr. Allegra Martin
Brattleboro Concert Choir dir. Dr. Jonathan Harvey
Da Camera Singers dir. Sheila Heffernon
Illumine Vocal Arts Ensemble dir. Dr. Arianne Abela
Keene State College Chamber Singers dir. Dr. Sandra Howard
Mount Holyoke College Chorale dir. Dr. Colin Britt
South Hadley Chorale dir. Anita Anderson-Cooper

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The Alice Parker Festival is organized by the PVS under the leadership of Chorus Director Dr. Allegra Martin and hosted by Mount Holyoke College under the leadership of Dr. Colin Britt.

The concert will take place in Abbey Chapel at Mount Holyoke College. Audience members can park in Faculty/Staff spaces without a pass on weekends. Please do not park in the Village Commons parking lot unless you are a patron of the Village Commons. For more information, please visit this link: https://offices.mtholyoke.edu/parking/visitors

Concert length is approximately 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission.

https://www.pvsoc.org/tickets