The Brigham Young University School of Music presents the Concert Choir performing Saturday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets at $9 and $3 off with a BYU or student ID are available through the Fine Arts Ticket Office, (801) 378-4322 or at www.byu.edu/hfac.
The program, conducted by Rosalind Hall, will feature "Alelouya" by Emile Desamours and five Hebrew love songs, arranged by Eric Whitacre.
"There is an enormous amount of variety in the program," Hall said. "The Alélouya is a Haitian rara—a celebratory piece with lots of percussion—and is a rousing beginning. The concert ends with a series of lively, rhythmic spirituals, providing a joyful capstone to the program."
The concert will also feature two contemporary pieces with Latin texts by composers from BYU. "Paean" is by the late Merrill Bradshaw, who was a professor of composition in the Music Department, and "Our God" was written by Dwight Bigler, a former choral conducting master's degree student.
Also included in the program are folk songs and two of a series of five Latin motets.
Hall also commented on the Hebrew love songs and Whitacre, who has become a well-known composer at BYU because the University Singers have performed much of his work.
"Eric Whitacre's works have taken the choral world by storm," Hall said. "His music is very accessible and original. And the love songs are particularly interesting because his wife wrote the poetry when they were only dating. They capture the young composer's fascination with a new love."
The 96-member Concert Choir is one of four auditioned choirs at BYU. Students rehearse every day and have been preparing for this concert all semester.
"They are highly talented young people," Hall said. "What we aim for is a highly polished and spiritually communicative performance of these great works."
For more information about the Concert Choir, contact Rosalind Hall at (801) 422-2272.
Writer: Rachel M. Sego
