Smith hosts American premiere of British composer’s work

Ralph Vaughan Williams's "A Cambridge Mass" will be performed this weekend at Smith.

The American premiere of a long-lost work by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams will be presented by the Hampshire Choral Society at Smith on Sunday, January 22.

The Hampshire Choral Society  is the first in the U.S. to present Ralph Vaughan Williams’s A Cambridge Mass. The choir’s conductor, Allan Taylor MA ’94, will conduct music for strings by the British composers Elgar, Britten, and Holst to open the program, and will perform as organist for A Cambridge Mass. Talyor will be joined by freelance conductor Alan Tongue.  Several Smith music faculty and alumnae among the performers.

The concert will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday in John M. Greene Hall.  Tickets are on sale in advance at State Street Fruit and Broadside Books in Northampton,  Cooper’s Corner in Florence, and A.J. Hastings in Amherst.  Tickets will also be available at the door.  Prices are $30 for preferred seating (available through January 20), $20 for general admission, and $15 for students/seniors.