Old State Capitol to host Chicago Bar Association's chorus and orchestra

Concert will feature Lincoln-era songs and spirituals

[February 04, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- The sounds of Lincoln-era music will fill the Old State Capitol on Feb. 16 as the Chicago Bar Association Chorus and Symphony Orchestra present "Lincoln and His America: A Musical Celebration."

The 7 p.m. concert will include American folk songs and spirituals in arrangements by some of America's finest composers and will feature musical works and narrative readings about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era.

The chorus and orchestra are comprised mainly of attorneys, judges and members of Chicago's legal community. Rebecca Patterson conducts the chorus, while Michael Poulos leads the orchestra.

Now in its seventh season, the chorus has collaborated with the orchestra on numerous classical masterpieces. In 2009, the chorus and orchestra performed at Navy Pier in Chicago at the CBA's Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration. Later that year, the chorus presented "Lincoln and Liberty," a concert featuring popular music of the era.

Sponsors of the concert include FIRM Inc. and Zack Stamp Ltd.

The suggested donation for concertgoers is $10 per person and $15 per family.

In addition to the evening concert, professional actor and chorus member Kevin Bry will present a lecture-performance, "A Confluence of Muses: Abraham Lincoln's Life as Shakespearean Drama," at 2:30 p.m. at the Old State Capitol. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.

The Old State Capitol, administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, was Illinois' fifth capitol building and the first in Springfield. It was the site of many important moments in Abraham Lincoln's life.

[Text from file received from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]