Lititz Moravian Collegium Musicum

Lancaster County’s newest, yet oldest, chamber orchestra – the Lititz Moravian Collegium Musicum – returns for another time-traveling musical expedition on Sunday, October 9 at 7 p.m. To take full advantage of the “air scrubber” and opportunity for social distancing, the concert will again be held in the church sanctuary. This ensemble of select professional instrumentalists from central Pennsylvania and beyond will continue its mission to provide a rare glimpse into a distinctive facet of musical life and culture in early Lititz. As in the February concert, the Collegium will be joined by Millersville University’s Chorale, the school’s most select choral ensemble, this time in a complete performance of Johann Gottlieb Naumann’s Der 96 Psalm.

The concert will include rarely heard works newly edited by Dr. Jeffrey Gemmell, assisted by John and MaryLee Yerger, selected from the Lititz Collegium Musicum Collection to represent a wide variety of genres and styles. The ensemble has been expanded to include timpani, with a presentation of larger orchestral works Felice Giardini, Johann Vanhal, and Paul Wranitsky. Chamber works by Benoit Berbiguier, Johann Grenser, and Carl Stamitz will lend variety to concert. Much of this repertoire has been sitting on shelves collecting dust for over a century. We are thrilled to provide modern day premieres of these works in a unique event not to be missed! Audience participation is energized through hymn singing, and a Museum and Archives Moment will share items from the congregation collection. This is truly “history you can hear!”

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 per student (cash, please) to be sold at the door beginning at 6 p.m. on the evening of the concert. The Lititz Moravian Mission Gift Shop will be open before and after the event, and the Archives and Museum will welcome visitors after the concert. Donations/memorial contributions for the concert are needed for this project to launch and should be sent to the Lititz Moravian Church Office (checks may be made payable to “LMCM and identified as such on the front of the envelope).