PULLMAN – The annual Vocal Extravaganza concert will be hosted by WSU’s School of Music during Dad’s Weekend at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, in Bryan Hall Theatre.
The concert is a showcase of the five choral/vocal ensembles on campus including madrigal/chamber singers, VoJazz, university singers, concert choir and opera workshop.
Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens and students with identification, and free for children under 12. Advance purchase of tickets will be available 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 13, 14 and 15 in Kimbrough Hall lobby. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. on the evening of the event.
The concert will begin with university singers, WSU’s non-auditioned mixed choral ensemble. This large chorus will present works by Eugene Butler, Giulio Caccini and Andre Thomas.
In addition, the university singers will perform three songs from Brazilian composer Marcos Leite. University singers is conducted by Dean Luethi, newly appointed assistant professor of music in the College of Liberal Arts, where he directs the university singers and VoJazz.
Concert choir, conducted by Lori Wiest, will present a varied program based on the ideas of hope and faith. Included will be the ballad from West Side Story, “Somewhere,” an arrangement of the spiritual “By and By,” by Carol Barnett, “Exultate Deo,” by Palestrina, and “The Silver Swan,” composed by Bothell, Wash., resident David Reznick.
The ensemble’s rehearsal accompanist is Kana Ishii, music graduate student in piano. Together with the madrigal/chamber singers ensemble, concert choir is preparing for a musical performance tour of South Korea. Past international performances include Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Russia.
The students of opera workshop will perform excerpts from their full production of “Magnificient Mozart,” directed by Julie Anne Wieck. Representative scenes will be sung from Mozart’s well-known operas, “The Magic Flute,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” and “Cosi Fan Tutte.” All scenes will be performed in English, accompanied by Karen Savage. A complete version of “Magnificent Mozart” will be presented at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 in Bryan Hall Theatre.
Madrigal/chamber singers, under the direction of Wiest, will perform selections based on poetry from the Renaissance period set by 16th-century English composer John Dowland and contemporary composers American William Hawley and Swede Nils Lindberg. Featured poets include Torquato Tasso and William Shakespeare.
The 20 members of madrigal/chamber singers include students who are music and non-music majors in undergraduate, master and doctoral programs across campus.
Concluding the concert will be the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble, VoJazz, directed by Luethi.
VoJazz has received first place honors at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival and performs throughout the Northwest. The group will perform selections by Arthur Hamilton and Carol Welsman and will feature Jeremy Fox’s arrangement of Van Morrison’s “Moondance.”