Juniata Choral Union tp perform Spring Concert
(Posted April 25, 2016)
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HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- To many, a "bucket list" is a collection of experiences a person must do before they die. Musically, the Juniata College Choral Union will sing its melodic "Bucket List," of songs every singer should try to learn, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 26, in Rosenberger Auditorium in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.
The concert is free and open to the public. The Juniata College Choral Union is conducted by its artistic director, Russell Shelley, Elma Stine Heckler Professor of Music.
The concert's first selection is "Come To Me, O My Love," by Allan Robert Petker. Petker is a noted composer and leads San Francisco's Consort Chorale.
Next the choir will sing five songs arranged by British composer and arranger Jeremy Rawson. Three of the songs, "Comin' Through the Rye," O, No John," and "The Oak and the Ash," have deep roots in the British choral tradition. The other two pieces, "Shenandoah" and "Home on the Range," have uniquely American musical connections.
Juniata student Micah McConnell, a sophomore from Patton, Pa., will solo on "O, No John."
Following the Rawson set, the ensemble will sing "Banks of Doon," by Donna Gartman Schultz. The song is a gorgeously composed update of the classic poem by Robert Burns.
The choir's repertoire will turn international when the group sings "Takovina (Macedonian Folk Song)," arranged by Greg Jasperse. Juniata student Bernard Devlin, a senior from Media, Pa., will accompany on the violin.
Devlin also will solo on the next selection, "Dreams of Thee," from "Lines to an Indian Air," which is adapted from the poem "Lines from an Indian Air," by Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
The program will transition to another set of "Three Hungarian Folk-songs." The three pieces, by Matyas Seiber, are "The Handsome Butcher," "Apple, Apple," and "The Old Woman." Maurice Jacobson arranged the songs.
Next the group will sing "Nella Fantasia," arranged by Audrey Snyder. The song is taken from the soundtrack for the film "The Mission," composed by Ennio Morricone.
The song "The Ashgrove" will follow. The piece, arranged by Will Hay, is based on an English folksong. Juniata student Becky Lynch, of Myerstown, Pa., will sing a solo on the selection.
"The Hunt is Up" is the next song, which is composed by Nicholas McKaig. The song details a deer hunt by the English king, probably Henry VIII.
The final song of the concert is "Reuben and Rachel," arranged by Andrew Larson. The song is a story of romantic attraction and separation that has a comic storyline. The song is updated from an 1871 version that is written by Harry Birch.
With a membership composed of students, faculty, staff and community members from as far away as Bedford, Choral Union meets once a week for 75 minutes to study assigned repertoire and general singing concepts. As the only non-audition choir on our campus, Choral Union provides a wide spectrum of educational experiences. From first-time singer to community members who have performed with some of the world's greatest conductors, the spirit of the ensemble is one of nurturing cooperation and mutual respect for the choral art.
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.