The Columbia Pro Cantare chorus will perform music by three renowned women composers, Saturday, March 21, 2015, 8 pm, at the Jim Rouse Theatre in Columbia. The featured work is the Grand Mass in E-Flat Major by Amy Beach, the first prominent American female composer. Beach's Mass reflects the late Romantic period, and exhibits depth, superb structure, narrative, melody and mastery of orchestral colors. The Mass will be performed by the full chorus, guest soloists and the Howard County Concert Orchestra conducted by Frances Dawson, CPC founder and artistic director. Also on the program is O Jerusalem by Abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1172). Hildegrad was a visionary, naturalist, playwright, and poet. Her songs are unusual for their melismatic character and melodic movement. Three selections from Gartenlieder by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel round out the program. Both O Jerusalem and Gartenlieder will feature the CPC Chamber Singers. A pre-concert talk by musicologist Barbara Renton, Ph.D., will add to the audience's enjoyment of the program.