October 1, 1999
LAWRENCE -- Six choral groups from the University of Kansas will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10, in the Lied Center. "The Elements" is the theme of the concert, sponsored by the KU Choral Society, which will include performances by the University Singers, KU Women's Chorale, Men's Glee Club, and Concert Choir, all from the KU Division of Choral Music, as well as the Inspirational Gospel Voices and Meli Melomane, a Haitian men's group.
The KU choral concert is free and open to the public.
The University Singers, conducted by Gary Weidenaar, will open the concert, singing "Rainsong," a 1957 work by Houston Bright, former composer-in-residence at West Texas State University. The remainder of the University Singers' program includes: "O Sifuni Mungu, a 1987 work by David Maddux, Marty McCall, and Mmunga Mwenebulongo Mulongoy, performed in Swahili and English and featuring percussion by Meli Melomane and bird calls by members of the University Singers; and Shenandoah, a seven-voice setting of the traditional folk song, arranged in1971 by James Erb, a retired professor at the University of Richmond.
For its portion of the concert, the KU Women's Chorale, directed by Catherine Parrill, will sing: "Five Haiku on Rain" by David Evans; two selections from "Vier Lieder aus dem Jungbrunnen" by Johannes Brahms; "I Will Be Earth" by Gwyneth Walker; and "Give Way, Jordan," a spiritual arranged by Mary Goetze.
The Inspirational Gospel Voices are led by Terrell L. McTyer, minister of music; Alison Case, assistant minister of music; and Jermaine Marshall, director of music. The choir will sing "Rain Medley," arranged by McTyer, which includes "It Rainin'" and "Melodies from Heaven" by Kirk Franklin, and "God of Mercy" by John P. Kee.
Meli Melomane, also directed by Catherine Parrill, will sing: "Qui n'a senti qu'une flamme," a chanson by Jacques Arcadelt; "At the River" by Aaron Copland, arranged by R. Wilding White; and "Vamuvamba," a traditional Tiriki melody arranged by Boniface Mganga.
For its portion of the program, the Men's Glee Club, directed by Lincoln Andrade, will perform: "Mentre Fia Caldo Il Sol" by Luca Marenzio; "Angels of the Wind" by Allen Koepke; "Wade in the Water," a spiritual arranged by Nina Gilbert; and "Estrela é Lua Nova" by Heitor Villa-Lobos, featuring soloists Hugo Vera and Andrew Thomas.
Closing the choral concert will be the KU Concert Choir, directed by James Daugherty. Its program includes: "Sicut Cervus" by Giovanni da Palestrina; "Canticle of Brother Sun," a 1996 work by Grayston Ives, set to text by St. Francis of Assisi; "Choose Something Like A Star" by Randall Thompson, set to a Robert Frost poem; and "Notes," a 1995 work by George L. Mabry, which features Wendy Zaro as soprano soloist.