The Lyric Consort, northeast Pennsylvania’s critically acclaimed professional vocal ensemble, will continue its 2018-2019 concert season on Sunday, March 10 at 3 p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of Scranton. The program, entitled Poor Wayfarin’ Stranger, will use the familiar spiritual to launch a collection of music exploring the themes of home and separation. The wide-ranging repertoire will include additional spirituals, Irish songs of home and travel, folksongs, contemporary art music on the themes of colonization and genocide, and portions of William Byrd’s “Mass for Four Voices,” composed for the Catholic liturgy during a period of English history when celebration of the Mass was illegal.

General admission is $10 for adults, with students admitted free-of-charge. Tickets are available at the door and a reception will follow.

Formed in 1993, to explore the myriad riches of the world’s acappella traditions, the Lyric Consort maintains an annual concert series in Scranton and has performed throughout the northeast United States as members of the former Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour program. The ensemble also offered many of its early performances at St. Stephen’s Pro-Cathedral and has been heard many times on the “Music from St. Stephen’s” program of WVIA-FM.

Members of the Consort include Dr. Alan Baker, artistic director/tenor; Lisa Cardoni, alto; Francis McMullen, bass; Christopher Gallo, bass; Mara O’Malley, soprano; Carol McMullen, alto; Dr. Steven Thomas, tenor; and Leslie Mason Moran, soprano.

This program is supported by state arts funding through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. This Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program is managed regionally by the Pocono Arts Council. The concert is also generously supported by a Lackawanna County Community Arts and Culture Grant, a program of Lackawanna County Commissioners Patrick M. O’Malley, Jerry Notarianni, and Laureen A. Cummings.

For more information on The Lyric Consort, visit the website at www.lyricconsort.com or call at (570) 343-6707.

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