“Sing to Me” Spring Choral Concert

Cantate Children’s and Youth Choir of Central Virginia will present their annual spring concert, “Sing to Me” on Sunday, May 4th, 2025, at 4:00 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 205 Elmwood Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24503. Cantate, currently in its thirty-second season, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing healthy vocal training and exceptional musical experiences to the children and youth of Central Virginia. The choir currently has 26 singers aged 7 to 18 who reside in Lynchburg and the surrounding areas.

The concert will open with Andrea Ramsey’s song, “Sing to Me”:
Sing to me something of sunlight and bloom.
Sing no more of sorrow and gloom.
Sing to the beauty and brightness of life!

This performance will feature songs about spring, birds, and bugs, folk songs from various cultures, and popular songs from “Wicked.” Music from the Renaissance by Morley and Hilton to the Classical era by Mozart, alongside folksongs including a Serbo-Croatian piece, and music from contemporary composers such as Sarah Quartel and Neil Ginsberg, will be included.

Peggy Haas Howell serves as the Music Director and Conductor, and Elizabeth Wilkinson is the Assistant Director and Accompanist. In addition to serving as Organist and Choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Ms. Howell was recently elected as National Vice President and Councillor for Competitions and New Music for the American Guild of Organists. Ms. Wilkinson is the Organist and Choir Director at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynchburg.

Ms. Howell has been the Director of Cantate since 2009. Since then, Cantate has performed with Opera on the James, the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, the Charlottesville Ballet, the University of Lynchburg Choral Union, the Jefferson Choral Society, the University of Virginia Chamber Singers, and St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Choir. Ms. Howell founded and directed the Jefferson Youth Chorale from 2003-2012 and was the Director of Chorale, the Concert Choir of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College from 1996-2000.

The concert is free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated and an offering will be collected. For more information, please visit cantatechoir.org