Every Friday, we highlight three great shows from local performing artists that you can see this coming weekend.

 

Capital Transit Jazz Ensemble
Friday, May 30th at 6PM at 140 West Franklin Plaza

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As you might pick up from their name, Capital Transit is something of a tribute band; they were inspired by the more than 40-year-old vocal jazz group Manhattan Transfer. But the pupil has something on the master: whereas Manhattan Transfer only sing (occasionally accompanied by a pianist), this Triangle-based group does it all. They play a wide range of instruments themselves, on top of singing jazz standards in beautiful close harmony.

That musical resourcefulness makes Capital Transit just about the perfect band for the plaza at 140 West Franklin Street, which has been hosting open-air concerts every Friday night this spring. Picture the showers clearing, and a cool night turned magical by the intertwining of sweet voices. With a full catalog of jazz classics, this group will have you dancing well into the evening.

 

Voices Chorus: “The Genius Of Mozart”
Saturday, May 31st at 8PM at Memorial Hall

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Voices only performs as a full chorus twice a year, but when they do, they blow the doors off. This Saturday night, they’ll assemble 130 singers, a full orchestra, and four soloists in glorious Memorial Hall. Their material is all (not mostly) Mozart, showcasing the prodigy-turned-master’s exquisite choral writing. And it’s a program drawn from across his shortened but still astoundingly prolific career, beginning with one work each from his teens and twenties. Then they’ll devote the entire second half of the program to Mozart’s last (and perhaps greatest) work, the Requiem left unfinished at the time of his death at age 35.

It all adds up to an evening of stirring classical music. Best of all, it’s music made by an all-volunteer chorus of friends and neighbors, singing their hearts out for the beauty of the material only. They’ll offer this concert to the community as a celebration of Mozart’s musical genius and Chapel Hill’s artistic life.

 

Magnolia Klezmer Band
Sunday, June 1st at 6PM at Southern Village

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Klezmer came from a specific time and place and people: it’s the music of 19th-century Eastern European Jews. But this raucous, laughing/crying style has found new life in America, and the local Magnolia Klezmer Band is a prime example of how it belongs to everyone now. The group has members of wildly different ages and ethnic and religious backgrounds, all brought together by a mutual love for this unusual kind of music. With roots in cantorial, gypsy, middle eastern and Greek music, klezmer is a kind of stew of influences. So what better band to perform it than one with diverse origins, coming together to make a joyous unit?

This local favorite will headline Sunday night’s concert on the green at Southern Village, the latest in a summer-long series. Just know that this isn’t music to be listened to – it’s music to be sung and danced along to. The outdoor setting should make that even easier, and in no time you’ll be throwing caution to the wind and joining in.

 

For more on these and other great activities, visit our full event calendar, or click here to sign up for our newsletter and get “Ten Things To Do In Chapelboro This Weekend” delivered every Thursday to your email inbox.