Dare to Hope

Consonare Community & Youth Choirs

with Willimantic Orchestra

Dare to Hope is a concert experience featuring music for chorus and orchestra, performed by Consonare Community Choir, Consonare Youth Choirs, and the Willimantic Orchestra (performer info in "What to Expect" below)

This concert will present "Song of Hope" by Florence B. Price", "Toward the Unknown Region" by Ralph Vaughn Williams, the premiere of "Sunflower Instructions" by Michelle Horsley, and more. Cultivate some hope this spring!

Sunday, May 31, 2026 | 3:00PM

Fine Arts Instructional Complex - ECSU

Suggested donation $15 | students free

(no one turned away for lack of funds -- ticket reservation recommended due to past performances)

RESERVE YOUR SEAT HERE

WHAT TO EXPECT

attending this concert

What is this concert about?

Dare to Hope is a collaborative concert experience to encourage us all to cultivate hope this spring.

This concert will feature music for chorus and orchestra, performed by Consonare Community Choir, Consonare Youth Choirs, and the Willimantic Orchestra, that considers ways to explore the concept of hope and dare us all to cultivate hope even in times when we are venturing into the unknown.

This bi-annual collaboration between Consonare and the Willimantic Orchestra has been an incredible way for our musicians to bring choral-orchestral music to our community that we cannot perform without each other.

This concert has been made possible by an Alfred Nash Patterson Grant through Choral Arts New England.

DIGITAL PROGRAM

click program for a pdf

TEXT & PROGRAM NOTES

~click an arrow to navigate through each song~

[performer bios below]

Suffolk Suite

Composed by Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003)

Program Notes:

This suite was composed in 1964 by Doreen Carwithen (a.k.a., Mary Alwyn) at the request of the music master at Framlingham College, Suffolk, for the boys to perform when royalty came to open their new concert hall. Doreen Carwithen was a British composer of classical and film music during post-World War II films.

PERFORMER BIOS

~click an arrow to navigate through one~

Scott Chaurette

Music Director

Willimantic Orchestra

Scott Chaurette is a conductor, bassist, and music educator who thrives at the crossroads of creativity and community. Based in Connecticut, Scott leads the Willimantic Orchestra and shapes young musicians as part of the music faculty at EO Smith High School in Storrs, where he previously served as Orchestra Director and Head of the Fine Arts Department. Before that, he spent over a decade at the helm of the Seven Hills Symphony Orchestra, building a reputation for thoughtful programming and a down-to earth approach that brings audiences closer to the music. Whether conducting Beethoven, teaching high schoolers, or holding down the low end in a musical theater pit, Scott brings passion, precision, and a deep love of collaboration to every note.

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Dare to Hope

WHAT TO EXPECT

DIGITAL PROGRAM

TEXT & PROGRAM NOTES

PERFORMER BIOS

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