Bona Vox choral group to perform in Vicksburg

Bona Vox, a choral group made up of young professionals from Louisiana, will perform in Vicksburg this week.

The group will take the stage Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to perform “Sacred and Sublime” at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. It will also perform Friday at 6:30 p.m., presenting “The Best of Bona Vox” at Crawford Street United Methodist Church. The group will also give daytime performances at Heritage House Nursing Home and Vicksburg Convalescent Nursing Home.

The theme for the summer tour of Bona Vox is “Journey from the earth to the heavens.”

Bona Vox was formed in June, 2022 by the musicians out of a desire to promote professional singing. Their mission is to provide access to high-quality music performances for the enrichment of others. They achieve this through the presentation of free concerts and performances at assisted living facilities and nursing homes. The group is also available for private hire.

The members of Bona Vox include highly trained musicians with degrees from various universities, including LSU, Louisiana Tech, McNeese and University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

MaryKate Core, Vicksburg resident and member of the ensemble, said the group was formed out of a love for music and a desire to share it with the public.

“Our mission is accessibility to high quality music,” she said. “All of our self-produced concerts are free to attend.”

Core, who is the head of music ministry at Crawford Street UMC, also serves as the Bona Vox’s treasurer and project manager. There are 12 members on the official roster for the group.

Core said the music performed at Holy Trinity will include, “sacred music,” including ” spanning “everything from renaissance to the 21st century music.”

The program at Crawford Street UMC will cover the group’s favorites to perform. Core describes it as a mixture of folk songs and hymns, a few pop songs.

“(It is) a journey narrative built for the summer,” Core said. “The first set will focus on the joys of earthly life and the second set, the sorrows of earthly life. The third set addresses what we are going to do about it, such as forgiveness, and finding a path forward. The last set focuses on where we’re intending to go. It’s about divine joy.”

Both concerts are free to attend. For more information about Bona Vox, visit bonavoxswla.org.