PULLMAN, Wash. – Vocal ensembles will be showcased at the annual Dad’s Weekend Vocal Extravaganza at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at Bryan Hall at Washington State University.
Tickets will be available 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 22-24 in the lobby of Kimbrough Music Building and at 6:30 p.m. the night of the performance in Bryan Hall. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for those age 60 and over and for students with ID, and free for children 12 and under.
Proceeds go to the student ensembles for performances and tours.
* The Madrigal/Chamber Singers will open with English madrigals by Michael East and Thomas Morley from a collection written for Queen Elizabeth I, “The Triumphs of Oriana,” published in 1601. The 25 madrigals by 23 composers concluded with the text, “Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana: Long live fair Oriana.”
The peaceful and comforting “Draw On, Sweet Night” by John Wilbye, a boisterous “My Bonny Lass She Smileth” by Morley and a French chanson by Adrian Willaert will follow.
The ensemble, conducted by Lori Wiest, includes undergraduate and graduate students in music and other majors as well as employees and community members. Dressed in costumes reminiscent of the Renaissance, they tour annually and have performed on TV’s “The Price is Right” game show and on Russian TV.
* The University Singers, a non-auditioned choir conducted by Dean Luethi, will present: “Rise Up My Love, My Fair One” by James McCray, a lively setting of the Song of Solomon text; Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of “Homeward Bound,” written for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with two pianists on one piano; and Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run,” first featured in the 1988 film “Working Girl.”
* Offering a program focused on uplifting spirituality, the WSU Concert Choir will perform “Cantate Domino” by late Renaissance composer Claudio Monteverdi, “Jesu, Dulcis Memoria” by 20th century French composer Pierre Villette, “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal” arranged by contemporary composer Alice Parker, and “Evening Prayer” by contemporary Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo featuring WSU School of Music faculty member David Hagelganz on tenor saxophone and graduate student Alberto Ferro on piano.
The Concert Choir, conducted by Wiest, is a 32-member mixed ensemble – about three-fourths music majors – that rehearses four days a week. The ensemble tours Washington each spring, conducting workshops and performances, and travels internationally every 4-5 years.
* Opera Workshop will perform portions of their program, “A Magical Evening of Opera,” which will be fully presented at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, in Bryan Hall.
In Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” a young man purchases a love potion from a traveling salesman. In “Bastien and Bastienne,” written by Mozart when he was 11, a magician advises a young shepherd and shepherdess how to win each other’s love. Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” involves two sets of lovers: The men enter into a bet in which they must woo and win each other’s girlfriend.
Opera Workshop is directed by Julie Anne Wieck and accompanied by Karen Savage on piano.
* VoJazz will present: “If I Were a Bell,” from the musical “Guys and Dolls,” in the premiere of an arrangement by director Luethi; Michele Weir’s arrangement of “At the End of the Day,” a bossa nova featuring soloist Tesea Dukart; and “Come Back To Me,” arranged by Kerry Marsh as a quick swing and featuring soloist Sarah Joy Cundiff and Tom Guenther on alto saxophone.
Contacts:
Dean Luethi, WSU School of Music, dean.luethi@wsu.edu, 509-335-7186
Sandra Albers, WSU School of Music, sandra_albers@wsu.edu, 509-335-4148