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ARMONK, N.Y. In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Armonk Outdoor Art Show, 30 singers from across Westchester gathered Thursday at St. Stephens Episcopal Church on Bedford Road to perform Gabriel Faures Requiem, led by church Music Director James Turner.
Ive been here nine years and this is the first one Ive done, Turner said. We do some bigger stuff at Christmas and Easter and things like that, but weve never done a concert in its own right where we have an audience rather than a congregation and no prayers or anything like that.
For the first half of the concert, musicians Turner and Preston Smith took turns at the organ playing compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms and Johann Pachelbel, among others.
Normally when I direct the choir Im playing the organ while trying to direct at the same time, Turner said. Ive never heard anyone else play the organ here besides me. The only other time someone else plays the organ is when Im not here.
Smith is a church musician with an extensive education in music, including degrees from Furman University, The University of South Carolina, Westminster Choir College and Princeton.
Aurelia Pouder, whos been a choir singer at St. Stephens for 43 years, said before the concert that she was excited to sing the classic Requiem.
I love to sing and I love this music, Pouder said. Ive always sung in church choirs since I was a little girl.
The 30 singers at the church had a lot of preparing to do throughout the summer.
Theyre all amateurs but very good singers, Turner said. The atmosphere is fantastic, theyve worked hard and the first rehearsal we had it was 102 degrees outside and it was pretty sticky inside. Normally people are away over the summer but they all gave up some of their summer to come on for a few rehearsals.
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