RICCO’s Spring Concert Brings Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms to Providence
3pm Sunday, May 31 at Temple Beth-El
Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms will anchor the Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra’s (RICCO) spring concert on Sunday, May 31 at 3:00 p.m. at Temple Beth-El in Providence, in a program exploring Jewish musical traditions across centuries.
The concert weaves Renaissance, contemporary, and instrumental works into a single narrative experience - one that Music Director Joshua Rohde describes as both a departure and a natural extension of RICCO’s mission. “We’re taking elements of a traditional Jewish worship service and presenting them in a way that feels universal,” Rohde said. “Regardless of whether you’re familiar with the texts or not, there’s a message here that anyone can connect to.”
The program opens with music by Renaissance composer Solomon Rossi, whose rarely performed settings of Hebrew texts offer audiences a chance to hear familiar choral textures in an unexpected language. It continues with contemporary works, including Alex Berko’s Sacred Place, which draws on the structure of a worship service while reimagining it through poetry and reflection.
“What made this program click,” Rohde said, “was realizing that Berko’s piece could serve as a kind of scaffolding - these moments of reflection, mourning, and connection that we can all relate to.”
Instrumental works, including Ernest Bloch’s Kol Nidrei for solo cello, further expand the program’s emotional range, leading into Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, a work that blends Hebrew text with a musical language that often feels closer to Broadway than the concert hall. “There’s an accessibility to Bernstein,” Rohde said. “You can hear echoes of West Side Story - that rhythmic energy, that lyricism - which gives audiences a way in.”
Composed in the 1960s, Chichester Psalms reflects Bernstein’s response to a turbulent era, setting texts that speak to a shared humanity. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity,” Rohde noted. “That idea feels just as relevant today.”
For longtime RICCO audiences, the concert offers familiar hallmarks - high-quality performance and a curated experience - while introducing music many may not have heard before. “There will be a lot that feels familiar,” Rohde said. “But I think the surprises will be the pieces people discover along the way.”
For those new to RICCO, the invitation is simple: “It’s going to be a really powerful, really beautiful afternoon - and we’re only doing it once.” Tickets are available at www.ricco.org and at the door.
Press Contact:
Mark Berger
(401) 365-2202
markb@bergseyeprri.com