Once they left, they were really gone for good. There were no smartphones. No Starbuck’s. No 7-Elevens. Unknown perils, punishing weather, and sudden illness were facts of daily life. Provisions may have run short, but through determination, grit, and the efforts of a tight-knit community, they were able to get by.
Their story is told in “Pioneer Songs,” Eric Houghton’s epic meditation on the courage and resilience of those Americans who blazed the western frontier. The historical oratorio will be presented at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton on November 10 at 7:30 p.m. Houghton’s cycle of fifteen symphonic songs, for vocal soloists, choir, and narrator, celebrates the first successful passage of wagon trains to California in the 1840s.
The concert will feature guest soprano Carla Maffioletti, who achieved fame through her association with André Rieu and his wildly popular Johann Strauss Orchestra. Other soloists will include soprano Kathee Zenn and mezzo-soprano Miranda Landers-Smith, both graduates of Westminster Choir College, lyric tenor Jeremy Blossey, and bass-baritone Martin Hargrove. Nancy Froysland-Hoerl will narrate the perils and triumphs of the pioneers.
The Westminster Community Orchestra will be joined by a hundred voice choir, made up of the Westminster Community Chorus, prepared by Sinhaeng Lee, and the Ewing-based Glassbrook Vocal Ensemble, directed by Chaequan Anderson. The joint forces will be conducted by Ruth Ochs.
Houghton, a resident of Ewing, has been on the faculty of Westminster Conservatory of Music for 34 years. Ochs is in her thirteenth year as conductor of the Westminster Community Orchestra.
Learn more about this free concert in my article in this month’s Trenton Downtowner, out today.
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