Step into the world of arguably the greatest genius of the English language. Music is a language, and language can be music, so it is only fitting that William Shakespeare uses and refers to well over one hundred songs in his works.

The cornerstone of the concert is English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music featuring 16 vocal soloists. Heartfelt melodies swell and ebb like a gentle breeze of sound with text from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. It is said that Sergei Rachmaninoff, in attendance at the premiere of the Serenade, was reduced to tears by its beauty.

This concert premieres the third annual Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition winner, with text from Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 8, the inspiration for True Concord’s name.

In its first two years this competition has received more than 70 entries from across the country and has resulted in the world premieres of two works.

Source:: https://www.trueconcord.org/performances/shakespeare-in-song/