Members of Glenville State College’s Concert Choir were joined by the Lewis County High School and Buckhannon-Upshur High School Choirs on April 23 during the performance of “Come Away to the Skies: A High, Lonesome Mass” by Wes Ramsay and Tim Sharp.

This collaborative concert saw all three groups come together for a performance at GSC’s Fine Arts Center Auditorium. The high school choirs are led by GSC alumni Seth Stemple and Jeremiah Smallridge.

Dr. Tim Sharp, one of the composers of the work, was on hand to conducting the choirs; he also played banjo during the concert. Sharp is the Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, the largest choral organization in the world, and is a graduate of East Fairmont High School. 

The work combined a traditional mass with Southern American hymn tunes and spirituals which were accompanied by the “high lonesome” sound associated with bluegrass music.