On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought together over 650 choristers from 28 participating organizations to perform one of the Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture” at Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ – the world’s largest pipe organ – the OCP Chorus and throngs of singers from the community infiltrated the store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” at 12 noon, to the delight of surprised shoppers.

This event is one of 1,000 “Random Acts of Culture” to be funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation over the next three years.  The initiative transports the classical arts out of the concert halls and opera houses and into our communities to enrich our everyday lives.

A Random Act of Culture in music..

Learn more about Random Acts of Culture and view more events at:  http://www.randomactsofculture.org.

The Opera Company thanks Macy’s and the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ (http://www.wanamakerorgan.com) for their partnership, as well as Organ Music Director Peter Conte and Fred Haas, accompanists; OCP Chorus Master Elizabeth Braden, conductor; and Sound Engineer James R. Stemke.

You can get a complete list of participating choirs and more information here: http://www.operaphila.org/RAC.

This event was planned to coincide with the first day of National Opera Week.

For my jazz class friends and jazz performance buds, here is another Random Act of Culture doing:  “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills.  This is a nice combination of Trombone and Sax working the melody between each other.

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