July 31, 2021

The Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit & Chamber Orchestra will perform their 7th annual concert on Sunday, August 1, 4:00 PM, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 416 SE Grand Avenue in downtown Lee’s Summit. The centerpiece of the concert will be the MASS IN G of Franz Schubert, 1797-1828, composed when the Viennese master was only 18 years old. A trio of professional soloists and a chamber orchestra comprised of members of the Kansas City Symphony will join the Summer Singers.

Tickets are available at the door, or online at FestivalSingers.org/concerts.

The Schubert work will be conducted by Jennifer Lahasky, Music Director-Elect of the Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit. Ms. Lahasky has served as Associate Music Director since 2017, and will take over as Music Director & Conductor beginning with the 2022 season. Ms Lahasky holds the Bachelor of Music Education from Washburn University in Topeka, and the Master of Music Education in Choral Pedagogy from the University of Kansas. She is a Belton resident who is a music educator in the Blue Valley School District.

The present Music Director William Baker will be leading his last performance with the Summer Singers chorus he founded in 2014. He will be devoting more energy to his work as director of The Choral Foundation, a national arts organization that sponsors numerous music groups, educational institutions and educational resources in the South and Midwest. Dr. Baker was appointed Music Director of the St. Paul Episcopal Church in Lee’s Summit in September 2020, and will continue in that role.

The concert repertoire comprises one of the most varied programs in the history of the Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit. Dr. Baker will conduct a set of love songs from Appalachia and from the writings of William Shakespeare, along with a setting of K’dushah from the Jewish Shabbat, and a set of Sea Island Gospel Spirituals. Choral Intern Megan Moore will conduct two modern sacred pieces, including Glorious Everlasting by Charlotte-based composer M. Thomas Cousins, and Who Shall Abide? by Kansas native Walter Pelz.

Prior performances of The Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit & Chamber Orchestra have included Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation, the Requiem of Mozart, and many other classical masterworks of music history. Every prior performance has been presented to capacity audiences. Early arrival is recommended for best seats.