The Montgomery County Chorale & Orchestra will conclude its 25th anniversary season with a concert April 16 featuring the premiere of a new work by composer Dr. Rollo A. Dilworth, vice dean of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance.

The concert entitled “To Music” will include works for choir and orchestra at the performance scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Upper Dublin High School Performing Arts Center in Fort Washington. 

The composition by Dilworth, who has composed and arranged more than 150 published works, is the first commissioned piece underwritten by the Michael Kemp Fund for New Music. The fund was established in 2020 to honor Michael Kemp, the orchestra and chorale’s founding artistic director and conductor. The initiative aims to support the creation of music for choir and orchestra, particularly those by local composers, women and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color).  Kemp died in 2021.

Dilworth’s premier work includes three movements: “How Can I Keep from Singing,” “Song of the Spirit” with lyrics by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and “To Make Words Sing,” which is set to a poem by Langston Hughes.

Dilworth said in a press release that he was “excited and humbled” by the opportunity to compose a piece of music honoring Michael Kemp. The Temple professor added that his goal was to compose a work that “celebrates the joy of making music and captures the energy of Michael’s lifelong commitment to artistic excellence.”

The 150-member chorale and orchestra will also perform Handel’s “Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite,” “Beethoven’s “Hallelujah,” and other works that will prominently feature women composers. Northwest Philadelphia residents Stacey McBride, of Chestnut Hill, 

Charlotte Biddle, of Chestnut Hill, and Jim Kohler, of Mt.Airy, are members of the Chorale.

For tickets visit mccomusic.org. Advance reservations are recommended. For information, email mccomusicpa@gmail.com. The performing arts center is at 800 Loch Alsh Ave.