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Festival Singers of Florida brings together annually auditioned musicians from across the state under the direction of our Artistic Director, Dr. Kevin Fenton, Professor of Music Education and Director of Undergraduate Choral Studies at the Florida State University College of Music.Many of our members are music educators, conductors, and church musicians who spend much of their lives creating opportunities for other people to sing. Others have built careers outside of music and found in FSOF a way to keep the art form they love woven into their adult lives.
Whatever path brought us here, this ensemble gives us a place to step back into the choir, reconnect with fellow musicians, continue growing as artists, and make meaningful music together. That makes "Love’s Lantern" an especially fitting way to begin our 2026–2027 season.
This program asks what we reach for when the way forward is difficult to see. It begins by sitting honestly with loss, uncertainty, injustice, and the parts of our shared human experience that do not come with simple answers. Ancient texts, spirituals, and contemporary choral works give voice to grief and longing while calling us toward mercy, compassion, and care for one another.
At the center of the concert is Tom Trenney’s eight-movement Love’s Lantern. Drawing on scripture, hymn texts, and poetry by Joyce Kilmer, the work begins with an honest cry of “How long?” and gradually finds its way toward healing, courage, love, and light. Its final promise, “I will make a way,” does not erase what came before it. Instead, it allows hope to grow from within it.
The music surrounding Love’s Lantern carries that journey even further. The final part of the program begins in a world disrupted by war and slowly starts moving again. Reassurance, rhythm, folk traditions, dance, and praise return us to one another and remind us of the joy that can still be found in making music together.
Together, these works begin a season-long journey we are calling “Toward Joy and Light.” That journey is not about overlooking grief or reaching for easy optimism. It is about making room for what is difficult while continuing to look for the love, beauty, and possibility that can still be created and shared.
For the Festival Singers of Florida, that brings us back to the reason we gather, the stories we carry into the room, and why we keep singing in the first place.
Whether you sing every day, have not sung since school, or simply want to spend an evening surrounded by meaningful live music, we would love to have you with us.
Saturday, September 19, 2026
7:00 p.m.
Expected concert length: approximately 90 minutes
First Presbyterian Church of Lakeland
175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive
Lakeland, Florida 33801
Artistic Director and Conductor
Dr. Kevin Fenton
Concert information:
https://www.fsof.org/season/2026-09-19-lakeland/
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Event venue
First Presbyterian Church of Lakeland, Florida, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Dr, Lakeland, FL 33801-5673, United States
Tickets
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