Glendale College’s Concert Singers Bring Light and Reverence to San Marino

The Glendale Community College Concert Singers close their season Sunday, June 14 with an afternoon of luminous choral writing at San Marino Community Church. The 4 p.m. concert pairs two works that reach for the transcendent from opposite ends of the repertoire: Elaine Hagenberg’s “Illuminare,” a contemporary choral suite that has become a favorite of choirs around the world, and Joseph Haydn’s “Te Deum,” a compact and jubilant setting of the ancient hymn of praise.

For the program, the singers will be joined by the GCC Symphony of the Verdugos, lending orchestral weight to music that moves between hushed introspection and full-throated celebration. The Concert Singers are the advanced choral ensemble at Glendale College, an auditioned group that blends students with community members and performs two major concerts each year, one in winter and one in summer.

Leading the ensemble is Peter Green, the longtime director of the Concert Singers and chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Division at Glendale College. A pianist and conductor who earned his doctorate at the University of Southern California, Green has guided the group through repertoire ranging from large-scale requiems to the work of living composers, and the choir has performed at venues well beyond the San Gabriel Valley.

San Marino Community Church, with its resonant sanctuary, has hosted the ensemble’s seasonal concerts before, offering an intimate setting for music built on close harmony and dynamic contrast.

The Glendale Community College Concert Singers will perform on Sunday, June 14 at 4 p.m. at San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino. Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for students and seniors. For more information and tickets, email Peter Green at pgreen@glendale.edu.