New Classic Singers give concert at McAninch Center in Glen Ellyn

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New Classic Singers

Updated: November 24, 2011 2:59AM

The New Classic Singers traditionally take a casual approach to the last performance of their concert season, and this year is no exception. “The theme of this concert is boys and girls,” said Jean Follett, an alto from Hinsdale who has been part of the group for several years.

The program will celebrate in song the ways men and women behave and interact privately, and on the world stage.

The 40-member chorus, resident choral ensemble at the College of DuPage, will perform American ballads, songs from Broadway and several pieces by P.D.Q. Bach. “He writes these absolutely hilarious pieces that are really close to being Bach, but not really,” Follett said.

Surprising pieces

Al Pedersen of Western Springs has been part of the New Classic Singers since 1999. Pedersen said he loves the variety of music he’s
able to perform with the chorus. Other groups, he said, tend to sing the same pieces over and over again. “Lee is always finding new things,” Pedersen said. “You never quite know what you’re going to get.”

Lee is Lee Kesselman, the ensemble’s artistic director who’s also a pianist, teacher and award-winning composer.

In this spring show, the audience will hear some familiar songs, including tunes by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, and other representatives of
the Great American Songbook.

This repertoire for the final concert is atypical of the rest of the year. The
last concerts often feature modern pieces written in classical style. The group has been recognized for its imaginative programs.

In fact, Lee Kesselman, is known for tackling big, new pieces of choral music, and his singers seem fine with such challenges. They keep coming back for more.

“That part of it, I love,” Follett said.