CLEVELAND, Miss.— The Delta State University Chorale and Chamber Singers will present their annual Spring Concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 15.
The virtual concert, themed “Come Sing with Me in Spring,” will be available for viewing live on Facebook (@DSUMusic).
“This ensemble of gifted musicians represents the best of students from the DSU Choral program,” said Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities Dr. Julia Thorn.
The Chamber Singers will begin the concert with Estonian, Latin and Hebrew works. A set of “Five Hebrew Love Songs” composed by Eric Whitacre will feature faculty violinist Anne-gaelle Ravetto and Andrew Wasylina at the piano.
“This set clearly demonstrates the talent and the hard work of these students on extremely diverse pieces throughout the semester,” Thorn noted.
The Delta State Chorale will complete the program with beautiful twenty-first-century works by Hundley, Stroope, Childs, and Hogan. Senior Rachel Houska, a featured music education student who selected “Earth Song” by Frank Ticheli as a piece to focus her studies in conducting this semester, will lead the Chorale in this lovely composition.
The title of the concert is taken from a piece titled “Sing With Me” that was a gift from the composer, Richard Waters, a former DSU choral director.
“’Sing with Me’ is my own personal response to the relentless series of heartaches that faced us: the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the anguish of not being able to sing together and disturbing social justice issues across the country, shared Waters.
“It is the first piece for which I have also written the text. At the time, I was unsure of what the fall semester would look like for my own choir. Therefore, I designed the piece to be accessible and adaptable to whatever situation we faced.”
Despite the uncertainties of the past year, Waters said music has provided a sense of permanence.
“Our Chorale members, Dr. Julia Thorn, director of Choral Activities and Dr. Kumiko Shimizu, collaborative artist, understand the many challenges that we have all faced over the past year, but have made it a mission to continue to make music together in any way we can,” Waters said.
To view the virtual event on the Dela State University Department of Music’s Facebook page, visit www.facebook.com/DSUMusic.
For questions or more information, contact the DSU College of Arts and Sciences at (662) 846-4115.
