The ‘Festival of Women’s Voices’ will take place at Conard High School in West Hartford.

Submitted

The West Hartford Women’s Chorale will host Another Octave, Hall High School’s Voce di Coeli, Glastonbury High School’s Treble Choir, and the Simsbury High School Women’s Chorale, in a “Festival of Women’s Voices” on March 24 at Conard High School in West Hartford.

Joan Szymko. Submitted photo

The world renowned composer, Joan Szymko, will conduct all five choirs in musical pieces she has written.

Each choir will have the opportunity to work with Szymko in workshops during the afternoon. At 4 p.m., Szymko will conduct all five choirs in a combined concert, open to the public. The requested free will donation will benefit the Aurora Foundation, an organization formed to serve as a catalyst for change in the lives of women and girls in the Greater Hartford area.

Szymko, who comes from the Pacific Northwest, has a catalog of over 100 published choral works. Her music is performed by ensembles throughout North America, and abroad.

In describing her music, Szymko says her goal is to “compose music that invites the audience in, while challenging the notion that accessibility and musical integrity are incompatible concepts.” She says she is “drawn to texts that invoke divine grace, speak to the universal yearning for good, and that nurture a compassionate heart.”

This will be the fifth “Festival of Women’s Voices” hosted by the West Hartford Women’s Chorale, a group formed 14 years ago to enrich the local community’s cultural life. A non-audition group, it has provided young artists performance opportunities, as well as raising funds for charitable organizations.

For more information go to www.WHWChorale.org or email [email protected].

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