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Pioneer Valley CappellaChoral Concert: “Pathfinding”
Friday November 20, 7:30 pm, Wesley Methodist Church, Hadley
Saturday, November 21, 7:30 pm, Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence
Free will donation at the door
Pioneer Valley Cappella proudly presents its fall 2026 program “Pathfinding” in performances in Hadley and Northampton on November 20 and 21.
Pioneer Valley Cappella, an auditioned chamber chorus based in Northampton, has been performing locally for more than 40 years. This is their inaugural season with new Music Director Scott Halligan.
“This season’s program, titled ‘Pathfinding,’ is a meditation on the paths we follow, the paths we regret, the paths we are called by, the paths that consume us, the paths we abandon, and the paths we discover on life’s journey,” said Halligan.
The program includes Three Elizabethan Part Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, with texts by George Herbert and William Shakespeare. “These pieces kindly usher us along a path of pastoral beauty, and an awareness of the transience of life,” said Halligan.
The program also includes a notable North American premier: “Crude,” by the English composer Bernard Hughes, featuring text by the poet Andrew George. It was first performed in 2020 by the BBC Singers as part of a three movement work titled Precious Things. Halligan met Hughes at the American Choral Conductors Association Eastern Division conference last spring. “In our program about pathfinding, ‘Crude’ reflects our modern material obsessions and preoccupations,” he said.
Sacred music by the Irish-born composer Charles Villiers Stanford also appears on the program. “Justorum Animae” sets a sacred text from The Book of Wisdom. “This piece,” said Halligan, “is about putting one’s trust in the guidance of a higher power.”
Concerning the program’s largest work, “Fern Hill,” with poetry by Dylan Thomas and music by American composer John Corigliano, Halligan said, “This iconic modern classic invites us on a path of bittersweet nostalgia for lost youthful innocence.”
The program closes with “Untraveled Worlds” by Paul Halley, which sets text from “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. “Halley’s piece,” said Halligan, “drives us forward and urges us to continue seeking, exploring, pathfinding.”
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Event venue
Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, 220 Main St,Northampton,MA,United States
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