As part of the Starlight Tea concert series, Lancaster Church of the Brethren (COB) will present its annual Epiphany concert featuring the Chancel Choir and Carillon Bell Choir, directed by Matthew P. Fritz and accompanied by organist Margaret Marsch.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 9, at 3 p.m. in the church sanctuary at 1601 Sunset Ave., Lancaster. The Saturday evening concert also will be livestreamed on the church's YouTube page.
The concert will include Craig Courtney's "The Yearning," Mendelssohn's "There Shall a Star Come Out of Jacob," Dan Forrest's "The Work of Christmas," and John Rutter's "Go Forth Into the World in Peace." The Carillon Bell Choir will ring Jason Krug's "Rejoice, the Lord Is King," and an organ solo by Marsch will be featured.
This annual concert, introduced by recently retired director of music Emery DeWitt, originated in a weather-related postponement of the church's Christmas concert. The later date was so well received that it has become a tradition to close out the Christmas season with an Epiphany concert.
Fritz, who began as the congregation's director of traditional music last July, is a professor of music at Elizabethtown College. He earned degrees from Westminster Choir College, Florida State University, and the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. Choirs directed by Fritz have toured Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Brazil, and areas throughout the eastern United States. In addition, he is an active adjudicator and clinician, having conducted honor choirs and all-state choirs in Alaska, Florida, Maryland, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.
Marsch is a well-known organist who has performed across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Venues have included Washington National Cathedral, the White House, and The Forum in Harrisburg. She is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where she studied sacred music and organ, and of Westminster Choir College.
A freewill offering will be received to support the concert series. Choir members will be masked, and audience members also are requested to wear masks throughout the concert.
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