MUSIC

From our Youth-led service on Oct 31, 2021. Performed by the Beacon Youth Group and advisors. Words by Paul Gaugin, music by Brian Tate. Instrumental arrangement by John O'Neill and video by Misa Iwama, Director of Music Ministry.

Beacon’s Music Ministry

Our music program is guided by our Director of Music Ministry, Misa Iwama (misa@summitbeacon.org).

From our adult choir to individual musical performances, our program is eclectic and excellent. Reach out to Misa to connect to the program and discover the community of musicians and vocalists here at Beacon.

Afternoon Music

Beacon also has a wonderful program called Afternoon Music. In the tradition of bringing music lovers to Beacon and its acoustically vibrant Sanctuary, Afternoon Music is an independent non-profit concert series that presents classical music recitals and jazz concerts by a well-known instrumentalist or singer.

Afternoon Music Presents Baritone Christòpheren Nomura on March 23

Internationally celebrated opera and Broadway baritone Christòpheren Nomura will present a program of art songs by composers from Franz Schubert to Aaron Copland at the final Afternoon Music concert of the year.

The concert begins at 3 p.m., Sunday, March 23, in Beacon's sanctuary. The audience is invited to meet the artists at a reception following the concert.

Christòpheren Nomura has earned a prominent place on the opera, musical theatre, concert and recital stages, singing with many of the leading North American orchestras. In the realm of opera, he is known for his portrayals of such Mozart roles as Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva and Guglielmo. In 2015, he made his Broadway debut playing the role of Tatsuo Kimura in Allegiance, a musical about the Japanese American internment during World War II.

Collaborating with Nomura will be acclaimed pianist Kayo Iwama, associate director of the Graduate Vocal Art Program at Bard Conservatory and on the Juilliard faculty. She is the sister of Misa Iwama, Afternoon Music's Artistic Director and Beacon's Director of Music Ministries.

Also performing will be the prize-winning MSM String Quartet from the Manhattan School of Music, who will join Nomura to perform Samuel Barber's hauntingly beautiful Dover Beach. Members are violinists Cedar Newman and Sohyun Ko, violist Ella Bukszpan and cellist Wendy Shieh.

Tickets are $30 online and $35 at the door. A limited number of free student tickets are available. To buy tickets online, go to www.afternoonmusic.org or use the QR code in the graphic.

Afternoon Music concerts are made possible by funds from the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey Council on the Arts. The series is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, a supporting organization of Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, New Jersey.