Did you hear the Broadway music at Grace Church?

Now, more than ever, community concerts have a special appeal, according to Rip Jackson, the longtime minister of music at Rutland’s Grace Church on Court Street.

In hard times, spending $40 to see professional and volunteer musicians performing famous Broadway hits may not be an option for some Vermonters.

That’s where the Grace Church Festival Choir comes in, offering their latest concert for the price of donation — some “freewill” to support church programs, Jackson said.

Music from famous Broadway plays and movies — from “Jesus Christ Superstar” to “Evita” to “Phantom of the Opera” — will be performed by local soloists and a children’s choir, including some out-of-town professionals.

A music teacher from Rutland is performing alongside musicians who recently moved to the area from New York and a Boston University student is coming home to Rutland just to perform in the concert.

“He (Webber) is the quintessential modern Broadway composer,” said Jackson, the church’s full-time musical director for the past nine years. “I like his shows and I think it will have broad appeal.”

Part of the appeal may lie in the generosity associated with the upcoming concert — in light of hard economic times, all the band members have agreed to work gratis.

“All the professionals in the band usually get paid, but with it being really tough right now on arts organizations, all have agreed to do it for free,” Jackson said.

“For many people, this probably will be uplifting,” Jackson said.

cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com