Brigham Young University welcomes BYU-Idaho's Symphony Orchestra and combined choirs as they present David Zabriskie's newly commissioned oratorio, "The Testament of Paul: His Witness of Christ to the World," Thursday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets are $9 with $3 off with a BYU or student ID. For tickets, call the Fine Arts Ticket Office at (801) 378-4322 or visit performances.byu.edu.
"The creation of this work has been an incredible journey," said Zabriskie, who was commissioned in 2003 by BYU-Idaho to compose this scripture-based musical oratorio. "The message of the work is really stated in the scripture 'every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.'"
Zabriskie has worked on several compositions. His most recent work was "Light of the World," a musical presentation for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games.
The 72-member Symphony Orchestra combined with more than 200 voices from the Collegiate Singers and the Men's and Women's Choirs will present this musical performance.
R. Kevin Call, violist and coordinator of orchestras at BYU-Idaho, will conduct the orchestra and choirs. Call also serves as associate dean of Performing and Visual Arts at BYU-Idaho.
In 1989, BYU-Idaho began commissioning LDS composers biennially to create religious oratorios based on scripture. The sacred music series has since contributed significantly to the body of sacred music works.
The BYU-Idaho musical ensemble will also perform the oratorio in Logan and Salt Lake City as part of a three-day tour. For tickets, schedule and tour information, visit www.byui.edu/sacredmusic.
For more information contact Don Sparhawk at (208) 496-1150 or David Zabriskie at (801) 870-2240.
Writer: Rebekah Hanson