‘A Christmas Gloria’ to bring holiday music to Asbury church
The Greater Uniontown Chorale and the Greater Uniontown Children’s Chorus will present a holiday concert titled “A Christmas Gloria” on Saturday, Nov. 27. The program will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held at Asbury United Methodist Church, which is situated on the corner of Beeson Boulevard and Dunbar Street in Uniontown.
Assistant director of the chorale Roddy Hibbs of Smithfield will conduct the chorale, while Marsha Brady is conductor of the Children’s Chorus.
The centerpiece for the concert is Vivaldi’s “Gloria.” Lisa Brovey Kovach, a Monessen native and a mezzo-soprano, will be guest soloist in this work.
Kovach teaches voice at California University of Pennsylvania and also at Point Park College in Pittsburgh.
As a member of the Pittsburgh Opera, she sang the role of Sister Lillian in the company’s premiere performances of “Dead Man Walking.”
This month she will perform in the upcoming production of “Dido and Aeneas” at California University of Pennsylvania.
Kovach has been a frequent soloist for a chorale in performances of Mozart’s “Requiem” and prior to that as soloist in Saint-Saen’s “A Christmas Oratorio.” Kovach lives with her husband and two children in Coal Center.
Chorale members Debra Mascia, Lucia Kovell and Nancy Kalasky will perform other solos in the Vivaldi.
Masica, a high school music teacher in the Brownsville Area School District, has sung with the Pittsburgh Opera and Pittsburgh Symphony. A graduate of West Virginia University in Morgantown, he has done post-graduate work at Duquesne University and Shenandoah University.
She lives in the Uniontown area with her husband and daughter.
Kovell, a charter member of the chorale, is a member of St. Therese’s Church in Uniontown, where she is an active choir member and curator. She resides in New Salem her husband and two sons.
Kalasky is church organist and choir director at St. Mary’s of the Nativity Church in Uniontown. A graduate of West Virginia University, she also teaches in the Albert Gallatin School District.
Kalasky resides in Uniontown with her husband and two daughters.
The chorale will also perform lighter holiday selections. Keyboard accompanist for the chorale is Joanna Ball of Connellsville.
The Children’s Chorus will present several selections, including “A Garland of Carols” by Alice Parker. Accompanist for this group is Chris Mickey, who is a senior at Connellsville High School.
Although the concert is free, a good-will offering will be received during the program.