An opportunity to hear all four auditioned Brigham Young University choirs — the BYU Singers, the Concert Choir, the Men's Chorus and the Women's Chorus — will be available at the Combined Choirs Concert Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
Tickets cost between $6 and $9 at byuarts.com/tickets or at (801) 422-4322. The choirs will perform under the direction of guest conductor Philip Copeland, director of choral activities at Samford University.
Choral selections include the BYU Singers performing “Chantez a Dieu” by Jan Pieters Sweelink, Rest” by Timothy Jon Tharaldson, “Tebye Poyem” by Konstantin Shvedov and "Wenn wir höchsten Nöten sein," Op. 110, No. 3, by Johannes Brahms. The Concert Choir will also sing “In Paradisum” by Matthew Nielsen, “Little Elegy” by Stephen Paulus, the traditional spiritual “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” and “Song to the Moon” by Antonin Dvořák, among others.
The Women’s Chorus will perform Psalm 96 arranged by Jared Oaks, “Angele Dei” by Lindsay Oldroyd Goodson, “Highland Cathedral,” a Scottish folksong and “Laudate Pueri” by Felix Mendelssohn. The Men’s Chorus will follow with the traditional hymn “How Firm a Foundation” arranged by Emma Lou Diemer and the Chinese folksong “Fengyang Song.”
A finale piece, sung by the combined BYU choirs and directed by Philip Copeland, will be “Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go” by Joseph Martin.
Copeland is an associate professor of music at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., where he directs the internationally acclaimed A Cappella Choir and serves as director of choral activities.
Choirs under his direction have distinguished themselves on the national and international stage. Over the last 10 years, his choirs have been featured performers in two regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association as well as the second national conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in 2008.
He has led choirs from two other universities to international awards at the Fleischman International Choral Competition in Ireland, the Florlilege Vocal de Tours in France and was a gold-medal and category winner at the first-ever World Choral Olympics in Austria.
Copeland directs the newly formed Alabama Symphony Orchestra Chorus and serves as director of music ministries at South Highland Presbyterian Church.
Please note that this concert takes the place of the BYU Winter Choirfest, which was originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 28, at the Provo Tabernacle.
For more information about the concert, contact Nathan Wright, BYU choral coordinator, at (801) 422-5616 or choralassistant@byu.edu, or visit byuarts.com. To learn more about the BYU choirs, visit mckinley.byu.edu/music/performing_ensembles/choirs.
Writer: Philip Volmar
