VIRTUAL BRITSBURGH FESTIVAL - Concert: Oh, To Be in Britain: A Musical Reminiscence

Virtual Britsburgh Festival Live presents.... 

"Oh, to be in In Britain:  A Musical Reminiscence"

 A concert from and in association with Calvary Episcopal Church!

Jon Tyillian, one of Britsburgh's most popular musicians, joins friends and colleagues at Pittsburgh's Calvary Episcopal Church to present a musical journey through Britain interspersed by live poetry readings.  Settle into your armchair for this virtual concert to be whisked away to the waters of Loch Lomond, the Welsh village of Rhosymedre, England's green and pleasant lands, the pomp of London, and more!  For this presentation, Jon is assisted by Alan Lewis, Director of Music at Calvary Episcopal Church.

Musical Program*: 

• "Jerusalem" (Hubert Parry)

• "Elegy" (George Thalben-Ball)

• "Come Again, Sweet Love" (John Dowland)

• "Sarabande with Division" (Henry Purcell)

• "Evening Hymn" (Henry Purcell)

• "The Lord is My Light" (Frances Allitsen)

• "Loch Lomond" (Traditional)

• "The Sally Gardens (Benjamin Britten)

•  "Rhosymedre" (Ralph Vaughan Williams)

• "Master Tallis' Testament" (Herbert Howells)

• "Salut d'Amour" (Edward Elgar)

• "Rule Britannia" (Henry Wood)

• "Rose of England" (Ivor Novello)

• "Pomp and Circumstance" (Edward Elgar)

*Program subject to change according to circumstances. Please note that the music is being recorded in the run up to the festival in order to protect the performers and maintain social distancing. The Zoom event will feature the recorded music interspersed with live commentary and poetry reading.

JON TYILLIAN  is a graduate of Duquesne University, where he studied with Dr. Ann Labounsky, Dr. David Craighead, and Andrew Scanlon.  He has held positions as the Associate Director of Music at East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, as Assistant Organist at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, NJ, as Organist at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Perth Amboy, NJ, and as accompanist for the Forest Hills Choir of NYC.  Jon is currently the Assistant Organist at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh.

Jon has performed with many musical organizations including the Renaissance City Choirs (Pittsburgh), The Astoria Choir and Symphony Orchestra,  St. George’s Choral Society, The Baldwin Festival Chorus, The Choral Art Society of New Jersey, as harpsichordist with the Duquesne University Vocal Department in a performance of Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, and with many more through the region. Jon is an active solo recitalist, having playing in almost all major Pittsburgh churches as well as several NYC and New Jersey churches. He has also accompanied for several conductors of note, including Robert Page, Anton Armstrong, Andre Thomas, and R. Douglas Sheldon.

Members:  During the Britsburgh Festival only, all events are free. Please encourage your friends to events to enjoy fun society events and consider joining as members. To become a member, visit the Britsburgh membership page.

The event is free but donations to Britsburgh to cover festival costs are very welcome.  Thank you.

About Virtual Britsburgh

Starved of theatre, literature, cultural activities during the pandemic? Yes? Then this is for you. Britsburgh is taking its Festival into the virtual realm! In a series of live events during the Festival week of September 7-13, programs will be streamed daily online using the Zoom Video Conference App, You will experience aspects of theatre, readings, history, literature, interviews and more. Once you log on, your Virtual Host will make sure you can see and hear us, but we can’t hear or see you. The events are live and the experience is remarkable!

How to watch Virtual Britsburgh?

1. Register for the event - It's free!

2. Please donate what you can. We suggest $10 per person. The pandemic has necessitated that Britsburgh, like so many organizations, temporarily pause its in-person programming.  Your much appreciated contribution will help us cover our Festival costs, keep Britsburgh's programming strong when we return to live programs and the organization viable for the long-term.   Registered and forgot to donate? No worries click here. Thanks.

3. Please consider becoming a Britsburgh member, which will help us through the next year and entitle you to member discounts for our future events (live and virtual) and a select number of member-only events.

4. You will receive a registration confirmation with a link to the event and a password.

5. We suggest you join the event 10-15 minutes before the event start time. You will be placed into a waiting room where your event host will check you against your registration. If you have not registered you won't be allowed into the event.

6. The audience will be able to watch but your event host will make sure we can't see or hear you. If you wish to ask a question you can do so by using the chat function or in the Q&A section you can raise your hand and the host will unmute you.

7. Adjust your Zoom settings. To fully enjoy the performance you will need to adjust the settings on the Zoom app so you can only see the performers, and not the whole audience. Here are the instructions on how to do it. But don’t worry, we’ll make sure everyone is ready before starting the event! 

8. Important: Please make sure your Zoom name is your full name so that you can be ticked off the registration list. If the host cannot identify you, you will be ejected from the event.

This presentation is open to everyone.

Explore fascinating British-themed topics with the guidance of experts and enjoy the company and conversation of fellow enthusiasts as a member of the Britsburgh Society. Society members enjoy our Britsburgh Arts Society, the Britsburgh Beer Society, the Britsburgh History Society, the Britsburgh Literary Society, the new Britsburgh British Mystery Lovers Society, the Britsburgh Tea Society, and the new Britsburgh Travel Society. If you are not already a member, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a Britsburgh Society member. To become a member, visit the Britsburgh membership page.

THE BRITSBURGH TEAM