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Welcome to Masterworks Chorus of the Shenandoah Valley! We are enjoying our eleventh year of singing and performing in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia! Our current 47 members come from all areas of the community.
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The Masterworks singers were thrilled to explore the Celtic roots the Shenandoah Valley during our recent "A Celtic Circle" concert! Widely attended and praised, "A Celtic Circle" was performed March 14 and 15, in conjunction with two Celtic touring bands. For a change of pace and style be sure to attend our next concert, An Evening in Vienna.
Featuring
Schubert's Mass in G
With guest soloists and musicians
May 1, 2, and 4, 2008
Click here for more information and tickets
Artistic Director, Dr. Betty Karol Wilson, wrote the following about "An Evening in Vienna"...
Virtural Austria
You won’t have to use your passport, but you will be transported at “An Evening In Vienna”, performed by the Masterworks Chorus May 1, 2, and 4. The theme of this concert is classical music created by master composers who lived and/or worked in Vienna during the 18th and 19th centuries. Vienna, capital of Austria, was a major hub of musical activity and home of some of the best known classical musicians. Mozart composed operas there. Haydn‘s music was played in the candlelit ballroom at Schonbrunn Palace to entertain royalty. The "brooding Brahms" composed intense piano solos while residing in Vienna. Schubert, a native of Vienna, and master of melody composed symphonies, music for singing societies, masses for churches, and hundreds of songs for his close circle of friends.
Viennese Variety
Music performed in Vienna includes not only church repertoire, but also music for entertaining at the palace, dramatic music for the opera, and intimate musical offerings for the home parlor or salon. Music performed at this concert will demonstrate all these genres. In addition to sacred music presented by the forty-voice Masterworks Chorus, Mr. Colby will sing the military recruiting song, “Non piu andrai” from Mozart’s opera, The Marriage of Figaro. If we close our eyes and let our imaginations take hold, we can imagine Schubert at the salon piano, with friends closeby, as Mr Colby sings the lied, “An Die Musik." In our musical imagination, strains from a string quartet and the talents of young players from Shenandoah Valley Academy will take us to the "Hall of Mirrors" at the palace of Maria Therese.
A Repertoire to Inspire
Masterworks Chorus will open the concert with the powerful chorus “The Heavens are Telling” from the oratorio, Creation by Josef Haydn. Bass, Drew Colby, Tenor, Brian Thomas and Soprano, Phylis Wine will be the soloists for the lyrical Mass in G by Franz Schubert. Masterworks Chorus welcomes Mr. Colby and Mr. Thomas, both of whom are voice majors at Shenandoah University. Ms. Wine, soprano soloist for our Christmas concert, will once again inspire our audience with her beautiful singing. The robust sounds of "Widerspruch-Contradiction" will announce the premiere performance of Masterworks Men's Chorus. The beautiful setting of "Psalm 23" will feature the harmonious voices of the women's chorus. Masterworks Accompanist, Elizabeth McBride, will dazzle the audience with a stirring rendition of piano music by Brahms. As the final chords of "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" resound, your evening in Vienna will be complete and you may begin to understand why these composers became known as "The Masters."
Download Spring 2008 Membership Newsletter (Click here)
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A Note from the Conductor
Dr. Wilson wrote the following to our singers:
"I am delighted that you have decided to share your love of singing and your enthusiasm for the choral art with the citizens of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. With your talents and support, we can present an exciting season of choral concerts. I look forward to exploring with you the beauty of Christmas music, the haunting melodies of the Celtic tradition, and the magic of the great Viennese composers.
Your efforts will preserve the art of choral singing in our community, encourage the interest of young singers, and bring solace to many of our audience. No other instrument can do what the voice can do; for it combines the power of text with the mystery of sound, wrapped in the struggles of the human existence. What a fantastic and elusive art form we explore!"
Dr. Betty Karol Wilson, Conductor and Artistic Director
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Artistic Director Dr. Betty Karol Wilson
 Dr. Betty Karol Wilson, a native of Richmond, Va., is a graduate of Bridgewater College, Southern Methodist University, and Boston University. Her Ph.D. dissertation in Music History and Literature won the coveted Julius Herford Award from the American Choral Directors Association for her 1995 dissertation, "Choral Pedagogy: Crossroads of Theory and Practice in Sixteenth Century Germany." In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Dr. Wilson has conducted college, community, and church choirs for thirty years, primarily at McMurry University and Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. As a collegiate professor, she has taught voice, organ, piano, opera history, vocal pedagogy, vocal literature.
As a Choral Singer, she has performed and recorded with Tanglewood Chorus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Orchestra Chorus. She has also sung with the Abilene Opera Association, as well as serving as chorus master for La Boheme, Tosca and The Nutcracker Ballet. She has conducted choirs in concerts on international tours performing in cathedrals and castles in Florence, Rome, Paris, London, Edinburgh. Her choirs have also performed with the Moscow Boys Chorus and for the Texas Music Teachers Association. For fourteen years, Dr. Wilson was the Founder, Conductor, and Executive Director of the Classical Chorus of Abilene, a non-profit choral organization of five choirs for singers, ages 8 through adults.
For her community service and promotion of the arts, Dr. Wilson was given the Yellow Rose of Texas Award by Texas Governor, Rick Perry. She is married to Charles L. Wilson, physical therapist and tenor, and they both share a love of gardening, music, and art. Currently, the Wilsons are owners of the Apple Blossom Inn Bed and Breakfast in New Market, Va. Dr. Wilson is also the founder and one of the tour guides for the New Market Walking Tours.
Our Accompanists
Elizabeth McBride, pianist, received her Master's Degree from James Madison University where she majored in piano performance and accompanying, with a minor in organ performance. Over the span of twenty-five years, she has been in constant demand as a soloist and accompanist througout the mid-atlantic region. Currently, Ms. McBride is Organist and Choir Director at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, in Woodstock, Virginia, and teaches piano. She resides in New Market, Virginia, with her two daughters, Madeline and Katherine.
Kathleen Ackerson, accompanist for the women's chorus, is a St. Louis-born, classically trained pianist and vocalist. She has accompanied numerous choral groups and instrumentalists in St. Louis and Northern Virginia. Since joining Masterworks in 1998, she has accompanied Encore (a four-voice quartet) and sung with the Chorus. She and her husband, Guy, live in Mt. Jackson. Kathy loves being active in community arts organizations.
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Masterworks Women's Chorus
The Masterworks Women's Chorus is a select women's group that performs at Masterworks concerts. Members are chosen for their musical ability, interest, and ability to devote their time to special rehearsals.
We will Perform for You!
Select groups of Masterworks singers are available to perform for your group or function. Please contact Director Betty Karol Wilson for details at 540-740-8841.
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