5 minute read
Music
Richard Troxell moves Christmas up to July
BY CLARA NIEL
cniel@newspost.com
In the humid, sweltering heat of July, one church is trying to cool patrons off with a little holiday cheer.
Thurmont’s Apples United Church of Christ will host its fourth annual benefit concert at 7 p.m. July 30 with the theme of Christmas in July. Not only will the church choir be singing, but Thurmont native and opera singer Richard Troxell will perform as well.
Troxell has performed in notable roles in the U.S. and abroad. Most recently, he was in Taiwan playing his familiar role of Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly.
Madame Butterfly was the opera that made him famous, he said, and he has played the lead tenor role around the world. He even starred in the 1995 movie of the opera, playing Pinkerton.
But he’s also portrayed characters in other operas. In the roughly 30 years as a professional, Troxell said he’s played around 100 roles.
“For my career, I’ve been singing the leading tenor in ... Romeo and Juliet, La Traviata, La Boheme, every major Italian opera pretty much,” he said.
He’s also sung in about seven languages.
Troxell said he’s had a wonderful career. He always thought it was fun to think about the past generations of his family who were part of the farming community in Thurmont, and how he went off to sing around the world.
Troxell’s family has been part of Apples Church for at least 150 years, he said, and he always comes back to sing for the community.
“I love being able to come back and look out in the audience and see familiar faces and just give them you know, my ability to sing back to them,” he said.
Concert proceeds will go to the Thurmont Ministerium, an interfaith group of congregations and community organizations who coordinate the Thurmont Food Bank and the Catoctin Community Medical Fund and sponsor other programs that work toward responding to emergency human needs.
The church isn’t selling tickets for the event. Proceeds will be made up entirely of people’s donations at the concert.
The benefit concert always happens in the summer, since donations to the ministerium are low during that time, organizer Paula Mathis said. Mathis is also one of Troxell’s sisters, the other being another Apples Church member LuAnne Ewing. Mathis is also a member of the church choir.
The theme was inspired by the fact that their last Christmas program, which has happened every year for decades, was virtual, Mathis said. Choir members were individually recorded. This concert hopes to make up for that.
The choir will sing about eight pieces, including “Walking in the Air.” Troxell will sing four solo pieces, including the tenor aria from the opera “La Boheme” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”
The audience will also be getting a rare treat when Mathis, Troxell and Ewing sing a piece together. The last time they all sang together was when they were younger and sang in the Apples Church choir. The sibling trio will sing “Sisters” from White Christmas, with Troxell singing tenor, Mathis singing alto and Ewing singing soprano.
Mathis and Troxell used to sing together, at the behest of their mother, Mathis said. A common piece
Courtesy photo
Richard Troxell
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What: Christmas in July concert When: July 30 at 7 p.m. Where: Apples Church 7908 Apples Church Road Thurmont Tickets: Free Info: Proceeds will go to the Thurmont Ministerium
was “The Doctor Is In” from Charlie Brown.
“We used to do that all the time,” she said. “And when people would come to our house, our mother would have us perform this to anybody who stepped in the door, poor souls,” Mathis said.
Ewing said her siblings pressured her into joining in at the concert, but she is still looking forward to it, given how long it’s been since she sang with them.
While Mathis said there is some nerves in having to sing with Troxell, given his career, Ewing said it’s simply an honor. She’s proud of his career, but Troxell has always been just her brother in her eyes.
“I never felt that he was better than us,” she said. “When we sing together, we just all sing together and enjoy each other.”
WMGSO brings video game symphony music to the Weinberg Center
Tom Flanders photos
The sax quartet
Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra presents “Chambers & Consoles” at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick at 7 p.m. July 30. An annual summer favorite, “Chambers & Consoles” will feature popular video game music arranged and performed by WMGSO chamber groups, jazz ensemble and summer choir.
WMGSO is a 120-musician strong community orchestra and choir whose mission is to share and celebrate video game music with a wide audience, primarily by putting on affordable, accessible concerts in the Washington, D.C., area. Game music weaves a complex melodic thread through the traditions, shared memories, values and mythos of an entire international and intergenerational culture. WMGSO showcases this music that largely escapes recognition in professional circles. The result: classical music with a 21st-century twist, drawing non-gamers to the artistic merits of video game soundtracks and attracting new audiences to orchestral concert halls.
“After years of hearing from the community, ‘When is WMGSO coming to Frederick?’ I finally get to reply, ‘We’re playing 10 minutes away from your house!’,” said Amanda Cavanagh, WMGSO ensemble manager and Frederick resident. “This is the first time we’ve come up this way to perform and I’m excited to share with my friends and family this amazing ensemble!”
Tickets are $20 and available at weinbergcenter.org, by calling the box office at 301-600-2828, or in person at 20 W. Patrick St., Frederick.
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